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Welcome to another new edition of the RCS Haven E-Bulletin. This month there are two important items of news that we would like to share with you. Firstly, there is a new exhibition on show in the gallery space at our Duke Street centre:
· Monday 14th February – Monday 14th March: Exhibition, ‘Three Generations’
RCS Haven is proud to present a new exhibition by artists belonging to three different generations, but all of whom share a desire to promote and preserve the Russian cultural heritage. Among the works on display will be paintings and drawings by the children of the RCS Haven Russian Saturday School – this is the second showcase of their art, and shows the progress that they have made. The other ‘two generations’ at the exhibition are represented by: Russian artists currently living and working in Glasgow, but who maintain a connection with their homeland through their art, and Maria Yaroshenko, a Russian artist who kept working even at the age of 98 – her work shows the importance of art and creativity in a long and healthy life. Some of the works on display will be for sale.
- RCS Haven, 11 Duke Street, Glasgow, G4 0UL
- FREE
- Viewings by request: please contact 0141 552 2144 or email [email protected]
- More information: http://www.rcshaven.org.uk/?page=news&article=58&l=en
And secondly, we have been deeply concerned to hear about plans to shut the Slavonic Studies department at the University of Glasgow. On 9th February the University announced proposals to close or merge several subjects, as part of an effort to close a £35million budget shortfall caused by dramatic cuts in funding from the Scottish Government. Among these proposals were plans to completely close seven of the University’s nine modern language departments, including all three Slavonic languages – Russian, Polish and Czech. The University has been teaching Russian language for many decades, and through its work has forged important academic, business and cultural links between Scotland and Russia. Furthermore, the closures would leave many students unable to graduate and would result in the entire teaching and research staff losing their jobs. The final decision on the closures will not be made by the University Court until May, and in the meantime staff and students have launched a vocal campaign against the planned cuts. If you feel as strongly about this issue as we do, please register your objection to the proposals by signing the following online petition, set up by department staff:
http://www.petitiononline.co.uk/petition/save-slavonic-languages-at-the-university-of-glasgow/2431
More information about the cuts and the protest campaign can be found in the following articles:
- Statement from Modern Languages Staff: http://czechfocus.cz/art/57209.html
- The Herald: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/seats-of-learning-at-risk-from-cut-in-funds-1.1084121
- The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/16/glasgow-university-protest-proposed-cuts
- Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Modern-Languages-and-Cultures-at-University-of-Glasgow-under-threat/179538408755444
As usual, the rest of the E-Bulletin will be devoted to rounding up the latest Russian news stories, job vacancies and forthcoming events, both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. For up-to-the minute information, please visit our website, www.rcshaven.org.uk, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
Contents:
- Jobs
- News
- Events in the rest of Scotland
- Events in the rest of the UK
Notices:
Parcel delivery service to the CIS and Baltic countries available in Glasgow!
We deliver parcels to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Moldova. Both airmail and surface services are available to these countries.
Please note that only airmail service is currently available to Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
For more information, please call on 07990754212.
The job search facility on the RCS Haven website collects vacancies from Scottish, British and Russian employers, and makes them searchable by keyword. It can be accessed by clicking here, but below is a selection of some of the wide range of jobs currently being advertised through the website:
Production Supervisor - GMP - Ayrshire, Scotland
Our Client is seeking to recruit a Production Supervisor to be responsible for supervising shift teams in the manufacture and packaging of products scheduled for production, while ensuring strict compliance with Quality Assurance, Health & more...
Financial software / ERP financials business solution consultant role
Financial software / ERP financials business solution consultant role Glasgow, Central Scotland. I am assisting my client one of the UK’s leading business solution partners recruit for a lead Financial software / ERP financials consultant. more...
Experienced Java Developer for Scotland
This is a fantastic position for an experienced Java developer to join an organisation that develops leading edge technology. The renumeration package on offer is first class and the career progression available is extremely attractive to someone more...
Business Development Manager - Scotland
Background AXA Wealth is comprised of six complementary but different businesses based in five locations and supported by c2000 employees. We are investing in all areas of our business by developing, distributing and supporting award winning more...
Senior House Officer in Accident and Emergency - for 2 months at beaut
Medecho is looking for Locum Senior House Officer in Accident and Emergency with previous UK experience in Senior House Officer in Accident and Emergency. The vacancy is to join immediately for 2 months with possibility to extend up to 6 months. 2 more...
Accounts Payable - Russian Speaker
RUSSIAN SPEAKING - Accounts Payable/Purchase Ledger Volt Europe is recruiting on behalf of a Global Organisation based in Redditch for a Russian speaking Accounts Payable/Purchase Ledger Clerk to join their expanding team. Duties & more...
Russian Speaking Sales Executive
Leading international conference company require a Russian speaker to sell delegate places at their flagship events.
Russian Speaking Export Sales **Urgent recruitment**
FRENCH SELECTION UK Russian Speaking Export Sales **Urgent recruitment** Sales Coordinator, Export coordination, Customer service, Sales, Logistics Admin Fluent Russian Salary: £15 to 20K pa pro-rata Location: Preston, Lancashire At commuting more...
Russian Speaking Web Developer
A fantastic opportunity has arisen within a company whose foundations stem back to 1962; please read on if you are a RUSSIAN SPEAKING WEB DEVELOPER who would be based in Baku, Azerbaijan. This is a 9 12 month fixed term contract which has potential more...
Relationship Manager - Russian
A wealth management arm of a large international bank is looking to hire an experienced relationship manager to join their Russian desk. The main purpose of the role is to identify opportunities to acquire new to bank clients by way of referrals more...
Please also note that RCS Haven is always looking for volunteers to work at the centre and qualified staff to run language and cultural courses for children and adults. If interested, please email your CV to [email protected]
Queen Elizabeth II favors ties with Russia
Russia’s new Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko presented his credentials to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
Modernization in Russia Should Be Base on Moral Norms – Patriarch Kirill
"True modernization is always based on modern principles... Modernization without a moral dimension turns to unrestrained pursuit of temporary goods and pleasures, heartless technocracy, results in perverted relations between people," the patriarch said on Thursday at a ceremonial session dedicated to 150 anniversary of serfdom cancellation in Russia at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
UK kids to watch Russian films
More than 20 Russian and Soviet films have been recommended by the British Charity Filmclub for students across Britain.Among top picks are Nikita Mikhalkov’s “Burnt by the Sunâ€, Timur Bekmambetov’s “Night Watch†and Mikhail Kalatozov’s “The Cranes are Flyingâ€.
Scots break new ground with nerve cell research
SCOTTISH scientists have discovered a new way to create human motor nerve cells, in the hope of finding new treatments for patients with a devastating illness.
We can't stop getting Russia wrong
Russians enjoy more freedom than is often condescendingly understood. Try the blogosphere if you don't believe it.
UK facing 1970s-style oil shock which could cost economy £45bn
Britain is facing a 1970s-style oil price shock that could cost the UK economy £45bn over two years, the climate and energy secretary, Chris Huhne, is expected to warn in his first intervention on the issue since the start of Middle East political crisis.
Hunt approves News Corp plan for Sky News
The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has approved News Corporation's plan to spin off Sky News, clearing the way for its proposed £8bn purchase of the 61% of BSkyB it does not already own.
From pit to palace: Kate's coal mining ancestry
Middleton has already captivated the world's imagination with her Cinderella story of going from middle-class girl-next-door to queen-in-waiting, but until recently few knew of her family's connection to coal mining, once a prime source of Britain's prosperity that has now fallen on hard times.
The Russian Vegas … in Siberia
Russia is betting it can turn nine square miles of remote Siberia into Las Vegas East
There will be neon-lit casinos and palatial hotels, men in tuxedos and blondes in miniskirts. When guests arrive at penthouse suites with marble bathtubs, there may be a chocolate on their pillow with the following message in Cyrillic-style script: Siberia—the home of sexy.
Secret 'X-Files' Of UFO Sightings Released
UFO sightings and an "alien abduction" are detailed in thousands of close-encounter documents released by the National Archives.
March Events Calendar
Regular Events in Scotland:
Orthodox Church Services
The following Scottish churches hold regular/semi-regular Orthodox services (all welcome):
· Glasgow: The Parish of St. Kentigern (Russian Orthodox). Services held in Govan Old Church, 866 Govan Road, Glasgow, G51 3UU.
· Edinburgh: Orthodox Community of St. Andrew (a mixture of Orthodox faiths). Services held in the Chapel of St. Andrew, 2 Meadow Lane, Edinburgh, EH8 9NR.
· Live Music on Sunday nights at Cafe Cossachok
Every Sunday night Cafe Cossachok hosts a live concert featuring a mixture of Russian and Eastern European folk-songs and works by Russian classical composers. Booking essential.
Cafe Cossachok, 10 King Street, Glasgow, G1 5QP
Sharmanka are a unique and award-winning theatre group whose performances are ‘acted’ by carved wooden figures and ingenious moving mechanical contraptions. Booking essential.
Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, 103 Trongate, Glasgow, G1 5HD
Events in Glasgow:
· 
Thursday 3rd February – Sunday 27th March: Exhibition, ‘From Image to Reality and Reality to Image’
Lev and Julia Atlas of Cafe Cossachok have once again dug into their impressive art collection to produce an exciting exhibition of oil paintings, pastels, watercolours, prints, ceramics and crafts from around the world. Featured artists include Igor Kurkov, Max Demidov, Vladimir Chekmarev and Denis Polubojarov, among many others.
- Cafe Cossachok, 10 King Street, Glasgow, G1 5QP
- Opening Times: Tues-Sat 12.00pm-late, Sun 4.00pm-late
- FREE
- More information: http://www.trongate103.com/128,138,1336/whats_on/
exhibitions/from_image_to_reality_and_reality_to_image/
· Friday 4th February – Sunday 3rd April: Exhibition, Alina Kisina ‘City of Home’
Alina Kisina is a Ukrainian photographer whose work attempts to bring out the ‘spirituality’ in the seemingly mundane urban landscape of her homeland. Her evocative pictures combine abstraction and representation to create a depth of meaning beyond the objects actually shown.
- Ground Floor, Streetlevel Photoworks, 103 Trongate, Glasgow, G1 5HD
- Opening Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10.00am-5.00pm, Sunday 12.00-5.00pm
- FREE
- More information: http://www.trongate103.com/128,138,1324/whats_on/exhibitions/city_of_home/
· Monday 14th February – Monday 14th March: Exhibition, ‘Three Generations’
This new art exhibition showcasing the work of three generations of Russian and Russian-inspired artists will be held at the RCS Haven centre on Duke Street - please see the top of this E-Bulletin for further details.
· Sunday 6th and Tuesday 8th March: Cafe Cossachok celebrates Maslenitsa and International Women’s Day
In March Cafe Cossachok will host special musical events to celebrate two important Russian holidays – one traditional and one Soviet. On both nights, violinist Lev Atlas and pianist Stephen Adam will be joined by three rising singing stars from the RSAMD – Anush Hovhannissyan, Michael Pavlov and Maria Atlas. On Sunday 6th, they will mark the Russian spring festival of Maslenitsa with traditional folk songs and ballads, while guests on International Women’s Day (Tuesday 8th) will be treated to a wider repertoire of music, with jazz and light opera as well as Russian favourites. Ladies in the audience can also expect to receive roses and champagne toasts! Booking essential for both nights.
- Cafe Cossachok, 10 King Street, Glasgow, G1 5QP
- Restaurant opens: 6.00pm. Concert begins: 9.00pm
- Tickets: £6.00 per person.
- Bookings: 0141 553 0733
· Friday 11th March: Concert, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, ‘Stravinsky: The Chamber Ballets III’
In this final concert dedicated to Stravinsky’s ballet scores, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra tackle his 1947 work ‘Orpheus’. In this wonderful piece, Stravinsky both harks back to Monteverdi’s original opera and tells his own unique version of the Orpheus myth. The orchestra will also be playing pieces by Haydn and Szymanowski, and there will also be a short pre-concert talk on Stravinsky by Professor Jonathan Cross, the author of ‘The Stravinsky Legacy’, at 6.30pm (free for all ticket holders).
- City Halls (Grand Hall), Candleriggs, Glasgow, G1 1NQ
- 7.30pm
- Tickets: £11.50-25.00
- To book, call 0141 353 8000 or click here
- More information: http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/whatson/event/86837-Scottish-Chamber-Orchestra-Stravinsky-:-The-Chamber-Ballets-III
· 
Saturday 26th March: Concert, RSNO, ‘The 10:11 Season: Järvi Conducts The Leningrad’
Shostakovich’s Seventh ‘Leningrad’ Symphony is not only one of the great symphonic blockbusters, it tells the story of one of the most pivotal moments in Russian history. Written from within Leningrad as it lay under siege during the Second World War and smuggled out across enemy lines, the ‘Leningrad’ became a symbol of the city’s suffering, but more importantly of its defiance. Conductor laureate Neeme Järvi will be taking on this monumental composition at this concert, with the help of a super-sized RSNO. Alison McIntyre, a violinist with the RSNO, will also be giving a short pre-concert talk at 6.45pm, and which is free for all ticket holders.
- Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (Main Auditorium), 2 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3NY
- 7.30pm
- Tickets: £11.50-25.00
- To book, call 0141 353 8000 or click here
- More information: http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/whatson/event/77915-RSNO-The-10:11-Season-Järvi-Conducts-the-Leningrad
· Friday 11th February – Saturday 26th March: Exhibition, ‘Armenia: The Literary and Visual Tradition’
This exhibition has been curated by Vesna Petkovic of Pro Art & Co. with the aim of showing Armenia both as an ancient civilization and as the country it is today. Life in contemporary Armenia is portrayed in pictures by several different photographers, while the country’s rich cultural history is showcased in copies of medieval manuscripts illustrating the development of the Armenian language, which has its own entirely unique alphabet and which first appeared in 405AD.
- Scotland Russia Institute, 9 South College Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AA
- Tuesday – Friday, 11.00am-4.00pm; Saturday, 1.30-4.00pm
- FREE
- More information: http://www.scotlandrussiaforum.org/exhibitions.html
· Tuesday 8th – Saturday 12th March: Ballet, The Russian State Ballet and Orchestra of Siberia
The Russian State Ballet and Orchestra of Siberia were formed in 1981, but have quickly established themselves as one of Russia’s leading ballet companies, building an international reputation for delivering performances of outstanding skill and unusual depth. In March they will be in residence at the Edinburgh for almost a week, and where they will perform a selection of classic ballets.
- Edinburgh Playhouse, 18-22 Greenside Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3AA
- Performances:
- Tuesday 8th March, 7.30pm: ‘Don Quixote’
- Wednesday 9th March, 7.30pm: ‘Romeo & Juliet’
- Thursday 10th/Friday 11th March, 7.30pm: ‘Sleeping Beauty’
- Saturday 12th March, 2.30/7.30pm: ‘Swan Lake’
- Tickets: £14.25-37.00
- To book, call 0844 8471660 or go online here
- More information: http://www.edinburghplayhouse.org.uk/whatson.asp?ProductionTitle=&intPage=1&order=&PageSize=30&VenueID=93
· Thursday 17th March: Чай и Чат
The Scotland Russia Forum is extending an open invitation to a morning of tea, cake and ‘sparkling Russian conversation’! This event is open to both native and non-native speakers.
- Scotland Russia Institute, 9 South College Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AA
- 11.00am
- FREE, but contributions of cakes and snacks are welcome.
- More information: http://www.scotlandrussiaforum.org/events.html
· 
Wednesday 23rd March: Talk/Book-Signing, Rachel Polonsky ‘Molotov’s Magic Lantern’
When academic and author Rachel Polonsky moved to Moscow in 1998, she ended up living in a block of flats that had previously housed both the Imperial and, later, the Soviet elite. Whilst exploring the building she came across the library of notorious Soviet apparatchik Vyacheslav Molotov - his huge collection of books became the inspiration for ‘Molotov’s Magic Lantern’, a vast travelogue of important people and places in Russian literary history. On her journey Polonsky investigates the nature of the Russian artistic spirit, but is also confronted by the scars of terrible events in the country’s past – for example, Molotov owned books whose authors the government would go on to sentence to the Gulag. At this event Polonsky will be talking about ‘Molotov’s Magic Lantern’ and her time in Russia, and will also be signing copies of the book. This is a FREE event, but prior booking is essential.
- Blackwell’s Bookshop, 53-62 South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1YS
- 4.00pm
- FREE
- Tickets can be obtained either at Blackwell’s, or by contacting Ann Landemann on 0131 622 8222, or by email at [email protected]
· 
Wednesday 23rd March: Film Screening, ‘My Perestroika’
Part of the Scotland Russia Forum’s ‘Russia Since 1991’ series. The SRF and the Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema are proud to present the Scottish premiere of ‘My Perestroika’ (dir: Robin Hessman, 2010), a remarkable documentary film about the last generation of Russians to grow up behind the Iron Curtain. Using interviews, home-video footage and contemporary official Soviet propaganda, the film traces five ordinary Russians through their childhood in the 1970s and their adolescence during the collapse of the USSR, to their lives as adults in the shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia. Their stories paint a complex portrait of the hopes, dreams and disillusionment of an entire generation. The film will also be introduced by author and Russian literary historian Rachel Polonsky.
- Edinburgh Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ
- 6.15pm
- Tickets: £7.50/£5.00 (concessions)
- To book, phone 0131 228 2688 or go online here.
- More information: http://www.filmhousecinema.com/showing/my-perestroika/
· Wednesday 2nd February – Thursday 30th June: Exhibition, ‘Gomel: A Belarusian Town at War’, Aberdeen
In 2010, Aberdeen and the Belarusian town of Gomel celebrated two decades of being twinned. Today, Gomel is a thriving, bustling city, but during the Second World War the city was devastated, both by fighting and by a brutal Nazi occupation that lasted from 1941 to ’43. This exhibition commemorates these dark years in the city’s history and contains a selection of unique items on loan from the Gomel Museum of Military Glory, as well as contemporary Red Army uniforms, equipment and weapons. When viewing these objects visitors are forced to consider the great sacrifice of the Belarusian people in the war (one third of the country’s population died in WWII), alongside recurring themes of resistance, the Holocaust and the role of women during the conflict.
- The Gordon Highlanders Museum, St. Luke’s, Viewfield Road, Aberdeen, AB15 7XH
- Tues-Sat, 10.00am-4.00pm
- Tickets: £5.00/£3.00 (concessions)/£2.00 (children)
- More information: http://www.gordonhighlanders.com/exhibits/
· Sunday 6th March: Business Start-Up Event for Russian-Speakers, Stirling
This is the third in a series of events organised by Stirling Enterprise and the Stirling Council ASPIRE project, and which are designed to offer business help and advice to the area’s various migrant populations in their native languages. This event focuses on practical advice for those interested in setting up their own business, is free and is open to all Russian-speakers living in Stirling and the Forth valley. There will be a variety of ‘business start-up presentations’ in Russian, and translators on hand for individual consultations with experts.
- John Player Building, Stirling Enterprise Park, Stirling, FK7 7RP
- 2.00pm
- FREE
- For more details, contact Frank Dunne on 01786 463416 or by email at [email protected]
· Saturday 12th March: International Women’s Day Charity Evening, Ayr
The Horizon Hotel in Ayr is the venue for a Russian-themed charity evening to celebrate International Women’s Day, all in aid of the Rotary International Polio Vaccine Programme. Guests will be served a three-course dinner with wine, and will be entertained by a genuine Russian choir and the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra. There will also be a raffle and a silent auction, both with luxury prizes including original paintings and Russian food hampers. All profits from tickets sales and the raffle/auction will be donated to the charity.
- Horizon Hotel, Esplanade, Ayr, KY7 1DT
- 6.30pm (for dinner at 7.30)
- Dress code: Casual
- Tickets: £25.00
- For more details and to book tickets, contact 07943 954470 or 07766 011951
· Saturday 19th March: Conference, Class of 2011: Secondary School Education in Post-Soviet Russia’, St. Andrews
This is the 20th Annual Conference of the Centre for Russian, Soviet, Central and Eastern European Studies (CRSCEES) at the University of St. Andrews. The organisers of the conference have gathered an impressive line-up of academics from Britain and Russia to consider the current state of Russian secondary education. Topics under discussion include: the curriculum (with special focus on the teaching of history and religious studies), vocational training and the legacy of Russian thought in Western education. At the end of the day there will also be a round-table session involving staff and students of St. Andrews who have had first-hand experience of the Russian educational system.
- School 5, St. Salvator’s Quad, North Street, St. Andrews, KY16 9AZ
- 9.00am-6.00pm
- Tickets (non-participating guests): £15.00/£12.00 (concessions)
- Register online here
- For more details, contact Laura Harris (School of History) on 01334 462900 or at [email protected]
- More information: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/crscees/20thconf.html
The Rest of the UK:
· Friday 21st January – Saturday 19th March: Exhibition, Rodchenko and his Circle, London
On display in this exhibition will be over two hundred previously-unseen photographs by Alexander Rodchenko and other leading Russian constructivists of the early twentieth-century. All of the photos have been drawn from private collections and have never been shown in public before. Curated by John Milner of the Courtauld Institute of Art.
- Art: Sensus Gallery, 7 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1BB
- Tuesday – Friday, 10.00am-6.00pm/Saturday, 11.00am-5.00pm
- FREE
- More information: http://www.artsensus.com/artists/group-show/exhibitions/rodchenko-and-his-circle.html
· Tuesday 1st March: Translators’ Evening, Antony Wood and Robert Chandler, London
‘Translators’ Evenings’ are a new series of events organised by Pushkin House, in which translators of Russian poetry and prose are invited to read and discuss samples of their work with an audience of fellow translators, academics, students and aficionados of Russian literature. Among the topics for discussion will be: the relationship between originals and translations, comparing different translations of the same original, and considering how the art of translation helps to cross boundaries between different languages and cultures. This particular evening is devoted to the folk stories and lyric verses of Pushkin, as translated by two of the author’s most highly-acclaimed translators, Antony Wood and Robert Chandler. To facilitate discussion on the night, samples of both translators’ work (and the original texts that they are based on) are available for download on the Pushkin House website prior to the event.
- Pushkin House, 5a Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA
- 7.30pm.
- Tickets: £7.00/£5.00 (concessions)/FREE for ‘Friends of Pushkin House’
- To book, phone 020 7269 9770, or email [email protected].
- More information: http://www.pushkinhouse.org/en/events/second-translators-evening-antony-wood-and-robert-chandler
· Thursday 3rd March: Breakfast Business Meeting, Russia Consulting Seminar, London
Russia Consulting are a company that provide specialist services for businesses either working or looking to work in the Russian market – market analysis, business set-up (including sourcing office space and recruitment), consulting and more. At this seminar, two of their experts, Ulf Schneider and Mike Allan, will give an update on the economic situation in Russia in 2011, and two short talks on a) the advantages and disadvantages of various different export options, and b) on issues surrounding work permits, visas and taxation for UK citizens in Russia.
- RBCC London Office, 1 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB
- 8.30-10.00am.
- Fee: RBCC Members, £24.00; Non-members, £36.00
- To register a place, contact 020 7931 6455 or email [email protected]
- More information: http://www.rbcc.com/index.php?option=com_rsevents&view=events&layout=show&cid=21:russia-consulting-seminar&Itemid=232〈=en
· Thursday 3rd March: Talk, Professor Tatiana Tsaregradskaya, London
Part of the Goldsmith’s College Centre for Russian Music lecture series. Professor Tsaregradskaya of the Russian Academy of Music in Moscow will discuss recent developments in Russian classical and popular music.
- Deptford Town Hall (Council Chamber), New Cross Road, Lewisham, London, SE14 6AF
- 6.00pm
- FREE
- More information: http://www.gold.ac.uk/crm/newsandevents/
· 
Sunday 6th March: Maslenitsa Festival, London
The Russian Maslenitsa festival combines the country’s pagan and Christian traditions, marking the end of winter and coming of spring, and also the beginning of the time of Lent. This year London is holding a huge free event in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the festival, with highlights including: live music from chart-topping Russian pop and rock acts and legendary folk singers, theatre, traditional dancing, authentic Russian food, children’s activities and street entertainment of all kinds. This is one of the largest Maslenitsa events outside Russia – we urge you not to miss it!
- Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5
- 12.30-7.00pm
- FREE
- More information: http://www.london.gov.uk/event-meeting/2011/mar/russian-maslenitsa-london
· 
Wednesday 9th March: Lecture, ‘The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag After Stalin’ Professor Stephen Cohen, London
Part of the lecture programme of the GB-Russia Society. Professor Cohen will be talking about his latest book, ‘The Victims Return’. It is estimated that more people died in Stalin’s Siberian gulags than in the Nazi Holocaust. Some prisoners, however, were able to survive despite the terrible conditions in the prison camps and were eventually released after Stalin’s death in 1953 – but their suffering did not end there. In ‘The Victims Return’ Cohen combines hours of interviews with former gulag inmates and official documents only recently declassified by the Russian government to tell the story of the survivors’ return to their families and Soviet society, and their long struggle to rebuild their lives and obtain justice.
- Pushkin House, 5a Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA
- 7.00pm.
- Tickets: £5.00
- To book, phone 07884 464461 or go online here
- .More information: http://www.gbrussia.org/lectures.php
· Tuesday 15th March: Business Event, RBCC – Just Networking, London
The Russo-British Chamber of Commerce are holding their latest ‘Just Networking’ event at a still to be confirmed venue in Central London on Tuesday 15th March. These events are designed to provide an opportunity for both Russian business representatives and UK companies working in Russia to meet and make new contacts in what is hopefully a relaxed and informal setting.
- Venue: TBC
- 6.30-9.00pm
- Cost: FREE to RBCC Members, £36.00 for non-members
- This event is open to all but places are limited, so early booking is essential.
- Please contact Chaslav Frim on 020 7931 6455, or by email at [email protected].
- When booking, participants are also asked to include a short note of their business interests – this helps to make the evening more constructive and relevant.
- More information: http://www.rbcc.com/index.php?option=com_rsevents&view=events&layout=show&cid=22:just-networking&Itemid=232〈=en
· Wednesday 16th March: Lecture, ‘Stalin’s Children and Beyond’ Owen Matthews, London
Part of the lecture programme of the GB-Russia Society. Owen Matthews’ book ‘Stalin’s Children’, on which this talk is based, tells the extraordinary and gripping tale of three generations of his own family, set against the backdrop of twentieth-century Russian history. His grandfather, Boris Bibikov, was a staunch communist in the USSR of the 1930s, but still fell victim to the purges of those years. His English father Mervyn gave up a career in the diplomatic service because it kept him distant from the Russia, and in particular the Russian girl, that he loved. However, he and his wife were then kept apart for years by the Soviet government. And finally, Owen himself – who has spent much of his adult life living in and writing about Russia’s turbulent post-Soviet period, and who has also married a Russian girl, but under very different circumstances..!
- Pushkin House, 5a Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA
- 7.00pm.
- Tickets: £5.00
- To book, phone 07884 464461 or go online here
- .More information: http://www.gbrussia.org/lectures.php
· Thursday 17th March: Lecture, ‘Russian Music: The Great Explosion, 1800-1900’ Hugh Macdonald, London
Hugh Macdonald’s knowledge of nineteenth-century music is encyclopaedic. In this informal talk he will discuss the astonishing pace of development in Russian music during that century – from a tiny kernel to one of the world’s greatest cultural phenomena. Be sure that he will mention the contribution of brilliant composers Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as other notable cultural figures such as ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev.
- Pushkin House, 5a Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA
- 7.30pm.
- Tickets: £7.00/£5.00 (concessions)/FREE for ‘Friends of Pushkin House’
- To book, phone 020 7269 9770, or email [email protected]
- More information: http://www.pushkinhouse.org/en/events/russian-music-the-great-explosion-1800-1900
· Wednesday 23rd – Thursday 24th March: Concert, London Symphony Orchestra presents Gergiev’s Tchaikovsky – ‘Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.2’, London
Valery Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director, who also holds the position of principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. At these concerts he will continue his cycle of Tchaikovsky symphonies with the composer’s ‘merry-hearted’ ‘Second Symphony’ (1872), which was inspired in part by traditional Ukrainian folk songs. Also being performed by the LSO at this concert will be contemporary Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin’s impassioned ‘Lithuanian Suite’ and Shostakovich’s ‘darkly brilliant’ ‘Violin Concerto’.
- The Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS
- 7.30pm (both dates).
- Tickets: £8.00-32.00
- To book, phone 020 7638 8891, or go online here
- More information: http://www.lso.co.uk/page/144/Tchaikovsky+Symphony+No+2/120
· 
Tuesday 29th March – Saturday 23rd April: Musical, ‘Bed and Sofa’, London
European premiere of the award-winning off-Broadway musical, based on Russian director Abram Room’s ground-breaking and controversial 1926 silent-movie comedy, ‘Bed and Sofa’. The plot presents a ménage-a-trois with a twist, based around the chronic housing shortage in Moscow in the early years of the Russian Revolution. Nikolai works and lives in a cramped apartment with his wife Ludmilla. However, when Nikolai’s friend Volodia arrives in the city with nowhere to stay, he is invited to share their flat, with surprising results..! This is a smart, funny and unique musical adaptation, but also an ‘elegant homage’ to the silent movie genre – for example, all the dialogue and song lyrics are taken directly from the original film’s title-cards. Composer Polly Pen and lyricist Laurence Klavan both won Obie awards for their work on the musical when it premiered in New York.
- Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London, SW10 9ED
- Performance Times:
- Tuesday-Saturday: 7.30pm
- Matinees: Saturday and Sunday, 3.00pm
- Tickets: £11.00-18.00
- To book, phone 0844 847 1652, or go online here
- More information: http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productionsbedandsofa.htm
· 
Thursday 31st March: Concert, Philharmonia Orchestra ‘Russian Evening’, London
Conducted by Tugan Sokhiev, and with Sergei Khachatryan on violin. At this concert the Philharmonia Orchestra will be playing a selection of classic Russian pieces: Borodin’s ‘spectacular’ ‘Polovtsian Dances’ (from the opera ‘Prince Igor’), Shostakovich’s ‘sad and searching’ ‘First Violin Concerto’ and Tchaikovsky’s troubled and dramatic, but ultimately triumphant ‘Fifth Symphony’.
- The Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
- 7.30pm
- Tickets: £8.00-45.00
- To book, phone 0845 875 0073, or go online here
- More information: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/classical/tickets/philharmonia-orchestra-53774
Thank you for taking the time to read this bulletin, we hope that you have found it interesting, useful and enjoyable. If you have any news or events that you would like us to mention in future editions, please let us know at the addresses below.
Best wishes,
All the staff and volunteers at RCS Haven
- 11 Duke Street, Glasgow, G4 0UL
- 0141 552 2144
Events listings compiled by: Jenny Gazzard
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