Manila is set to host the Days of Russian Culture in the Philippines Festival on October 20-23, 2016. The event, which is arranged by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, will be the first in a series dubbed as, “Days of Russian Culture in Southeast Asia”.
To mark the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between The Philippines and Russia, and as part of the Russia-ASEAN Year of Culture, Manila is set to host the “Days of Russian Culture in the Philippines” Festival from the 20th to 23rd of October 2016.
The Festival in Manila is the first in a series dubbed as, “Days of Russian Culture in Southeast Asia”, which aims to acquaint regional nations with the rich cultural heritage of Russia. Two more similar events will take place in Laos and Cambodia this October. The Days of Russian Culture in countries of Southeast Asia is organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The Days of Russian Culture in the Philippines will feature some of the most prominent Russian performers and soloists:

• State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble “Russia” named after Lyudmila Zykina;
• Natalya Dmitrievskaya (soprano) – soloist of the famous Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Laureate of the International vocal contest named after Mikhail Glinka (Chelyabinsk, 2005), the International contest of opera artists named after Galina Vishnevskaya (Moscow, 2006), the Russian music contest (Moscow, 2010);
• Nikolai Medvedev (fortepiano) – Laureate of the Russian music contest in Moscow (2014), the International contest of pianists in Campillos (Spain), the International contest named after Pancho Vladigerov in Shumen (Bolgaria), the Internaional contest in the memory Vladimir Horowitz in Kiev (Ukrain);
• Dmitri Grigoriev (bass singer) – soloist of the famous Mariinskiy theater in St. Petersburg, Laureate of a number of Russian and international contests, including the International contest named after Petr Tchaikovsky.

“Southeast Asia nations historically cherish friendly feelings for Russia and admire our culture. The Days of Russian Culture in the Philippines will contribute to the mutual understanding between our two peoples, the development of cultural relations and closer bilateral ties in general. This will also help raise the tourist flow,” – said Alexei Lebedev, Director of the Federal Directorate for Cultural Events, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.