Experts from Russia and the UAE have discussed the effect of the Covid-19 crisis and the world changes brought by it at Russia: global focus forum at Expo 2020 Dubai.

During the session, Omar Ghobash, UAE Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy, former UAE Ambassador to Russia, Aleksey Sitnikov, Professor and scientific secretary of the Academy of Social Technologies, Dmitry Egorchenkov, Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN University, Pavel Luksha, Futurologist and Global Education Futures founder, professor of practice at the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO and Maksim Protasov, CEO, Rusquality discussed the issues humanity has faced with the pandemic, Russia’s role, and the decisions that must be made now — both to tackle the immediate challenges and to build back stronger.

Rosatom, a global technological leader, will host the ‘Breakthrough Technologies for a Sustainable Future’ week at EXPO 2020 in Dubai, UAE.

The week-long programme, taking place on 17-24 January 2022, will highlight a wide range of technologies and their applications — including the latest nuclear innovations — aimed at improving quality of life and helping to tackle global social, economic and environmental challenges.

Attendees will also have the unique opportunity to take part in virtual tours of cutting-edge NPPs, including the Beloyarsk NPP, the only site with the most powerful commercial fast-breeder reactor in the world; Russian NPPs using world-leading VVER-1200 technology (Novovoronezh and Leningrad NPPs); the world’s only operational floating NPP and TVEL’s Machinery Manufacturing Plant responsible for nuclear fuel production.

Please see the detailed programme of the events and the live broadcasts:
https://www.expo2020russia.org/ru/
https://youtube.com/c/RosatomGlobal
https://www.facebook.com/rosatom.global/

Russia: art has gathered the leading artists and industry experts from Russia to discuss the trends in traditional art and the NFT segment.

Participants of the first session “From Russia with NFT” Olga Filatova, CBDO Infinity Art, Stella Labuzhskaia, Artist, gallery owner, curator, a visionary in the field of NFT art, Olga Kamenskaya, Co-founder of Digital Art Foundation and Digital Art Expo, Alex Smaga, CEO& Co-founder Arhead.io, Ilya Popov, Producer, President of the Animation Film Association of Russia, founder of the Riki Group of companies and the Infinity Art project and Roman Kupriyanov, Commercial Director of Generative gallery talked about the growing popularity of NFT and art industry as one of the main engines of its rapid growth.

In the framework of the second session Natalya Andakulova, Founder of Andakulova Gallery (Dubai), art expert, gallery owner, Pokras Lampas, Modern calligraphy artist, creator of #calligrafuturism movement, Roman Ermakov, Artist, sculptor, Sasha Frolova, Modern artist, Andrey Kolokolov, Artist, co-founder of the STENOGRAFFIA festival and Natalya Andakulova, Founder of Andakulova Gallery (Dubai), art expert, gallery owner spoke about the perspective for the street art, contemporary sculpture, performance, and calligraphy in the modern interpretation.

“Lezginka” ensemble invited the Expo 2020 visitors to explore the traditional performance art of the Caucasus region on the 13th of January 2022. The performance included the traditional dagger throw dance from the Dagestan region and drum act.

Leading experts in the travel industry gathered at Russia: travel forum to discuss the vectors of development for tourism in Russia and the future of travel cooperation between Russia and the UAE.

Sergey Dolya, travel blogger, Boris Titov, Owner and major shareholder of the “Abrau-Durso” Group of Companies, Graham Cooke, World Travel Award founder, Alexey Karakhan, Head of the “Youth” tourist club in Altai, Irina Rudyka, Head of the “TopBlog” project within “Russia — Country of Opportunity” Presidential Platform, Natalia Esayan, CEO of M.I. Travel Group, Development Director of Elgas Tour Operator and Co-Founder of the International Cooperation Fund “Navigator”, Olga Shebzukhova, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alliance Marine Development and CEO of LLC “Center for the Development of Recreational Areas” New Horizons ", Andrey Terekhin, Trade representative of the Russian Federation in UAE discussed the potential of tourism in Russia together with Alexander Sysoev, Co-owner of 11 restaurants in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, owner of the Russian Restaurant Festival, the largest gastronomic event in Russia.

On the 8th of January 2022, the visitors of the Russia pavilion had an opportunity to learn about the traditional Russian dances and join our team in memorizing a short choreography routine.

Russia: music gathered the experts in the music industry to discuss the strategies and modern trends. During the session Alena Strygina, Head of Eventica Entertainment, Ilya Popov, General Producer of Riki Group, Henrik Uhlmann, Managing Director of Extensive Music and POWERHOUSE, Mark Jan Kar, General Manager of Coca-Cola Arena, Dmitry Kalashnikov, Program Director of “OUR EMIRATES RADIO” and DJ KIDY, DJ and music producer talked about the achievements and trends in the Russian music: popularization of streaming services, effects of the pandemic and what it takes to become a popular musician today.

On the 6^th and 7^th of January, all the visitors of the Russia Pavilion had a chance to learn some basic words and phrases as well as learn how to write their names in Russian. The event took place as a part of the cultural festival “From Russia With...”.

One of the most famous and popular artists in the history of Russian hip-hop performed at the largest and most recognizable concert venue in the city of Coca-Cola Arena on the 5th of January 2022 as part of the cultural program of the Russia Pavilion. The concert of Vasily Vakulenko was attended by 3,000 spectators.

We wish you happy moments, creative ideas, and, of course, health and prosperity to you and your families in 2022!

On the 27th of December, the Russia Pavilion welcomed the 1,000,000th visitor at Expo 2020 Dubai. Congratulations!

The interactive space of Moscow in the Russia Pavilion was dedicated to the key development programs of the city and best practices in various areas — culture, entrepreneurship, tourism and many others. The exposition opened on the 20th of November for the duration of one month. This spring Moscow became the first city to apply for the right to host Expo 2030. On the 14th of December, the Moscow bid was presented to the participants of the General Assembly of the BIE.

The focal point of the Moscow exposition was the observation deck — a smaller copy of the floating bridge in the Zaryadye Park. A virtual excursion “Flight over Moscow” was created for visitors, so that everyone could admire the breathtaking views of the capital of Russia.

During the event, Expo guests from different countries had a chance to represent their culture through poetry in their native language.

This year, the brightest students of the Future of White Metallurgy program of the Educational Center in Pervouralsk had an opportunity to visit Expo 2020 in Dubai. The Future of White Metallurgy program is being implemented on the basis of public-private partnerships. It was launched 10 years ago on the initiative of Andrey Komarov, member of the Management Board and co-chairman of the Committee on Vocational Training and Professional Qualifications of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and recognized as the best practice for training qualified personnel according to the dual model of education by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

The Gzhel Dance Theater — one of the distinguishing marks of Moscow culture performed at the Coca-Cola Arena as part of the cultural Programme of Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The original dance compositions of the theater glorify the great creations of folk art craftsmen, who pass on the knowledge about the famous Russian painting techniques, such as Gzhel, Palekh, Zhostovo, Pavlovo-Posad pattern and others between generations.

The Agency for Strategic Initiatives organised a panel session entitled “The future of education: sharing best practices” at the Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on Saturday 28 December, 2021.

The session included talks about the most relevant trends in education across the world, shifts in international education that are shaping the global mindset of future professionals, the development of inclusive education systems, and the expansion of creative industries.

The session was attended by speakers from Russia, Armenia, Brazil and Serbia, including Ruben Vardanyan, the co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and of the UWC Dilijan College and Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO, Pavel Luksha, an expert at the SKOLKOVO Education Development Centre, Igor Gribanov, Head of the Abilympics National Center, Gulnara Bikkulova, Deputy General Director of the Rosatom Corporate Academy, Marina Nevskaya, an expert at Abilympics, Ivan Klindukhov, the founder of schools and colleges of creative industries in Russia, Markus Selakovitch, Director of the S.P. Jain School of Global Management’s office in Dubai, and Tatiana Barbosa De Alvarenga, Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights in Brazil. The session was moderated by Alexander Vaino, the Head of the Center for Youth Initiatives at the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

The forum welcomed representatives of Russian leading educational institutions, heads of government departments and companies in the field of digital technologies.

The panel sessions were attended by Vadim Lobov, President of the Synergy Corporation, Ben Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Minerva project, Alexander Raginia, CEO of Synergy Business School, Shalini Hemka, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of E2Exchange, Evgeny Szhenov, Leading Expert of the Higher School of Economics and Scientific Director of the Expert-Analytical Center “Scientific and Educational Policy”, Dr. Christopher Abraham, CEO of Dubai campus and Sr. Vice President at the S P Jain School of Global Management, Andreas Schleicher, Head of the International Program PISA, Head of the OECD, Natalia Kiseleva, Deputy Head of the Moscow Department of Education and Science, Irina Ivashchenko, Deputy Director General of ANO Rosatom Corporate Academy and others.

Speakers discussed the global trends and digital transformation in education, the potential of interaction between the private and public sectors. The event provided a unique opportunity to find out about the best practices of leading Russian and international universities in attracting students through the development of online learning, the opening of international branches as well as networking and the creation of international educational programmes.

On 14 December 2021, during the 169th meeting of the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), all candidate cities for the World Expo 2030 presented their official bids. The presentations were held in an online format. The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin addressed the delegates of the General Assembly:

“The theme we are suggesting for the World Expo 2030 is ‘Human Progress: Shared Vision for a World of Harmony’. It contributes to the vision of fairness and sustainability in the world where human prosperity is indissolubly connected with natural environment. At the time when the world is making a transition to a green economy, this ambition represents a great challenge for all”.

During his speech, Mikhail Mishustin noted that the organization of the World Expo in Russia “will be met with the highest praise and appreciation” and also expressed hope for the support of the international community.

The presentation of Moscow’s bid was followed by the speech of Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation, Elena Gagarina, General Director of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Moscow Kremlin”. If Russia is chosen to host Expo 2030, the event will be held in Moscow from April 27 to October 27, 2030.

Other cities-candidates for Expo 2030 are Busan (South Korea), Rome (Italy), Odessa (Ukraine), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). The host city of Expo 2030 will be elected in 2023 by BIE General Assembly delegates.

Max Goshko-Dankov, a talented Russian artist, who creates his artworks in decorative painting style, presented his new direction of art at the Russia Pavilion. Visitors were able to reveal their true talents in a creative flow and participate with the help of artificial intelligence and new technologies. Everyone had a chance to take part in the creative process. The result of the project turned out to be a Fantasy City, an art object of collective creativity, based on the landscape and architecture of Moscow.

An exclusive performance of a world-class saxophonist took place on the 8th of December at Jubilee Stage, Expo 2020. One of Russia’s most well-known and reputable jazz musicians Igor Butman invited guests to the concert accompanied by the wonderful show of Moscow Jazz Orchestra with an extensive list of on international tours since 2003

Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, visited the Russia Pavilion on the 8th of December. Valentina Matvienko took a tour around the pavilion with Dmitry Mikhailov, Deputy Commissioner General of the Russia Pavilion.

“The Mechanics of Wonder”, designed and created by Konstantyn Petrov and Simpateka Entertainment Group became the winner of the XI award “Time of Innovation” in the nomination “Project of the Year”, in the “Culture and Art” category. The ceremony took place on the 7th of December in Dubai.

Feduk, a well-known Russian singer, who has more than a million subscribers on social media performed live on the Jubilee Stage on the 7th of December. Feduk was featured in the Forbes list among the most successful rappers in Russia.

The Russia Pavilion hosted a fashion show within the framework of “Moscow Seasons. Created in Moscow” on the 7th of December. This event was curated by the renowned producer and director of the fashion industry in Russia — Artem Krivda. He collaborated with high fashion brands such as Chanel, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford, Ralf Lauren, Armani, Gucci and many others. The main goal of “Moscow Seasons. Created in Moscow ” was to demonstrate the new direction of fashion where the most daring solutions are combined.

An amateur chess tournament took place at the Russia Pavilion between the 5th and the 7th of December as part of the FIDE World Chess Championship. The event that is governed by FIDE (International Chess Federation) and Expo 2020 provided a unique opportunity for the participants to be a part of one of the most prestigious sporting events. The chess tournament was organized to unite people from different nationalities and inspire the wider Expo community to get involved thanks to the universal language of chess. The first place award has been given to Lili Fuentes from The Mexican pavilion.

As part of the National Day of the Russian Federation “Russia Forum: Driving the Future” took place on the 3rd and the 4th of December at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo 2020. The forum was dedicated to international cooperation between Russia and the UAE in the fields of economics and investments. The event brought together over 600 representatives from the UAE and Russian governments, leading Russian and international companies, heads of institutions and agencies, leading Russian and international media. The “Russia Forum: driving the future” was held with the support of the valued partners: Ozon — the title partner of the Forum, “Sberbank” and “Russian Copper Company”.

On the 4th of December, a bright opening ceremony of the National Day of Russia took place at the Stage of Nations of the Al Wasl Plaza, where visitors attended the special performance of one of the most talented Russian artists — Dmitriy Malikov together with the spectacular orchestra. Throughout the day the Russia Pavilion was hosting entertainment events across Expo 2020 site that included Kuban Cossack Choir, Unique Dance Studio, Russian Theatre Studio, Traditional Folk Performance. Later in the evening, guests had a chance to enjoy one of the highlight events from the Russia Pavilion cultural programme — “Moscow Night” at Jubilee Stage featuring concerts of popular artists from Russia. DJ Kidy, Niletto and Julia Volkova performed popular hits together with a vocal group “Moscow A Capella”.

On the 4th of December, Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, visited the Russia Pavilion in the framework of the Russia National Day. Mikhail Mishustin commented: “Expo 2020 is a global event, and we are proud that Russia takes a significant part in the exhibition. It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate innovations in technology, science and culture. I believe that Expo 2020 will contribute to the development and strengthening of the strategic partnership between Russia and the UAE”

Ain Dubai, one of the most famous Dubai landmarks, the world’s largest and tallest observation wheel, with a height of 250m located at Bluewaters Island projected the Russian flag to mark the Russia National Day on the 4th of December.

The forum “Time of innovations” will take place from the 6th to the 7th of December as part of the business programme at Expo 2020 that will be dedicated to international cooperation in the field of innovation and digitalization. More than 50 speakers will discuss the latest trends and share their experience in implementing innovations in all aspects of the business. The discussion focuses on three main points: Innovation Opportunities, a New Era of mobility and Innovation for sustainable development. The forum will provide participants with a chance to get a source of inspiration to accept the new challenges of our time.

The Russia Pavilion welcomes its visitors to the temporary exhibition “Moscow 2030” from the 20th of November to the 20th of December. The concept revolves around the beautiful city of Moscow inviting guests to travel through the digital city and learn about the present and the future of innovations. The immersive presentation demonstrates the rapid growth and intensive development of a modern megapolis.

The Russia Pavilion and the Russian Post invite guests to experience a unique opportunity and send a personalised postcard anywhere in the world from the 20th of November. The engaging initiative was brought to the visitors by the Russian Post, the official logistics partner of the Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020.

The Russia Pavilion invited the brightest street artists to perform a series of concerts dedicated to the opening of a temporary exhibition of Moscow in the Russia Pavilion. The outdoor entertainment events took place from the 20th to 22nd of November — visitors were able to capture spectacular shows featuring talented bands and artists.

Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, visited the Russia Pavilion with Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and General Commissioner of the Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Dmitry Mikhailov, Deputy Commissioner General of the Russia Pavilion, accompanied the delegation on a tour around the pavilion where the interactive show about the country’s latest information technologies and achievements was shown to the guests. Denis Manturov visited the exhibition of the Far East and Arctic supported by the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic and dedicated to the key investment projects implemented in the regions.

Nehsan Selvaraj turned out to be the 500 000th visitor of the Russia Pavilion. An artist and entrepreneur, a successful lawyer and a TV host, Nehsan is one of the members of “Friends for Leadership” network which unites the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.

The Russia Pavilion is ready to welcome its visitors to the exhibition of the Russian Far East supported by the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic. Located right in the heart of the Russia Pavilion the dedicated exhibition features a multimedia presentation aiming to introduce the guests of the Pavilion to the Far East and the Arctic regions, its investment opportunities, support measures for investors and the citizens of these regions provided by the state authorities. This month the visitors of the exhibition will have a unique chance to learn more about the key investment projects implemented on the territory of the regions. Several investment agreements are planned to be signed in the framework of the exhibition.

Special attention will be paid to an innovative scientific and technological centre on Russky Island in Primorsky Krai which will be discussed as part of the presentation “Changing the structure of the world economy through innovation and digitalization”. The strategically important topic of the future of the Northern Sea Route will be discussed within the framework of the topic “The Northern Sea Route and prospects for the development of the transport infrastructure of the Russian Far East and the Arctic”.

There will also be presentations dedicated to the potential of the tourism industry, the wealth of the mineral resource base, as well as the agro-industrial complex, the possibilities of hydrogen energy projects to ensure energy supply to the remote territories of the Far East and the Arctic.

Russia: mindful brain forum has gathered the leading neuroscientists and contemporary philosophers to discuss the future of neuroscience and the development of neurotechnologies. The conversation has extended the theme of the Russia Pavilion main exposition “Mechanics of Wonder” created by Simpateka Entertainment Group and dedicated to the human brain.

Moderated by famous Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner, the discussion touched those ideas that were once believed to be impossible — absolute memory, mind-controlled neural interfaces or radical intelligence enhancement.

The key speakers such as neurobiologist Konstantin Anokhin, Director of the Institute for Advanced Brain Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University; cognitive scientist Tatiana Chernigovskaya, Director of the Institute for Cognitive Studies; developer of neural interface technologies Alexander Kaplan, Head of the Neurophysiology and Neural Interfaces Lab, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Pavel Balaban, Head of the Cellular Neurobiology of Learning Laboratory at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Moscow; philosopher Vadim Vasiliev, Director of the Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies; Rafael Yuste, Professor of Biological Sciences and Director, NeuroTechnology Center, Columbia University (USA); neuroscientist Katrin Amunts, Scientific Research Director of the Human Brain Project (DE) have reflected on the most up-to-date questions.

Tatiana Chernigovskaya along with the other speakers discussed the necessity of changing the paradigm in the research of the brain, moving towards seeing the features of the brain that could be associated with a different, “baroque” view — multidimensional, moving perspective, dealing with irrational and creative objects and subjects.

As Vladimir Pozner stated in the conclusion, if the 20th century is known for its discovery of the atom, then the 21st century might be known as the century of the brain.

Russia: space has become a platform for more than 300 delegates from 12 countries in the framework of which the leading experts in space exploration and investment institutions discussed the strategies and challenges of their industries today.

Participants of the first session Daria Chudnaya, Deputy Director at Success Rockets, Ali Al Hashemi, CEO of Yahsat Group, Mubadala Investments, Oleg Mansurov, Founder of Success Rockets, Alexander Khohlov, Head of the nanosatellite department at Geoskan, Vladislav Ivanenko, CEO of Sputnix, Anton Ossovsky, Founder of Avant Space and Ivan Kosenkov, Senior Project Manager at Cluster of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, nuclear and space technologies at Skolkovo Foundation discussed the future landscape of the space industry.

In the framework of the second session Dmitry Rogozin, General Director at ROSCOSMOS, Sergey Krikalev, Russian cosmonaut and Executive Director for Human Space Programmes at ROSCOSMOS, H.E. Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, the UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, and Alexey Belyakov, Vice President and Executive Director of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Cluster at Skolkovo Foundation, discussed the questions of the international cooperation in space exploration together with René Pische, Head of the European Space Agency Permanent Mission in the Russian Federation and Salem Al Marri, Deputy Director General at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. Dmitry Loskutov, General Director of Glavkosmos and representatives of the Russian film industry — Klim Shipenko, a renowned film director and Yulia Peresild, a famous actress, also joined the session for the presentation of “The Challenge” — the first film shot in space.

A compilation of Fabergé Masterpieces from the Harry Woolf’s Collection has been displayed at an exclusive presentation hosted at the Russia pavilion on the 23rd of October by Alexis de Tiesenhausen, International Head of the Russian Art Department, and Margo Oganesian, Russian Works of Art Specialist.

The show cased 30 masterpieces including animal figurines, Faberge flower, jewelry matchbox, push bell and other unique items.

Ilya Popov, founder and chairman of Riki Group and creator of Smeshariki, Fiksiki and Malyshariki, shared the story behind his projects, the intricacies of working in the animation industry and the process of creating and voicing characters. In the final part of the talk Ilya Popov presented a gift to all the participants — a token platform allowing the visitors to collect an exclusive NFT character from Riki Group^® at EXPO 2020.

Kids Fest took place at the Jubilee Park Venue on the 20th of October, 2021 in the frame of the Russia Pavilion’s cultural program. The main event of the festival was a grandiose two-hour musical show titled “Little Legends of Big Russia” performed by the Centre for Creative Development “Kids Republic” with stars including Vanya Dmitrienko, the youngest popular performer in Russia, Mira Singh, the young star of the Expo 2020 Dubai opening ceremony and the Harry Potter Choir. The visitors also had the chance to meet the Fixies, Russia pavilion mascots from the popular TV show, who joined the young performers on stage.

Andrey Borisenko, Russian Astronaut, Associate Professor from the Department of Rocket Engineering of the Baltic State Technical University, shared his experience about the space exploration field of work and showcased some of the items from the time he had spent on the international space station.

Russia Fest took place at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre on the 18th of October, 2021. Alexei Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia and Commissioner General of the Russia Pavilion, and Oleg Fomin, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, welcomed the guests of Russia Fest and Expo 2020.

Russia Fest introduced Expo visitors to traditional Russian folk music through the spectacular performances of dance ensembles and music bands of different regions of Russia. The show included performances of Komi Republic Dance Ensemble, Don Cossacks Song and Dance Ensemble and the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic Dance Ensemble “Elbrus”.

Sergei Choban, the architect of the Russia Pavilion, visited Expo 2020 Dubai after the official opening. Sergei took a tour around the exposition and shared the ideas behind the pavilion architecture with the leading journalists from the UAE.

Russia: culture forum is the first event of the business programme of the Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. It has become a platform for more than 300 delegates from 12 different countries in the framework of which the leading experts in museum, cinema and theatre cultural institutions discussed the strategies and challenges of their industries today. Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Fatima Mukhomedzhan, Director of “Art, Science and sports” charity foundation, Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Sergei Tchoban, the architect of the Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020, Andrey Fomin, actor and producer, Ilya Popov, Founder of RIKI group, David Mansfield, Director of Dubai Opera, Katerina Novikova, The Bolshoi Theatre’s press attaché, Azariy Plisetskiy, the famous choreographer and the direct descendant of the legendary Plisetskiy family, Elena Marinina, Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation, Inna Bazhenova, Founder of the IN ARTIBUS fund and publisher of The Art Newspaper, Oleg Lutokhin, General Director of Yeltsin Center, Manuel Rabate, Head of Louvre Abu Dhabi joined the discussion together with Vasily Tsereteli, Head of Moscow Museum of Modern Art and Hans Fraikin, Head of Abu Dhabi Film and Television Production Commission.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and His Highness Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council took a tour around the Russia Pavilion with Dmitry Mikhailov Director, General, National Exhibition Operator.

The official opening took place with the participation of Alexei Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and Commissioner General of the Russia Pavilion, Her Excellency Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Dimitri Kertenzes, Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions, Leonid Rudenko, DJ and musician, Max Goshko-Dankov, a contemporary artist and the official Mascots of the Russia Pavilion — Fixies.

During the event DJ Rudenko performed the official anthem of the Russia Pavilion to the guests, while the contemporary artist Max Goshko-Dankov presented his artwork “Creative Flow”. This artwork was created during the opening ceremony together with the guests of Russia Pavilion, who had an opportunity to contribute to the process of its creation.

On the 16th of September, Alexey Gruzdev has visited the Russia pavilion where the final touches are taking place before the Expo 2020 Dubai Grand opening.

Boris Eifman’s ballet Anna Karenina, the remarkable show based on the legendary novel of Leo Tolstoy, is going to take the stage of Dubai Opera for the first time ever. The renowned ballet is coming to the city on 2nd-4th December 2021.

The official announcement of the Russian culture agenda took place on September 4, 2021 in Dubai. Russian Pavilion team presented the cultural program of Russian Pavilion including the headline events that visitors will witness during the next 6 months. The presentation was followed by the performance of the famous indie-rock band “Mumiy Troll”.

The Russian pavilion will host more than 60 cultural events during Expo 2020 including folklore festival “Matreshka ICE” (October 18); Kids fest where the official mascots of Russian Pavilion “the Fixies” will be presented (October 20); Russia’s National Day at Ain Dubai— a gala dinner featured by Russian opera, music and Igor Moiseev’s ballet (December 4); “From Russia with...” a 6-day event showing Russian traditions, music, and art (January 6-13); Moscow Motion Fest, that will introduce top hip-hop and pop musicians from Russia (March 3).

Forum discussion with participation of Dubai and Abu-Dhabi speakers took place at Russian Creativity Week in Moscow.

Russian Creativity Week is the most significant creative industry event in Russia. On the 28th of August, the highlight of the program was forum dialogue with the topic “Creative EXPOrt. The Meeting of East and West and Russia’s Place in the Global Race” where participants spoke about creative opportunities between Russia and UAE as well as discussed on the upcoming Expo 2020. The list of speakers included Dr. Tarek Oliveira Shayya, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Director General Office, Expo 2020 Dubai (Dubai, UAE), Karim Ibrahim, CEO of Robocom (UAE), Omar Aldhaheri, Head of Business Development in Abu Dhabi Film, Head of twofour54 Youth Council (Abu Dhabi, UAE), Firuz Mirzazada, Director of Dubai Creates (Dubai, UAE), Evgeniya Markova, Managing Director, Roskino, Arman Yakhin, Founder of Main Road Post studio, Alexander Zhuravsky, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Public Projects.

Creative industries products are now the fastest-growing sector of the economy — in the last 5-10 years they have become one of the most promising and attractive investment areas. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that Russia is participating in Expo 2020 in Dubai under the theme “Creative Mind: Driving the Future”.

Dr. Tarek Oliveira Shayya, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Director of General Office Expo 2020 Dubai has shared his thoughts on Russia’s participation in Expo 2020: “The creative and innovative economies are a core element of Expo 2020’s business program, and Russia — one of Expo’s 191 participating countries — is hosting an extensive calendar of events dedicated to business and culture across the six months of the event. I am honored to participate in Russian Creative Week, and looking forward to welcoming the brightest, most creative minds from Russia and the rest of the world to Expo 2020 — a global launchpad for exchanging inspiring new ideas that will drive international cooperation and prosperity”.

A conference dedicated to Russia’s role in developing world culture that will discuss museum work, including private museums and galleries, intangible cultural heritage of Russia, new types of arts, technologies in the service of preserving cultural objects and digitalization in Russian culture will take place at the Dubai Expo center.

Culture is the most crucial milestone of Russian creativity and creative mind, known and respected all over the world. In the ever-changing modern world art industries are forced to adapt to the new forms. The speakers will gather to discuss the evolution of Russian culture, challenges faced by museums in the 21st century, and new development vectors for cinema and theatre industries.

The forum will be joined by the leading experts in the industry — Mikhail Piotrovsky — Director of Hermitage state museum, Azariy Plisetskiy — awarded ballet artist and choreographer, Fekla Tolstaya — TV anchor and great-granddaughter of the legendary Russian poet Leo Tolstoy and many other.

“Its like you are inside a toy matryoshka — a traditional Russian stacking doll”, — Sergei Tchoban.

Further detail on the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, comments from Pavilion architect Sergei Tchoban, as well as the latest news of the Pavilion’s business and cultural programme have been published in the leading Emirati newspaper The National.

In a signing ceremony staged at INNOPROM trade fair in Ekaterinburg on 6 July, Russian Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade — and Commissioner General of the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020 — Alexei Gruzdev signed a General Partnership agreement with Nazim Efendiev, General Director of Metalloinvest.

Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade, who was present at the signing, commented: “We always welcome the involvement of our businesses and enterprises in international exhibitions, and the signing of this agreement is an important step in the realisation of a high quality and rich business programme in the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020”.

Nazim Efendiev added: “Our participation in Expo 2020, as General Partner of the Russian Pavilion, will launch a series of projects and initiatives within the framework of the Pavilion’s business programme. The staging of such an exhibition in the UAE — one of world’s fastest growing innovation hubs — was the key driver for our partnership with Expo. More than a decade ago, Metalloinvest became the first Russian company to invest in the diversification of the UAE economy by launching the Hamriyah Steel production plant.”

Expo 2020 Dubai is only 100 days away from welcoming the world in one place — six months of world class innovation, thrilling entertainment, unforgettable experiences and much more, from 1 Oct 2021 until 31 March 2022!

Expo 2020 in Dubai will see a dedicated Women’s Pavilion for the very first time in World Expo history. Designed and created in partnership with luxury jewellery house Cartier, the pavilion will host a line-up of events, workshops and discussions that will raise awareness of women’s issues and highlight the role of women in today’s society.

More good news from St. Petersburg International Economic Forum: a meeting was held between Sergei Gorkov, Chairman of the Russia-UAE Business Council, and Dr Tarek Oliveira Shayya, Executive Vice Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors of Expo 2020. Russia-UAE Business Council signs up as Partner of the business programme of the Russian Pavilion.

It was announced today at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that the Art, Science and Sport Charity Foundation — established by Russian entrepreneur and patron of the arts, Alisher Usmanov — will come on board as Partner of the Russian Pavilion’s cultural programme at Expo 2020 in Dubai. The Partnership Agreement was signed, in a special ceremony at SPIEF in the presence of Russian Minister for Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, by Alexei Gruzdev, Deputy Minister and Commissioner General of the Russian Pavilion at Expo and Fatima Mukhomedzhan, Director of the Art, Science and Sport Charitable Foundation.

There were some very special guests at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 3 June: none other than UAE Minister for International Relations and Director General of Expo 2020 Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy and Russian Minister for Industry and Trade, Denis Maturov. Continuing Expo 2020’s high profile at SPIEF this year, these two ministerial guests took part in the panel session “World Expo: international cooperation as a driver of sustainable global development”.

Business panel session at SPIEF in the framework of Russia’s participation in Expo 2020.

In the run up to Russia’s participation in Expo 2020 — which kicks off in Dubai in October 2021- the Russian Expo team were excited take part in a special round table panel session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 2 June to ask the question “Is Russia competitive in the creative industries sector?” Panellists in the session included Tarek Oliveira Shayya, Executive Vice Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors of Expo 2020 and Alexey Sanchenko, Director of Partnerships for the Russian Pavilion. The session also featured founder of Russia Creates, Sergei Kolushev; co-founder and CEO of Yummy United, Oleg Beriev; Director of Strategic Partnerships at Abu Dhabi’s creative industries hub TwoFour54, James Hartt; Head of Gaming and eSports at TwoFour54, Sultan Mohammed Al-Riyami; CEO of Riki Group, Mark Zavadskiy; and Editorial Director, Forbes Russia, Nikolai Uskov. Our expert panellists discussed how local creative talent can be upscaled and exported to compete in the global market, how to avoid losing out in the battle for market share, and ultimately, how to make ingenuity and creativity — which comes naturally for Russians — the foundation of prosperity and a strong economy.

Russia has become the first to announce its intention to host World Expo 2030 in Moscow by submitting a letter of candidature to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) on the 29th April. According to the BIE, Russia has been the only country to apply for the bid so far, however, other candidates can still submit their applications by the 29th October 2021.

As stated in the article published on the official website of Bureau International des Expositions, “the letter from the Prime Minister of Russia, Mikhail Mishustin, was handed to the Secretary General of the BIE, Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, by the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Aleksey Gruzdev, and the Ambassador of Russia to France, Aleksey Mechkov.”

After the application period, the BIE will carefully assess “a detailed candidature dossier” of each country. Following “the project examination phase” an election will be held with participance of 169 Member States of the BIE who will decide which candidate will host Expo 2030.

If Russia wins the bidding, Expo 2030 will take place in Moscow between the 27th April and the 27th October 2030. The country has already announced the theme which will be embodied in the concept of Expo 2030 — “Human Progress. Shared vision for the World of Harmony”.

In the article special attention was paid to the country’s valuable contribution to the work of the BIE and World Expos in particular: “Russia is an active and engaged Member State of the BIE and participates regularly in World and Specialised Expos. Its participation has been rewarded on several occasions including at World Expo 2010 Shanghai and World Expo 2015 Milan.”

A projection of Yuri Gagarin’s image, a soviet astronaut, who became the first human to accomplish a successful journey into outer space on April 12, 1961, was displayed on one of the most iconic symbols of Dubai to mark the occasion of the Cosmonautics day which is yearly celebrated in Russia on April 12

Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and General Commissioner of the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020 gave a welcome speech at the official presentation of the Russian Pavilion which took place in Dubai on April 8:

“We believe that ‘Creative Mind: Driving the Future’, the theme of Russia’s participation in Expo 2020, is a reflection of the times and the world we currently live in”, stated Alexey Gruzdev. “We are working on a diverse programme of business and cultural events for Expo 2020 in Dubai, which will not only open the theme but will also give millions of visitors a chance to discover Russia’s latest achievements in manufacturing, science, technology and art”.

On March 30, Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation held the first meeting of the Organizing Committee responsible for Moscow’s bid to host Expo 2030 During the meeting the members of the committee discussed future plans for the bid campaign and identified the key objectives that should become a primary focus of attention for the work of the Organizing Committee, as well as considered potential themes of the exhibition that would reflect the relevant questions the World has to face today. The plans to apply for the right to host Expo 2030 in Moscow were revealed at the General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau, which took place on 1 December, 2020 On 8 April, 2021, in the framework of Russia Creates 2 forum in Dubai, the Organizing Committee is going to present Moscow’s bid to host Expo 2030 to the general public and the participants of the forum.

Following Expo 2020 Dubai “Global Challenges” thematic week Pavel Luksha, founder of the Global Education Futures, member of supervisory board of the University 20.35 — the first Russian university of professional development in digital economy and professor at SKOLKOVO School of Management, shares a video about what our future could look like in 2020s. Pavel Luksha is a member of the BRICS Skills Development Working Group (chaired in 2015) and co-author of the Rapid Foresight methodology used by thousands of futurists and practitioners in Russia and around the world. In his presentation “2020s: A Decisive Decade?” as part of Expo 2020 Dubai “Global Challenges” week Pavel Luksha discusses the possibility of 2020’s becoming the most hopeful, yet the most catastrophic decade in history. Why?

Watch the video!

The total amount of volunteer applications that have already been received by Expo 2020 exceeds the staff capacity of the global event by 5 times. However, as announced by Expo 2020 Organizing Committee, volunteer application process will remain open until the end of March 2021 30 volunteers are going to welcome guests from 180 countries and provide help to organizers of the exhibition for an overall period of six months. Individuals above 18 years old of any nationality, who are fluent in English and possess high communication skills are invited to participate in Expo 2020 volunteer programme.

Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russian Federation and General Commissioner of Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020 met with Mohammad Ahmad Al Jaber, the UAE Ambassador to Russian Federation. During the meeting the mutual relations between the two countries were discussed as well as opportunities to strengthen and broaden an alliance between Russia and UAE, which has already brought a significant progress to all public sectors.

On February 22, Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and Head of Organizing Committee of the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020, together with Sergey Chemezov, Managing Director of Rostec Corporation, and Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and General Commissioner of the Russian pavilion at Expo 2020, visited Dubai. They were accompanied by Araz Agalarov, CEO of Crocus Group, Sergey Gorkov, Chairman of the Russian-Emirates Business Council, and Dmitry Mikhailov, Managing Director of a non-profit organization “National Exhibition Operator”. During the visit the delegation paid special attention to the process of construction of the Russian Pavilion. Denis Manturov had a meeting with H.E. Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of International Cooperation of the UAE and Head of the Organizing Committee of Expo 2020, and was later interviewed by Nikolay Uskov, Forbes Russia. A meeting between Alexey Gruzdev and Majif Saiv Al Ghurair, Head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was also held in the framework of the visit.

Let us show you how it went!

On February 22, Dubai hosted a meeting between Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and Head of the Organizing Committee of the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020, and H.E. Reem Al Hashimi, Head of the Organizing Committee at Expo 2020 and Minister for International Cooperation of the UAE. During the meeting they discussed how Russia’s preparation for the exhibition was going, the cultural and business programmes of the pavilion and other issues. Most notably, H.E. Reem Al Hashimi thanked Denis Manturov for Russia’s initiative in holding a festival dedicated to women, emphasizing its importance not only for the exhibition in general, but also for her as a woman.

The Commissioner General of the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai and Deputy Minister of Intustry and Trade of the Russian Federation Alexey Gruzdev congratulated the Expo 2020 team on embarking upon a new and important stage in preparation for World Expo.

Konstantin Trofimenko, Managing Director of Centre for Research of Urban Transport Problems and Institute for Transport Economics and Transport Policy Studies at HSE University, joined the Urban & Rural Development week at @Expo2020Dubai and shared his views on one of the key themes of this week — urbanism. Virtual sessions are organized by @Expo2020Dubai team on a regular basis and bring together experts from different countries to discuss the most important and actual questions today.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare 2021 the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. According to the resolution, the international community should support developing countries in their effort to increase their presence in creative economy and to encourage development of creative industries. Moreover, the resolution recognizes the important role of the creative economy in boosting employment and actively supporting the start-up culture, small and medium-sized enterprises and also in fighting hunger and poverty.

With a special focus on the creative industry and projects which have been successfully implemented inside the industry by Russian companies that are willing to share their experience, a large number of events are going to be organised both online and offline by the team of the Russian Pavilion in the framework of Expo 2020 in Dubai, UAE.

The Skolkovo Innovation Center will demonstrate Russian technological achievements at Expo 2020.

Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation: We attend all the largest Forums in the world, so Expo 2020 in Dubai is a great chance to introduce our new projects and recent developments. We’ve got «success stories» and would like to share them with the world. I believe that the Russian Pavillion will be the most interesting and will probably be among the leaders at Expo 2020. We will present virtual and augmented reality technologies and robotic components as we usually do. We are planning to introduce new developments based on new technologies in such areas as ecology, healthcare, health food and education. We are going to talk about these innovative projects in simple words during seminars and forum discussions.

Alexey Gruzdev, Comissioner-General of the Russian Pavilion at World Expo 2020 and H.E. Reem Al-Hashimi, Managing Director for the Dubai World Expo 2020 met in Dubai.

On February 19, 2020 Alexey Gruzdev , Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and Comissioner-General of the Russian Pavilion at Expo 2020 and H.E. Reem Al-Hashimi , UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Managing Director for the Dubai World Expo 2020 held a meeting in Dubai to discuss the preparation status of Russia for World Expo 2020 as well as the prospects for cooperation between the UAE and the Russian Federation.

Russian Emirates Publishing House became the first official media partner of the Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

On February 18, 2020 the ceremony of signing a media partnership agreement in the framework of the Russia pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai was held in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and journalists.

Under the agreement, signed by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the General Commissioner of the Russia Pavilion at Expo 2020, Alexey Gruzdev and General Director of the Russian Emirates Publishing & Advertising Sergey Tokarev, publishing house will provide comprehensive media support to the Russia Pavilion, large-scale coverage of cultural, entertainment and business programs events, as well as develop and implement a special project on Russia’s participation at Expo 2020 in print and online media.

❝The Russian Emirates Publishing House❞ has been operating in the UAE media sphere for almost 20 years, and its media products are well-respected among our compatriots in the UAE and in business circles. We are confident in successful and fruitful cooperation with our new partner, said Alexey Gruzdev during the signing ceremony.

Russian Minister for Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov today laid a time capsule in the foundations of the Russian Pavilion at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai — a symbolic gesture to launch Russia’s participation in next year’s Expo. Emphasising the significance of Expo for Russia, Manturov said «For us, our Pavilion is not just an exhibition space. It is actually a physical way to show the connection of the modern, dynamic Russia of today with its rich past, with its historic and spiritual heritage. Our Pavilion will be a platform for buiness discussions, for the creation of new networks and connections and for the development of new ideas and cooperation».

Today the world was introduced to Latifa and her brother Rashid, their robot friends Alif, Opti and Terra, and Salama, the wise and powerful old Ghaf tree — the official mascots of Expo 2020. We look forward to Latifa and Rashid leading us on their adventures through the wonderful world of Expo, and getting to know this amazing global event through their eyes!