July 07, 2022

A Failure to Perform


A Failure to Perform
No Gravity Dance Company performs air dance "Aria" at 2017 Platonov Art Festival. Platonov Arts Festival, VK.com

The annual International Platonov Arts Festival, in Voronezh, has been canceled this year in response to the country's cultural and political climate due to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Ilya Skripnikov, Acting Director of the festival, cited "current conditions" as the primary concern in his public announcement of the cancellation.

Originally, in April, the festival was just postponed, with regional officials saying it would be held in September instead of June. Now, Voronezh officials say they believe the decision to postpone the festival until 2023 will "maintain the international status, the richness of the program, and the high level of organization."

This year, Platonov's management will continue to work to find new talent and expand the cultural project. They will also "present a special event" in the fall.

Since 2011, the Platonov Festival has become one of Russia's most prominent festivals for art, theater, and music. More than half a million spectators have come from around the world to see its shows. Artists, actors, writers, and musicians from 10 cities in Russia, as well as Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Mongolia, Serbia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and South Africa were slated to perform at the 2022 festival.

In his announcement, Skripnikov invited the Voronezh audience back for the next cultural experience: "See you at the XII International Platonov Festival in 2023."

You Might Also Like

Culture Under Fire
  • March 13, 2022

Culture Under Fire

Five sites in Ukraine that are known for their cultural value and how they have been affected by the ongoing war.
Rapping for Peace
  • March 17, 2022

Rapping for Peace

Two of Russia's biggest rappers are taking a stance against the war in Ukraine.
All the Village Is a Stage
  • February 12, 2022

All the Village Is a Stage

Performance art, adventure, and psychedelia in a Russian village. What more could you want?
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955