highland_russia

Russian Arctic Convoys

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:51:52 GMT

WORLD WAR II AND THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC CONVOYS WEEK 6th -11th of May 2013

On May the 9th over 40 veterans are finally to be presented with the Arctic Star medal from the government after years of campaigning.
For information on the events commemorating the Arctic Convoys please click on the link below.

http://www.russianarcticconvoymuseum.co.uk/wp/6th-11th-may-2013-wwii-the-arctic-convoys-week-at-loch-ewe/

Celebrating the anniversary of the first manned space flight.

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:02:45 GMT

Sat 13th April....2-4pm -

Ramada Encore Hotel,63 Academy St,Inverness IV1 1LU

Drop in session ( entry free )-Celebrating the anniversary of the first manned space flight.

A unique collection of photos from RIA Novosti depicting Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Learn about his place in history and pick up a few words in Russian at the same time.

Enquiries-contact Elena on 01667 456245

Programme of events celebrating the visit to Inverness of The Moscow Caledonian Club

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:28:22 GMT

Evening, Wednesday 6th March 2013 ,St Andrews Cathedral, Inverness, 7.30pm
An opera masterclass by Oksana Lesnichaya of the Bolshoi theatre, Moscow
Entry free, Donations to the Cathedral funds would be much appreciated

Evening, Thursday 7th March
Concert performed by Oksana Lesnichaya; soprano star of the Bolshoi Theatre!
Inverness Town House @ 7.30pm Tickets on sale at Eden Court £15

Oksana Lesnichaya

Afternoon, Friday 8th March
Inverness Town House @ 2pm-4.30pm Free Entry. An open afternoon event with members of The Moscow Caledonian Club including Oksana Lesnichaya, of the Bolshoi Theatre along with Inverness Provost Cllr Alex Graham and officials, followed by a lecture on “A Scottish Champion of Russian Culture, Joseph Macleod and the Russian Theatre ”, presented by Dr. Murray Frame of the University of Dundee. The event also includes a lecture on the Scottish impact on Russian History presented by both Dr Dmitry Fedosov, Institute of General History, Russian Academy of Sciences and Professor Paul Dukes of Aberdeen University. The second half of this event will include a short performance by Oksana Lesnichaya and will be followed by traditional Scottish music and Gaelic singing demonstrated by local performers.

Evening, Friday 8th of March
Family Ceilidh with Russian guests at The Royal British Legion,Nairn 8.00 - 11 p.m. Tickets at the door

For enquiries relating to the above events please contact Elena Reid of the Highland-Russia Connection Charity (Reg No SC040352) on 01667 456245

This project has been supported by the Inverness Common Good Fund.

Maslenitsa Festival in London 2013

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:25:10 GMT

Our Highland-Russian dance performance group, comprised of children from Nairn, have been invited to perform at the annual Russian spring festival in Trafalgar Square, London in March 2013 (you can check it out at www.maslenitsa.co.uk ). This is an event that takes place in cities all around Russia and has has been given the go ahead in London for the third year running by Mayor Boris Johnson. The organisers of the festival have invited us to perform some Scottish songs sung in Russian, play bagpipes and fiddle and perform Highland & Russian dancing in front of an estimated audience of 5000+ people and as we are the only participants to be invited from Scotland I think that this would be a great experience for us all. As you can imagine this trip is going to cost a considerable amount of money therefore we have arranged a series of fundraising events. Please see the list below for details.
1. Saturday 17th Nov. Sponsored walk through Culbin Forest.
2. Friday the 30th of November (St Andrew's Night ,as Saint Andrew is the patron saint of both Scotland and Russia) . We have arranged a quiz night to be held in Uncle Bob’s bar,Nairn. If anyone wishes to take part in the quiz please come along at 7.30, £5 per team of 4
3. Mon 10th Dec at Sainsbury‘s, 4-7pm, a Music and dance performance by the children; bag-packing by the parents.
4.Tues 11th Dec, at Sainsbury’s, 4-7pm, we have arranged for a ’Santa’ to appear in the store, with children assisting him.

The Russian Arctic Convoys

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 21:07:40 GMT

The 4th of October in the Nairn Community Centre at 7.30pm

Come and meet a veteran of the Convoys Bill Shand, hear his experiences and watch a short film containing excerpts from the memoirs of convoy
veteran Leonard H Thomas.

.

Forest Pitch Project

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:59:25 GMT

Art and Sport come together for a remarkable event.

On a single day this summer, on 25th August 2012 (new rescheduled date), two amateur football matches will take place in a Scottish forest, as part of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival. Forest Pitch by Craig Coulthard is a celebration of art and sport that revives the original spirit of the modern Olympics.

A member of our charity is taking part in the project. For more details, please see the Forest Pitch website.

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:47:02 GMT

Over the past two years, our charity has organised many successful exhibitions on Scottish Culture in Russia. These exhibitions included works by Scottish-based artists, a wall panel by the Inverness multicultural sewing group and a display on Scottish sport, that included a signed football donated by Celtic.

Before each exhibition, our charity ran an art competition for children and a Powerpoint Presentation competition for students, both on Scottish culture. Our charity presented the winners with certificates and prizes.

Thousands of Russian people attended our exhibitions and had the opportunity to learn about Scottish culture. These exhibitions included:

1. Novokuznetsk Art Museum - Jan 2011
2. Mariinsk Museum - April 2011
3. Belovo Museum- October/November 2011
4. Anzhero-Sudzhensk Museum - November/December 2011
5. Beryozovsky Museum December 2011/January 2012
6. Yekaterinburg (Robert Burns and Vladimir Vysotsky Festival) - January 2012
7. Novokuznetsk 11th Festival of Song 'Vysotsky in Novokuznetsk' - February 2012*
8. Kemerovo State University of Culture and Art 'Days of Scottish Culture' Exhibition - May to September 2012
9. Novosibirsk Museum - October 2012

*This exhibition only included paintings on Vladimir Vysotsky songs, by Vicky Stonebridge.

Russian New Year celebrations

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:46:41 GMT

some children who attend Russian language sessions, celebrating New Year on the 7th January 2012, with ‘Ded Moroz’ (Father Frost) and the ‘Snegurochka’ (Snow Maiden.) Our charity's Russian language sessions for children run on Saturdays at the Multicultural Centre in Inverness. For enrolment and all enquiries, please contact Elena Reid on 01667456245 or elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk.

Family event to celebrate the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight.

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:34:12 GMT

On Saturday 14th of April from 2 until 4pm, the Multicultural Centre, 1 Ardconnel Terrace, Inverness, we are hosting a family event to celebrate the 51st anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight. For bookings and enquiries, please contact 01667456245.or elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk.

Space conference

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:42:29 GMT

~~The Highland - Russia connection is proposing to host a Space conference in Nairn October 2012 celebrating the 55^th anniversary of the launch of~~

~~Sputnik.~~

~~The proposal is to invite a number of Russian Cosmonauts over to the area.~~

~~If you, or your company, would be interested in sponsoring or would like to be involved in such a unique event please contact the charity chairperson~~

~~Elena Reid on 01667 456245~~

~~or at~~

~~elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk~~

Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, the Space Conference will not be able to go ahead.

The Russian music, song and dance competition.

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:21:47 GMT

The winners of the Russian music, song and dance competition, which was part of Nairn Book and Arts Festival.

The first three prizes of £100, £70 and £50 from Russkiy Mir Foundation were won by:

1st prize - 8-year old Hattie McGregor from Rosemarkie who played "Toccatina" by Dmitri Kabalevsky

2nd prize - 15-year old Toria Laidlaw from Cawdor who played Rachmaninov's "Melody in E"

3rd prize - 10-year old Mollie McGregor from Rosemarkie who played "The Nightingale" by Alexander Alabiev.

Judges Susan Airey, Hester du Plessis, John Matheson pictured with some of the competition contestants and Elena Reid, organiser of the competition.

There was a great variety of acts on the programme. You can see some of them below. Our charity also presented everyone with certificates and prizes. The Nairn Book and Arts Festival representative congratulated us on the successful event.

Russian Arctic Convoys Memorial Service

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:16:20 GMT

HRH Prince Michael of Kent pictured with Jock Dempster, Chairman of the Russian Arctic Convoys Association and the Russian Consul General, Sergey Krutikov;

HRH Prince Michael of Kent at the Russian Arctic Convoys Memorial Service at Loch Ewe on 20th August 2011 conversing in Russian with Elizabeth and Anna Reid;

Elena, Martin, Elizabeth and Anna Reid welcoming HRH Prince Michael of Kent, veterans and guests in the traditional Russian manner with bread and salt.

Russian Arctic Convoy Museum Group

Wester Ross

Scotland

Helping our Fundraising Appeal is easy!

Donate online: http://www.justgiving.com/

russianarcticconvoymuseum/donate

Donate by text: text to 70070 with message RACM11 and the amount you wish to donate

'Reactions to Vysotsky' Exhibition

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:29:57 GMT

An exhibition of paintings by Vicky Stonebridge and John Mikietyn, and a ceramic sculpture by Allison Weightman, opened at the Scotland Russia Forum’s Edinburgh premises on 12th August.

The weeklong exhibition accompanied music by Scottish singer and translator, Tommy Beavitt, whose long-term project to interpret and perform the work of the Russian Bard,Vladimir Vysotsky (1938-1980), in English and Russian, has been an inspiration for the work displayed. The exhibition presented audio recordings of Vysotsky songs in Russian and English alongside the artworks, which illustrate or otherwise respond to the strong themes of faith, conflict and individual freedom, brought to life in Vysotsky’s material.

On the 19th of August the exhibition moved North to the Inchmore Gallery near Inverness, Opening again with an evenings recital of Vysotsky songs.

The art work by Vicky Stonebridge can be seen on her Website here.

World Space week- Presentation in Nairn & AGM

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:14:07 GMT

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

07.30 p.m. Nairn Community and Arts Centre IV12 4BQ

RIA Novosti powerpoint presentation and photo display on Yuri Gagarin's life to coincide with the UN declared World Space Week and photographs on Yuri Gagarin's life kindly provided by RIA Novosti - photographs of Yuri Gagarin etc can be purchased by emailing photos@novosti.co.uk.

There will also be Gagarin Powerpoint slideshow by American Space Historian, Joseph Felice which was featured at the Y.A. Gagarin Museum in Smolensk, Russia in March 2010.

This will be followed by The Highland-Russia Connection Charity's AGM. Contact STEM Ambassador, Elena Reid, on 01667456245

Yuri Gagarin's space flight and visit to Britain - 50th anniversary celebrations

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:31:22 GMT

Fundraising event at the Multi Cultural Centre,1 Ardconnel Terrace,Inverness

Saturday 9th of July 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm

Event for children - talk on space exploration and Yuri Gagarin's life, games, arts and crafts

Celebrating Yuri Gagarin's first manned spaceflight and his visit to Britain

Spaces are limited so booking is essential

For bookings and details please contact Elena Reid on 01667 456245 or email elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk

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Fundraising event at the Multi Cultural Centre,1 Ardconnel Terrace, Inverness

Tuesday 12th of July 7pm-9pm

PowerPoint presentations celebrating the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first manned space flight and visit to Britain.
1.Yuri Gagarin – First Human in Space.
Dr Ken MacTaggart will speak about Gagarin’s famous 108-minute flight around the world, and the background to Russia’s momentous achievement.
2. Powerpoint presentation and photographs on Yuri Gagarin's life kindly provided by RIA Novosti - photographs of Yuri Gagarin etc can be purchased by emailing photos@novosti.co.uk

3. Gagarin Powerpoint slideshow by American Space Historian, Joseph Felice which was featured at the Y.A. Gagarin Museum in Smolensk, Russia in March 2010.

4. Slide show from celebrations around the world provided by www.yurisnight.net

Entry by donation at the door.

For more information and details of event please contact Elena Reid on 01667 456245 or email elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk

Russian music, song and dance competition

Fri, 13 May 2011 08:43:03 GMT

Russian music, song and dance competition as part of the Nairn Book and Arts Festival. Nairn Community Centre. Saturday 3rd September 2011. 10.00 a.m.

The competition, which is open to all ages, is being organised by The Highland-Russia Connection Charity and is supported by Russkiy Mir Foundation www.russkiymir.ru and Nairn Book and Arts Festival www.nairnfestival.co.uk Prizes of £100, £70, £50 and matryoshka dolls are provided by Russkiy Mir Foundation Moscow. Participants who enter for the music section will be able to play on a grand piano which many great musicians from around the world have played on. For all enquiries, and an application form, please telephone 01667 456245 or email elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk

Successful celebration in Nairn of 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 19:53:34 GMT

The events at Nairn to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight as part of world wide celebrations which included a family event at Nairn links on April 12th followed by a talk and film in the evening was a great success.Many thanks for support to The Robertson trust, Clydesdale Bank,The Highland Council, Financial Times, ghrl, Artist Vicky Stonebridge, Paul Jenkins, Sky at Night Magazine.

The Man In Space special edition of “Sky at Night Magazine” covers the entire span of mankind’s five decades beyond Earth, from the earliest trials to the present and future of spaceflight and contains some rarely seen photos of early Soviet technology.

It has an introduction by Sir Patrick Moore, presenter of The Sky at Night on BBC TV. Sir Patrick is the only living person to have met the first airmen - the Wright Brothers, the first spaceman - Yuri Gagarin and the first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong.

This is a great keepsake for everyone who is interested in space exploration.

Available from selected branches of WH Smith or direct from www.skyatnightmagazine.com/maninspace

further details of Programme of events 2011

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:54:32 GMT

Lectures by Dr Dmitry Fedosov from the Moscow Institute of General History, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Tuesday 5th April at Aberdeen University,

Thursday 7th April at Inverness College 6.00 p.m.

Saturday 9th April at Nairn Community Centre at 10.00 a.m.

Prof Paul Dukes of Aberdeen University and Dr Dmitry Fedosov of the Institute of General History, Russian Academy of Sciences, pictured at Aberdeen University at the book launch of the second volume of the Diary of Patrick Gordon, Chief Adviser to Peter the Great, edited by Dr Fedosov. This event was sponsored by Russkiy Mir Foundation

The lectures are FREE so if you are interested in history please come and bring your friends. Any enquiries, please phone 01667 456245.

In June there will be some free Russian language lessons in schools. If you are interested, please contact the number given above.

3rd September 2011 10.00 a.m. Nairn Community Centre - Talent Show as part of the Nairn Book and Arts Festival. If you can play Russian music, sing a Russian song or perform a Russian dance, please make contact as soon as possible for an application form.

10th September 2011 Day of Russian Culture 12.00 - 3.00 p.m. Nairn Community Centre -Free Entry

12.00 noon - 1.00 p.m. Russian language lessons. Display of books by Russian authors and on Scottish-Russian connections.

1.00 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. Russian dance lessons (come and try some Russian dance, musical instruments and costumes).

2.00 p.m. - 3.00 p.m. Art and Craft sessions.

Saturday 10 September, 7.00 - 10.00 p.m.
Nairn Community Centre
Family Ceildih with the Andy Ross Ceilidh Band

Andrew Ross Accordion, Derek Ritchie, Banjo etc, also Russian music and dancing.
Entry: Children free, Adults £2. Thanks to Russkiy Mir Foundation, Moscow for its support.

Celebration of 50 year anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:04:57 GMT

Our charity is planning to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s space flight on 12 April. Our charity has joined the "Yuri's Night" network which is having celebrations in major cities throughout the world, including St Petersburg, New York, London. We are the only member of the network in the Highlands and the only one of two in Scotland to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight.

At 12 noon The Nairn Links Family Event "Rockets for Yuri" will be held. please come and launch a toy rocket to celebrate this special occasion. This event will be opened by a piper, Donald Mackenzie, who was among those who played at the Moscow Highland Games in 1997. The Moscow Games were organised with the help of people from the Nairn and Dufftown communities.

Later on we will be showing a film which has been produced especially for this occasion by the “YuriGagarin50” www.yurigagarin50.org organisation. The screening will be at The Little Theatre in Nairn from 19.00 and we hope to have a talk by an astronomer in the open air following this.

Of course, as well as putting the first man into space, the Russians experimented with launching animals into space, and particularly dogs. Paul Jenkins of the Highlands Astronomical Society will add to the evening's entertainment by giving a short presentation on the Russians' early experiments of launching animals in order to see if they would survive the experience. If it is a fine, clear night, we will take a walk to Nairn Links where people will have the opportunity to hear Paul Jenkin's short talk on the stars.

The Little Theatre Venue has seating for only 70 people so be sure to book in advance for this unique event. Tickets £7.00 available at Pat Fraser 41 High Street Nairn 01667 453038. contact Elena on 01667 456245 or email elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk

Project for 2011 “Russian Connections” supported by “Russkiy Mir” foundation, Moscow, Russia.

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:30:40 GMT

The charity has funding for this project from a Russian government foundation, “Russkiy Mir”, which supports the promotion of the Russian language and culture throughout the world. The project will run from February to October and will include the following events.

Free school concerts by Tommy Beavitt in February. Tommy Beavitt is a professional musician based in Bonar Bridge. Tommy’s passion is singing Robbie Burns songs in Scots and Russian and Vladimir Vysotsky's songs (both poets share the same birthday. Tommy speaks a few languages including Russian, French, German and Italian.

As most schools have a world awareness day or international week in June, we will give free Russian language lessons and information about Russia any day during that month by arrangement.

We are thinking of holding a talent competition, hopefully in October, we are planning to produce some leaflets in a few weeks time with an entry form for those who would be able to play a Russian song or dance tune for the competition. To request a form, email elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk

We are arranging for a Russian Doctor of History, Dmitry Fedosov to come to the area at the beginning of April and he will be giving a series of lectures on Scottish-Russian historical connections at UHI (Dornoch Campus) and at Aberdeen University and in Nairn.

We are planning a ceilidh and a day of Russian culture in September. Everyone is welcome to attend and try on Russian costumes, try some Russian dancing and musical instruments and attend Russian language and art and craft sessions.

Dates to be confirmed for the events above. If you have any queries email elena.k.reid@homecall.co.uk

8th January 2011 Opening of Exhibition in City of Novokuznetsk, Siberia, Russia

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:52:55 GMT

The exhibition on Scottish culture has artwork by Scottish artists and a wall panel specially produced by Common Threads Sewing Group of Inverness.

(a quilted panel handstiched by the common threads group from Inverness. The Common Threads group is a multicultural group based in the town made up of women from many cultures. In the glass case below the panel shows work from artists Vicky Stonebridge,Gwen Black and Jude Walton.)

Our charity also ran an art competion of Scottish-Russian connections. Around 100 children took part in our competition in Novokuznetsk and we presented the winners with the charity's diplomas and presents and also with souvenirs provided by the Scottish Government.

(One of the winning posters designed by a child of Novokuznetsk)

We are grateful for the in-kind support from the Scottish Government (Fergus Ewing MSP), "Famous Grouse", Celtic Football Club, Rangers Football Club, Vicky Stonebridge (Artist - www.balnacra.com).

The main exhibits are 30 Matryoshka dolls, painted by 17 artists of different nationalities in Scotland during the 2007 Year of Highland Culture. Some of the artists are very well established in their profession and have already exhibited internationally. Most of these artists usually paint with oils but, as they had less than two weeks to complete this work, they had to use acrylic. It was a real challenge for the artists to paint these dolls.

The artists who participated are: John Byrne, Eugenia Vronskaya, Barbara Robertson, Chris Callum, Donna McGlynn, Helene Bost, Gwen Black, Avril Marr, Faye Cameron, Erika Adomaitiene, Frances Wilson, Anne Ross, Martin Reid, Helen Paterson, Svetlana Drown, Heather Wallace, Sheila Livingston.

The project was organised by the Chairperson of the Highland-Russia Connection Charity, Elena Reid (who is from Siberia), and was supported by Highland 2007.

( artwork and Matryoshka dolls painted especially for the exhibition by Vicky Stonebridge )

(Robbie Burns in a Soviet style by Martin Reid and below a picture by Robert Ross from Dingwall of Kiltearn churchyard in Easter Ross. )

The 11th Winter Folk Festival in the City of Beryozovsky, Kemerovo Region, Siberia, Russia

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:43:19 GMT

The Highland-Russia Connection Charity was invited to be a special guest at this festival on 6th January 2011. There were 25 Youth Folk Groups from across Siberia. The temperature was around minus 40C! We enjoyed the festival very much and received a very warm welcome from everyone, including the mayor of the city, Sergei Chernov, who we presented with a quaich and a letter from Highland Council, Nairn Ward. We managed to introduce people to Scotland through Highland dancing, chanter playing, a film on Scotland and the Scottish anthem, etc. If you would like to see a report on the event, please see the city's website: www.mgorod.info/print/754

"An Epic Russian Adventure" - Tuesday 26 October 2010

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:03:03 GMT

Highland artist and fire fighter, Vicky Stonebridge, will give an illustrated talk on her journey to Russia on Tuesday 26th October at 7.30 p.m. in St Columba's Church Hall, Nairn IV12 4AA. Lochcarron based Artist Vicky Stonebridge travelled with Gairloch artist Lynn Bennett-MacKenzie to the beautiful and historical town of Yelabuga, in Tatarstan, Russia this August. They had been invited to participate in the prestigious International Arts Symposium on the theme of Myths and Epics after the organisers had seen their work on the internet.

There they met and worked with 33 artists, photographers and photo journalists. The artists came from many Russian states from as far away as Yakutia in Siberia, also artists from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Egypt and India. Their Journey dramatically changed their art and attitudes. Come along and find out how. The talk will be followed by the Highland-Russia Connection Charity’s AGM.

Fundraising Concert at the Newton Hotel, Nairn 28 November 2010

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:10:45 GMT

An afternoon concert with talented local musicians and dancers. 3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the shop "Atmosphere", Nairn High Street. Cost: Adults £6.00, children £3.00. Enquiries regarding ticket sales to shop on 01667 451800, all other enquiries to Elena on 01667 456245.
The Newton Hotel is where Charlie Chaplin stayed on his visits to this area. Please come and enjoy yourself.

This event had to be postponed because of weather conditions. It is being rescheduled for March 2011.

(This shows some performers, including ballet dancers from the Susan Airey Ballet School, the Russian dancers and musicians Abigail Hay and Jasmine Taylor.)

Kids' Club 19 & 22 October 2010

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:58:22 GMT

The Kids' Club in Nairn, during the October holidays is suitable for primary school children and includes Russian language and Russian dance lessons and games. Possibility of additional dates. Advanced bookings only. Contact Elena on 01667 456245.