In the heart of Eurasia, the largest youth forum on the planet has come to an end. The NEO author went to Yekaterinburg and heard what the festival’s participants from all over the world had to say.
The opening ceremony of the International Youth Festival. Rossiyskaya gazeta
World Youth City
The number of participants hosted by the IFY is truly awe-inspiring: 10,000 young people from 191 countries around the world. I manage to strike up a conversation with my first interlocutor on the bus on the way to the festival’s main venue, the Yekaterinburg-Expo International Exhibition Center. Usseni is from Niger. He graduated from Moscow State Regional University and now works at his country’s ministry of foreign affairs. At the festival, what he values especially are the opportunities to talk with his colleagues, i.e. diplomats and linguists from other countries (by the way, he admits he was struck by how extensively the study of foreign languages is developed in Russia) and to get acquainted with Russian culture.
“I also dream of seeing as many museums and other sights as possible,” he shares. I gladly advise him on which places in the Urals are worth visiting first. Moreover, Usseni learns a new Russian word from me: “African studies.” During our trip, our conversation glides to scientific, cultural-historical, political, and philosophical topics. Mindful of the recent events in Niger, which were covered in detail on the pages of NEO, I cannot help but ask about what is most pressing:
“I read that your country recently experienced a coup attempt. How is the situation now?”
“Everything is fine now. The African Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defense stopped it. Our president is very grateful to Russia and wants to expand relations.”
“Have the French been a nuisance?”
“Indeed. But we kicked them out! We remember their racist attitude toward us. Imagine, we still have descendants of mixed marriages with them trying to put themselves above others, even despite the fact that any inequality has been eliminated and is prohibited by the constitution.”
For some time we talk about international politics, and I tell my interlocutor that we Russians have generally come to understand that racism is being actively imposed on the Old Continent not only toward the inhabitants of colonies, former and current, but also toward other peoples in general. Usseni warmly agrees and launches into reflections on how, even after decolonization, cooperation with France essentially gave nothing for the development of Niger, its society, and its economy.
“But here in Russia,” he returns to local matters, “what I admire is that many different ethnic groups live in peace and mutual understanding…”
A few hours later, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an address to the festival guests, will say: “There is a peculiarity of the Russian language: the word “mir” means friendship, accord, and at the same time, “mir” means the planet, humanity, all the countries and peoples of the Earth. This explains a great deal about the character of the multiethnic people of Russia, about our decisions and actions. If we are friends, we are friends firmly and for a long time. If we live as neighbors, we want everything to be fair and with respect for one another. We stand for ensuring that a person remains a person, and that his fate is not determined by citizenship, by a wallet stuffed with money, by status or origin. We believe that every people is free to choose its own path of development, to have equal access to medicine, food, water, energy, the opportunity to receive an education, and to use the latest technologies, which should be the property of all humanity. This is what we strive for, what we fight for, what we dream about. If you share these aspirations, let us change the world together.”
…But now, I am giving my acquaintance a brief guided tour, on my own, of the fundamentals of the Russian Federation’s state national policy, while our bus cruises along the highway connecting Yekaterinburg with the airport, affectionately nicknamed “Rosselevka” by the people in honor of the legendary governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, E. E. Rossel, who did a great deal for the socioeconomic development of the region. Usseni, continuing to philosophize, barely manages to turn his head in all directions, after which he concludes: “Your infrastructure is amazing. I have taken part in many youth events abroad, even quite recently, for example, I was at a forum in Italy, but no one knows how to organize such events at such a high level as Russia.” Let us remember this thought, we shall return to a little later.
Having passed a line of buses bearing the words “I’m head to the World Youth City,” we approach the expo center, and here I find myself in a massive, seething, multiethnic, and multicultural sea of joyful faces, of every possible foreign language, of music, dance, and song, of rhymes and rhythms from all over the world. Right at the entrance, two young participants are rehearsing an energetic dance with rather exotic musical accompaniment. One of them turns out to be Moroccan, the other Nigerian. Both study in Dubai. Only the first has so far managed to visit Russia (Saint Petersburg), which left a deep impression on him. Everyone wants to find new friends among the thousands of participants, learn more about the country organizing the festival, and visit various Russian cities.
And here is yet another smiling group of a young man and three young women in beautiful national attire. They are all from different cities, Rabat, Casablanca, and Agadir, and have just met right at this place. All are students, in Russia for the first time. They invite me to Morocco, each talking over the other to tell me about the beauties of their country and its excellent cuisine, adding: “Moroccans are just as cheerful, friendly, and welcoming as Russians, so you will feel at home there!” On the move, we manage to exchange contacts (the young people have already started registering on the social network vk.ru, created in Russia and gaining popularity on a global scale), and then we hurry on.
Following the Moroccans, I meet thoughtful and purposeful young people from Angola. One is a student at Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University, the second is studying in China. I ask what their expectations are for the festival. The answers are logical: to see as much of interest as possible and to practice Russian. By the way, my interlocutors are already familiar with Russian culture as well:
“Who do you like most among Russian writers?”
“Lermontov and Dostoevsky.”
How to Make the World A Better Place
There is indeed a great deal of interest at the festival for each of the thousands of young people. The opening ceremony, in its scope and beauty, recalled the Olympic Games held in Russia, not only giving guests an idea of the host country but also expressing respect for the national culture of each participant. The images, songs, melodies, and symbols from that event will be remembered by the young people for a long time as a true celebration of pure, sincere emotions, art, traditions, and beauty.
But the packed program continues: over the course of the festival, participants manage to see the interactive exhibition “A Catastrophe of Memory. Neo-Nazism in the 21st Century,” crucial for understanding the current international situation; to get acquainted with the classics of Russian literature, performances by folk ensembles, traditional crafts, theater and film artists; to attend educational events on history, diplomacy, journalism, and art; concerts and creative meetings; master classes; dance floors (including, according the tradition of international youth festivals in Russia, a flash mob to the song “Prekrasnoye Dalyoko” – “Prekrasnoe Dalyoko”, OST “Back to the Future”, 1985); a “battle of robots”; a film program; educational seminars; design presentations; gastronomic tastings; to do sports together…there simply wouldn’t be enough time to list it all!
I also manage to exchange a few words with some of the guests of the cultural program. Schoolgirls from the Russian folk ensemble “Zvontsy” are very worried that “almost everyone here is an adult” and that they may not manage to find new friends. I reassure them that participants of all ages have gathered at the festival, and that literally every single person is set on active intercultural communication – or, in essence, on making new friends.
And here is a group from the theater for people with hearing impairments, “Ne do slov” (“Beyond Words”). The man leading it explains how the artists perform in sign language. It turns out that sign language also differs among the peoples of the world, and at the festival the theater presents its performances taking these peculiarities into account.
I meet many more interesting people here, and I want to fit as many of their stories as possible into the limited space of the article, because it is from these that the huge wave of intercultural communication is formed, for which events like this are important. I see a group from Laos. The people had been in Yekaterinburg on a business trip for their work, but they also wanted to come to the festival to see, to listen, to meet people, to take photos as a keepsake. “Even though we’re no longer young,” laughs a man in a business suit of about forty.
“What did you like here?” After conveying greetings to the friendly Asian country, I address the question to the businesslike Laotian and his colleagues, who are photographing themselves against the backdrop of the IFY symbols in distinctive Russian ushanka hats. “The people here, in Russia, are kind,” my interlocutor answers after thinking for a while. I will hear this characterization of the festival’s host country many more times; people of different cultures name it without any collusion, and this is probably the best compliment that exists in international humanitarian ties.
Another of my new acquaintances is Jeff, from Haiti. He is a graduate student at RANEPA and wants to write a dissertation on international relations, negotiations, and diplomacy. The festival turned out to be very substantive for him professionally, as he managed to talk with many young colleagues from other countries. Another Haitian guest, Roodne, is a blogger. At the IFY he is shooting videos and publishing them on his page, describing the events. “I realized that it is necessary for more people to learn about the festival and come to Russia, because it is not at all the way foreign media try to impose stereotypes about it,” he says with inspiration.
A shy young girl with a book pressed to her side is Thanh from Vietnam. She has enrolled at Ural Federal University, is studying Russian, and is trying to practice the language at the festival. When choosing a city for her studies, she liked Yekaterinburg more than Moscow and Petersburg for its more peaceful pace of life. I try to encourage her so she won’t be shy about speaking more, and advise her to watch Russian films and news programs, which will help her immerse herself more deeply in the language environment.
A lady with a tall, elaborate hairstyle turns out to be Sylvie from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Seychelles. “It’s not as cold here as I thought!” laughs the young diplomat. “And I also really like Russian cuisine! Though I think about what to add to the dishes to make them as spicy as ours! And in general (here her face becomes serious) Russia is not at all the way foreign media try to present it, and it looks completely different. I really like it here!” For her, the festival is “many, many acquaintances and international contacts.” “We discuss how to make the world better, and we discuss it on the basis of trust,” Sylvie shares.
I approach a cheerful flock of young schoolchildren. They turn out to have come from Abkhazia. To my question “How’s the mood?” the most lively girl, with a smile from ear to ear, reports briskly: “Excellent!” Despite their young age, the guests not only do not tire from the colossal number of events, but are also interested in the most complex topics. The most curious thing for them at the festival, as they admit, is the discussion of the global problems of our time.
A little older than my Abkhaz acquaintances is a girl from Peru named Aime. She doesn’t speak English, but she becomes childishly delighted by my recollections of the Spanish I once studied, as well as at the sight of my old but sturdy wallet from Soviet times, skillfully crafted, imported into the Union from a friendly Latin American country and bought by my parents, with the image of a llama chewing grass and the inscription “Peru” against the backdrop of a life-affirming radiant sun disc. “Next year I’ll be applying to university,” my young interlocutor boasts, as if trying to seem more grown-up and outpace time. In Russia, she likes the landscapes most of all and …the sky. And moreover, Aime reasons, “Russia is very different from Peru in having much more orderly cities. There’s no chaos here, everything is very well organized. In our country, big cities look completely different …”
There are many more schoolchildren at the IFY. There’s a boy with the flag of Cyprus, a group from Venezuela, and nearby I see girls with the flags of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
“Girls, how do you like the festival?”
“(In chorus) Awesome!!! We came through the Russian Center for Science and Culture (with pride). There were 600,000 applications, and we passed the selection!”
A while later I cross paths with the inquisitive Niswah from Indonesia. She tells me what inspiration she feels here and how kind the Russian people turned out to be. “And what should I try first from traditional Russian food?” the Indonesian woman asks. I advise my interlocutor to begin her acquaintance with our cuisine with a good porridge and soup.
Two young men in Kyrgyz national headwear are hungrily devouring ice cream.
“How do you like our ice cream?”
“Veeery tasty!”
One works at a museum, the other teaches at a college. They liked the festival not only for its program and atmosphere, but also because they met “many fellow countrymen” and established new professional contacts in the fields of history and culture.
Blogger Fatoumata is from Mali. She doesn’t speak English, but in French, she manages to tell how, for the first time in her life, she spent 29 hours traveling by train from Moscow to Yekaterinburg, got tired, but how it was all worth it. For her the festival is a true celebration, and she finds it amazing that she was able to talk here with people from other African countries whom, while being on her own continent, she cannot reach. Now she is trying to shoot as many videos as possible in Yekaterinburg in order to tell everyone about the IFY and Russia.
I approach a spontaneously formed international circle of interest. Here, young people have gathered, all passionate about dancing. Their geography encompasses the USA, Great Britain, Thailand, and the Philippines. For all of them it is their first time in Russia, and their impressions are simply incredible. They are especially inspired by Russian art. Previously, only the young men from the USA had been to St. Petersburg and had seen the Anna Karenina and Le Corsaire ballets there.
In this sea of people I also meet a young woman, a diplomat from Palestine named Faten. We discuss the international information agenda, I tell Faten about our magazine, and we exchange business cards. At the festival she has a professional interest: she wants to learn everything about Russia’s view of international processes.
Well, at the IFY there are more than enough such opportunities. Genuine ovations here were earned by the speeches of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. The participants were also delighted by the well-known RT channel host Rick Sanchez. Another of the most memorable speeches came from the grandson of Charles de Gaulle, Pierre, who, being at the IFY as a guest, spoke about the problem of the distortion of history in the European education system, called on his compatriots to visit the real Russia, and stated that other countries need to consider Russia an example, a civilization-state.
Closing ceremony of the International Youth Festival. RIA Novosti
On September 16, the expo center hosted a colorful and sad closing ceremony, as at the Olympic Games. It was conducted by ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze and film actress Nika Zdorik. Again there were beloved melodies and dance rhythms, presentations of impressions from guests from different countries, an address from Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station, performances by the Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the great Yuri Bashmet, the choir of the Sretensky Monastery, and many, many others …Young people sung “Kalinka,” “Podmoskovnye Vechera,” and other compositions known throughout the world, cried because the festival is ending, and exchanged as keepsakes little cute figurines of the universal favorite, the hero of Soviet and Russian cartoons – Cheburashka. Seeing at their emotions, one understands that knowing or not knowing foreign languages is not the main thing here. The main thing is mutual understanding on some other level; understanding on the level of youth, of the thirst for life, of interest in everything around them, of being charged with the desire for knowledge, of glances and smiles.
The Measure for Smiles
Returning from the festival, I could finally formulate for myself an answer to a question that sincerely troubles many, including me: is it advisable for Russia, occupied with repelling multifaceted external aggression, to hold such a large-scale international youth celebration? It turns out that if our state can afford it and demonstrate to friendly guests the highest standards of hospitality and security, then unequivocally, yes. Because, however unexpected it may sound – here let us recall Usseni’s thought – the international situation is such that today no one but us will do this. Have you heard of any world youth forums where someone other than Russia (and also the formats of humanitarian exchanges it has initiated together with the BRICS and SCO countries) organizes truly large-scale educational cultural events for young people? Not seminars where young people’s brains are stuffed with all sorts of nonsense about imposing “democracy,” protecting the rights of minorities to the detriment of the majority, destroying the sovereignty and unity of nations, imposing that vision of the philosophy of international relations and life that is preached by very specific institutions of globalists, neocolonialists, and transnational corporations. Not film festivals whose program and announcements of selected films cannot be read without triggering disgust and one’s gag reflex. Not pseudo-educational programs or summer pseudo-cultural language camps where a person’s consciousness is imperceptibly and completely rewired, sparing no psychological techniques, and instead of a normal young specialist or child, what returns from there is a traitor sick with alien attitudes and hating their own country, culture, and history. But normal youth exchanges in the form in which they are conceived in international humanitarian cooperation?
No, because the aforementioned categories of pro-Western international political-financial and business circles have no need at all for the world’s youth to engage in education, science, cognition, to become acquainted with culture and art, to simply communicate intellectually and in a friendly way among themselves without intermediaries. For a large number of political and financial forces on the Western side of the world order, it is far simpler and more convenient to drive a person back into a state as close as possible to that of an animal, artificially limiting their horizons and needs exclusively to the level of livestock, while at the same time using pseudo-culture to impose various perversions, and a distorted view of the world through controlled media.
Paradoxically, only societies that have preserved traditional ideals and values, concepts of morality, peace, and friendship among peoples (mainly of the Global East and Global South) strive for normal human-to-human communication on a global scale. This is hampered by conflicts, economic problems, and a lack of funds. Cultural events for young people do exist, but more often at the regional or subregional level. For example, the aforementioned Moroccans invited me to an annual festival for North Africa in their country, however there are simply no analogues as large-scale, numerous, and universally accessible compared to the initiatives of Russia, as well as BRICS and the SCO.
…On the way back on the festival bus, I heard behind me how two participants continued to enthusiastically discuss artificial intelligence. It can be said with confidence that the IFY was a success. Politicians and journalists like to try to measure economic forums in contracts and memorandums, but here the effectiveness is intangible, yet no less evident. An interest in knowledge, in science, tens of thousands of new educational and cultural contacts, millions of smiles – their value cannot be counted in any traditional measure. It can only be understood by seeing it with one’s own eyes and feeling this pure and sincere young impulse, this spirit of friendship, mutual interest, and respect for one another, this energy of the “movement for a dream,” which the festival participants, one would think, will keep for their whole lives.
Ksenia Muratshina, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Culture Editor of “New Eastern Outlook”
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