Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan and Russia have expanded cultural cooperation through educational workshops, museum exhibitions and musical events held in Tashkent and Bukhara in September and October 2026 as part of the international project “Russian Language: Reading, Listening, Watching”.
The programme brought together teachers, museum professionals, musicians, students and people interested in Russian culture. It was implemented with the support of Russia’s Ministry of Culture.
The project was organised by the Centre for Film Festivals and International Programmes, in cooperation with the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts, the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, KinoFocus and state educational and cultural institutions in Uzbekistan.
Events in Tashkent were held with the support of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, while the International Public Foundation Sharq Ayoli — Women of the East supported the programme in Bukhara.
Educational workshops in Tashkent focused on teaching methods and cultural exchange. Yelizaveta Khamrayeva, head of the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language Linguodidactics and Bilingualism at the Institute of Philology of Moscow State Pedagogical University (MPGU), and a doctor of pedagogical sciences and professor, led a masterclass titled “Psychology and Neurodidactics of Learning: How to Motivate Students to Learn Russian and Make the Most of a Lesson”.
At the Tashkent branch of Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Liliya Kovtun, an associate professor in the same department at MPGU and a candidate of cultural studies, delivered a session titled “Eastern Motifs in Russian Literature and Culture”. Participants highlighted the relevance of the subject, the academic depth of the presentation and its practical focus.
In Bukhara, the educational programme continued at ASMAN University, also known as Bukhara Innovation University. Anatoly Ustinov, a doctor of pedagogical sciences and professor at MPGU, conducted a masterclass on multimodal approaches to teaching Russian.
Teachers from schools where Uzbek is the language of instruction also took part in a specialised session at the Bukhara Regional Centre for Teacher Professional Development. The workshop examined expressive word-formation techniques in Russian-language teaching for non-native speakers and brought together teachers from Bukhara and the surrounding region.
Opening remarks were delivered by Bakhodir Akhmedov, a candidate of pedagogical sciences and associate professor in the centre's language-teaching methodology department, and Natalia Kytina, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Teaching Foreign Citizens of MPGU's Institute of Philology. Sayyora Atabayeva, representing the Women of the East foundation, served as the Uzbek co-organiser.
Museum cooperation was another important part of the project. The exhibition “Harmony of Knowledge”, drawn from the collection of the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, was presented at the Tashkent branch of Herzen State Pedagogical University and at ASMAN University in Bukhara. In Bukhara, the exhibition was introduced by Nadezhda Tsaryova, the museum's deputy director general for educational and public engagement.
In Tashkent, the State Museum of Applied Arts and the History of Craftsmanship of Uzbekistan hosted the exhibition “Russian Literature in Lacquer Miniatures”, featuring works from the collection of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts. The exhibition demonstrated how themes from Russian literature are represented in decorative and applied art.
The exhibition was presented by Tatyana Rybkina, director of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts. During the opening ceremony, the two museums signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation providing for professional exchanges, joint projects and the promotion of cultural heritage. The Uzbek museum also received a certificate confirming the donation of the exhibition.
“We are delighted that Uzbekistan, with its centuries-old traditions of preserving and developing decorative and applied arts, has become the first country, and the State Museum of Applied Arts and the History of Craftsmanship the first museum, with which we have signed a cooperation memorandum. It is a great honour for us,” Rybkina said.
Ismat Yusupov, director of the Uzbek museum, described the memorandum as an important step towards developing cultural dialogue between the two countries. He said the agreement would create additional opportunities for exchanging experience and improving museum practices.
The musical programme combined Russian classical music with Eastern poetic traditions. In Tashkent, the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan's Organ Hall hosted an evening titled “The Breath of the East”.
The programme featured musical and poetic compositions inspired by Eastern poets, arias from the operas “Turandot”, “Prince Igor” and “Sadko”, as well as romances by Russian composers.
Performers included Olga Zhigmitova, mezzo-soprano soloist at the Buryat State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and People's Artist of Buryatia; Ilya Khardikov, tenor and soloist with the Lyudmila Zykina State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble “Rossiya”; Sergey Semyonov, pianist and accompanist at Mosconcert and the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music; and actress Olga Sveshnikova, who performed literary readings.
In Bukhara, concerts titled “Melodies of the East” were held in the assembly hall of ASMAN University and at Music and Art School No. 1. The performers were mezzo-soprano Darya Klimenko, soprano Yekaterina Smolina, Olga Sveshnikova, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation Alexander Pokidchenko on piano, and Sergey Shitov on clarinet. Holding the concerts at educational institutions enabled students and pupils to attend the programme.
Tatyana Shumova, president of the Centre for Film Festivals and International Programmes, said cooperation with Uzbekistan had continued since 2018. Over that period, she said, the partners had established lasting professional and personal ties, and joint programmes had become part of cultural cooperation between the two countries.
“We know that friends who care deeply about Russian culture and its rich literary and musical heritage are waiting for us here. Every year, when we return to Uzbekistan with new projects, we try to develop programmes that will interest not only the older generation but also the country's young people,” Shumova said.
She also emphasised the organisers' attention to the selection of performers and teaching staff, as well as the content of the exhibition programmes.
The 2026 project was held in three stages. Events took place in Dushanbe in April, followed by educational and cultural programmes in Tashkent and Bukhara in September and October.
The project aims to strengthen interest in the Russian language, literature and arts, develop professional ties between educational and museum institutions, and expand cultural exchanges between Russia and Uzbekistan.
