Published on: 2026-09-26
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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Within the framework of the XII St. Petersburg International Forum of United Cultures, a session was held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Forum of United Cultures, Tatyana Golikova. The session was moderated by TASS General Director Andrey Kondrashov.
As Tatiana Golikova noted, culture is a universal tool capable of establishing dialogue; it reveals the best qualities in people by conveying the values laid down by ancestors.
“One of the key issues concerning everyone is the preservation of cultural heritage. We do not merely receive it as a ‘gift’ from previous generations; we discover and create it ourselves. It is a strategic resource for the development of territories, social stability, the formation of civic identity, and the preservation of cultural sovereignty. Cultural heritage must not only be preserved but also made maximally accessible to citizens, turning it into an element not only of culture but also of education, tourism, creative industries, and IT technologies. An important aspect here is the partnership between the state, science, business, and society. In our country, this topic receives special attention,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
By order of the head of state, a program for the preservation of the cultural heritage sites of the peoples of Russia until 2045 has been approved. The task is to bring another 2,000 cultural heritage sites into satisfactory condition and involve them in use with the attraction of extrabudgetary investments. For this purpose, an electronic catalog of the relevant sites has been created, and a mechanism for preferential lending and investor support at all stages has been provided.
Museums play a special role in preserving cultural heritage.
“This is not just a ‘repository of valuable works of art’ – it is a way for culture to exist through time. Today, issues of expanding international cooperation are being discussed, since museums are the keepers of memory not of a single country, but of the entire world. On the current agenda is digitization – not as a trend, but as a tool necessary for passing the cultural code to future generations in their language, but without losing authenticity,” noted Tatyana Golikova.
Just last year, more than 160 such museums were modernized and equipped with new equipment.
“Museums in our country are in extremely high demand – in 2025, they were visited by over a third of the country’s population. This is also confirmed by the fact that out of 32 agreements planned for signing on the sidelines of the forum, nearly a third are dedicated to museum activities. Currently, the museum community is discussing a draft strategic document on the development of Russian museums,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Special attention is given to the development of education in the field of culture.
“We have built a three-tier education system that begins in children’s art schools. Today, more than 1.8 million talented children study in 5,000 such schools across the country. We are developing their infrastructure – equipping them with instruments, equipment, and teaching materials, encouraging the best schools and the best teachers,” added Tatyana Golikova.
For the first time at the forum, a separate youth track appeared, within which young talented creators engage in equal discussions with world-renowned cultural figures.
“Russia is implementing hundreds of cultural and educational projects, festivals, and forums, among which is the International Children’s Cultural Forum – a unique platform for very young talents. We are always expecting and inviting guests. The most popular instrument remains the well-known ‘Pushkin Card.’ About 90% of young people aged 14 to 23 use it, and nearly 13 thousand cultural institutions offer about 70 thousand cultural events,” said the deputy prime minister.
The topic of international cooperation will remain key.
“Sanctions imposed by unfriendly states have not only failed to achieve the goal of abolishing Russian culture but have also served as an incentive for its development. For example, Russian film production has significantly increased, taking a predominant share in box office sales. According to the results of the first nine months of 2026, the share of viewers of Russian films amounted to 77% of the total audience at the box office. The sanctions gave an impetus to international distribution in new markets for the Russian film industry. In 2025–2026, the number of joint projects with friendly foreign countries is growing. The next step that needs to be taken is to turn individual projects into a functioning industrial ecosystem,” emphasized the Deputy Prime Minister.
Representatives of foreign delegations also participated in the final session. Among them were the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran Abbas Salehi, the Minister of Arts, Culture and Tourism of the Central African Republic Gina Lawson Rosesalem, as well as Acting Minister of Culture of the Republic of South Ossetia Grigory Mamiev.
The Minister of Culture of Russia, Olga Lyubimova, and the Governor of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, addressed the forum participants with welcoming remarks. Additionally, the session featured speeches by the curators of the forum’s thematic sessions – the General Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky; the General Director of JSC “Channel One,” Konstantin Ernst; the Chairman of the Union of Theatre Workers of Russia, Vladimir Mashkov; the Artistic Director of the State Theatre of Nations, Evgeny Mironov; the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia, Konstantin Mogilevsky; the General Director of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic, Alexey Shalashov; the General Director of the State Academic Chapel of Saint Petersburg, Olga Khomova; the General Director of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, Roman Karmanov; the Rector of the Ilya Repin St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Semyon Mikhaylovsky; the Director of the Russian Ethnographic Museum, Yulia Kupina; and also the General Director of the Bolshoi Moscow State Circus on Vernadsky Avenue, Edgard Zapashny.
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