Week of Iranian Culture in Russia Keywords:, Russian-Iranian relations, art, cinema

In October 2012, a Week of Iranian Culture was held in Moscow and St. Petersburg with the support of the Cultural Representation of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Russia. The Russians were presented with examples of Iran's achievements in the field of arts and crafts, fine arts, music and cinematography.

This is not our first meeting with Iranian masters. In 2008, we hosted our Eastern friends in Moscow and Vladimir, and two years earlier, in 2006, the Days of Russian Culture were held in Iran. Such cultural exchanges are becoming traditional in the practice of bilateral relations.

Iran - a hotbed of ancient civilization, whose treasures have enriched the world's culture, art and literature - has been carrying humane and important messages to humanity for eons and to this day, which are imprinted in the samples of its cultural heritage.

In Moscow, the Week of Iranian Culture opened with the exhibition "Magic of Iranian Art" at the Central Museum of Modern History of Russia. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Orientation Seyed Mohammad Hosseini noted that "..... the language of culture does not need translation - it is a universal language, and works of art are a means of communication. We believe that this Week is an important and perhaps even a turning point in our cooperation."

About 600 works in various genres, as well as mosaics, paintings, carpets, and pottery were presented in the halls of the museum. Grace and strength are two of the main tenets of the Iranian masters.

The secrets of his skill are revealed by the Iranian artist Golam Ali-Feyzollahi, who is engaged in painting on enamel-mina. The tradition of creating metal vessels (the material is usually red copper, and especially expensive products are made of gold) - vases, plates, pitchers covered with painted enamel (glaze), in Iran was formed several thousand years ago. Art reached a special flourishing point in the XVI and XIX centuries. "Such dishes do not break or scratch, they are suitable for use both in the oven and in the refrigerator. And since it (tableware) is eternal, the art of painting on enamel is also eternal, " the artist explains.

Not tempted by Oriental images, the Russian viewer first of all pays attention to the samples of Persian wood inlay - khatam, which originated in the territory of modern Iran in time immemorial. It reached its highest development during the reign of the Safavid dynasty (XVI-XVII centuries). Windows, doors, furniture, chests, boxes, backgammon and chess boards, picture frames, and Koran stands were decorated with hexagonal patterns of small equilateral triangles. In addition to wood (ebony, rose, orange, walnut), bone (camel, ivory), shells, and the finest metal threads (brass, and gold and silver are used in expensive products) are also used for inlay. Today, the city of Isfahan remains the center of hatam production, and Isfahan artists are known all over the world.

The art of galamzani is coining on metal. Today, craftsmen, in addition to traditional copper, use gold and silver in their work. The drawings on the chased products-exhibits of the exhibition - include fragments from the epic "Shahnameh", horsemen on the hunt or in battle, scenes from the campaign of King Darius or illustrations of quatrains by Omar Khayyam. Galamzani is considered the oldest art of Iranian artisans. Copper dishes and handmade products are still being found in Iran by archaeologists digging up settlements buried in the sand hundreds of centuries ago.

Visitors also got acquainted with the skill of kalamkar - printing on cotton. This art has been known in Persia since the 16th century. With the help of carved wooden stamps made of precious wood, paints were applied to cotton fabric. The fabric treated with tanning agents did not wear out for years. As drawings, the master uses traditional floral ornaments - "cucumbers" * and

* Bute or paisley - decorative ornament of a drop-shaped shape.

"arabesques". In Iran, they make beautiful napkins and tablecloths with the help of kalamkar; they also use hand-made art when sewing clothes.

The walls of the museum hall are harmoniously decorated with the works of the famous Persian calligrapher Jalil Rasul, a recognized luminary and mentor of a whole galaxy of Iranian calligraphers. Some kind of calligraphy existed among the Persians in the pre-Islamic, Zoroastrian era. However, it was after the adoption of Islam that the Persians had a huge impact on Islamic calligraphy.

As part of the days of Iranian Culture, samples of the achievements of contemporary Iranian art in the field of cinematography were brought to Russia. Today, Iranian cinema is called "a cultural phenomenon of the late 20th century." In this movie, there are no open intimate scenes, no violence, no fights, no explosions, no crazy editing in the style of music videos. His style is determined by a genuine interest in the lives of real people and eternal philosophical questions.

The Khudozhestvenny cinema in Moscow presented five films-participants of the international film festivals "The Kingdom of Solomon" by Shahriyar Bahrani (2008)," Here without Me "by Bahram Tawakkoli (2010)," Alzheimer's "by Ahmad Reza Mottamadi (2010)," Water Silk Road " by Mohammad Reza Bozorgniya (2009). The main guest at the opening ceremony of the film week in Moscow was director Parviz Sheikh Thadi with his new film "Days of Life" (2011). "I am only a small part of the vast world of Iranian cinema, and I am very happy that I had the honor to present one of my latest works here in Russia," he shared from the stage the director.

The film is set in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War. The main characters-husband and wife-are representatives of one of the most peaceful and humane professions in the world. Amir and Ali have been working as doctors in a military hospital on the southern front in the desert for several years. A sudden enemy attack brings a couple a lot of hardships. But they continue to carry out their professional duties, risking their lives under the fire of Iraqi tanks, helicopters,and sheltering the wounded from the prowling Iraqi military. There comes a time when the couple can escape, leaving the hospital turned into ruins and captured by the enemies, but they entrust their lives to the Almighty and stay with the wounded soldiers in the bunker...

The film is quite realistic, and there is a feeling that before your eyes - a real documentary chronicle of the events of twenty years ago.

The organizers of the Week also paid attention to music lovers. The Maly Theater in Moscow and the Komissarzhevskaya Drama Theater in St. Petersburg have invited such well-known ensembles of traditional and ethnic music in their country as Tiam "My Eyes" and Alyalee Kashmer "Kashmer's Tulip" to listen to "live"Iranian music.

The Iranian national musical culture is one of the oldest in the East. The musical art of ancient Persia flourished during the reign of the Sassanid dynasty (beginning of the 3rd century AD - beginning of the 6th century AD). In pre-Islamic Iran, some Zoroastrian temples practiced the use of the healing properties of music as a catharsis of the soul, i.e. relief of mental disorders. In the IX-X centuries, professional singers and dancers became popular in Iran, who were famous for performing lyrical songs, which still remain the most popular genre of folk music and dance art in Iran.

The Tiam ensemble under the direction of its founder, musician Hadi Montazeri, came to Russia with its usual repertoire - Iranian traditional music. Musical and poetic compositions were performed by the tenor soloist of the ensemble Seyed-Mortese Falahati. The audience also applauded the musical group for their virtuosity in playing national instruments-kemancha, ud, santur, tar, kanun, darbuka, daf. Iranian traditional music, the sophistication of its melody and rhythm, resembles colored ornaments on the walls of mosques, painted to the smallest detail medieval Persian miniatures.

The week allowed us to plunge for a while into the world of rich Iranian culture, which in its huge variety resembles beautiful oriental carpets.

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Special mention should be made of the exhibition of paintings "The Hidden Eye", which was held in early November 2012 at the Cultural Representation at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Modern Iranian artist Ehteram Sadat Taghavi has been creating amazing canvases in various genres and styles (realism, surrealism, cubism, abstractionism, etc.) for more than 10 years.The master writes with watercolors, pastels, oil paints, gouache, charcoal. Akhteram Sadat Taghavi has repeatedly presented her works at various exhibitions in her country, as well as at two solo exhibitions in Florence (Italy) - in 2010 and 2011, where, in particular, her paintings became the object of close attention of the famous Italian art critic and art critic Angelo Antonio Falmi.