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On May 25 through June 6, a St.Petersburg-driven series of cultural, scientific and educational activities was run in Riga. The activities were organized within the confines of the Days of Russian Culture in Latvia.

All this became a part of the Program of St.Petersburg Government to implement the state policy concerning the compatriots abroad for 2011–2013 (the program “Compatriots”). The organizers were the Committee for External Relations, the Committee for Culture, and the Committee for Science and Higher Education at the Government of St.Petersburg.

At the opening of the St.Petersburg program in the House of Congresses, the participants were offered with an overview presentation on the opportunities for professional education in the Northern capital available for Russian-speaking residents of Latvia. Many Russian universities open their doors to welcome the Russian compatriots from abroad, as well as foreign citizens, and are willing to provide them with quality education and help in choosing a career. The presentation was held by Yuriy Snisarenko, Director of the Coordination Center of the International Scientific, Technological, and Educational Programs at the Committee for Science and Higher Education.

A part of St.Petersburg educational program devoted to the teaching of Russian language and literature caused great interest of teachers from Riga. Irina Mushtavinskaya, assistant professor at the Department of Innovative Educational Technologies at the St.Petersburg Academy of Postgraduate Paedagogical education, said: “For teachers who attended the courses, it was essential to determine the theoretical field and conceptual apparatus of the subject, to increase understanding of modern technologies in teaching. It seems to us that all of these goals have been realized completely. In addition, we were able to communicate with colleagues, and get a charge of inspiration”.

The program included a series of educational activities, prepared by the experts from St.Petersburg for primary school teachers, Russian language teachers, administrators, teachers of Russian language in Latvia.

I.e., Irina Mushtavinskaya held a workshop on modern educational technologies, while Maria Bagge, Head of the Department of Philological Education at St.Petersburg Academy of Postgraduate Teacher Education, spoke about the modern technologies of teaching Russian. In addition, she presented two lectures – “Techniques and Methods of Forming the Reading Skills” and “Creative Quest of Modern Russian Literature”. A great success was a lesson on how to interact with preschool-age children, prepared by Marina Verkhovkina. Also, two scientific conferences were held at the Baltic International Academy with the participation of St.Petersburg scholars: V International Scientific and Practical Conference “Multiculturalism: Culture in the Virtual Space” and the International Scientific and Practical part-time conference “Problems of the Study and Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Traditions in the Context of Contemporary Culture of Baltia”.

The lectures covered not only the educational sphere. For those interested in Russian history, Oleg Nikolaev gave a lecture “The Bicentenary of the Partiotic War of 1812 and the Reflection of Related Events in Russian Art”. Marina Logunova, Chief Science Fellow of the Museum of the History of St.Petersburg, had a fascinating presentation “Latvians in Russian History: from the Empress to the Valet”. A lecture on “Contemporary Art in St.Petersburg: Trends and Discoveries” was held in the House of Congresses.

St.Petersburg program highlighted the Russian poetry abroad. Residents and guests of Riga were also able to become participants in the round table “Russian poetry As an Integrated Poetical Space”. A bilingual poetry evening took place at the St.Peter’s Cathedral in the Old Town.

Latvian lyrics and their translations were read by Evgeniy Lukin, Chief Editor of “Northern Aurora” magazine and the writer, as well as his colleagues from the guild - poets Galina Ilyukhina and Dmitriy Legeza. Following the program, they also presented a new issue of “Northern Aurora” with the opuses of compatriots living in the Baltic Countries. On June 6, there was an award ceremony for prize winners of poetry competition “Baltic Championship of the Poets”.

Performances by St Petersburg actors left nobody indifferent. At the joint musical evening with the Latvian jazz performers, a wonderful ensemble of saxophonists “Treble-Sax-Chorus” appeared. They were greeted warmly and enthusiastically. A colorful finale was a performance of folk-show “The Wheel”. The audience greatly enjoyed the colorful costumes, amazing voices, and incredible energy of the ensemble of actors.

By a tradition, St.Petersburg handed the training manuals for the Russian language, literature, history and culture of Russia and St.Petersburg to the Russian-language institutions and organizations of compatriots in Latvia.

Days of Russian culture in Latvia ended on June 6, the Day of the Russian language and the birthday of A.Pushkin. A message from Georgiy Poltavchenko, Governor of St.Petersburg, to the participants and guests of the Days of Russian Culture in Latvia, was read by Vladislav Balskiy, Deputy Head of the Management of St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations. The message said: “... This long-awaited event fills the great tradition with a new content. For the first time, St.Petersburg made its contribution to the important project within the confines of the city program ‘Compatriots’. I am sure that the Days of Russian Culture in Latvia will be another step forward in the development of humanitarian ties with our friends and close neighbours at the Baltic Sea, to strengthen the spiritual unity of the Russian world...”