Kemerovo Branch of Russian State Institute of Performing Arts Welcomes Guests to Space Festival

Oksana Leonova (centre) as a member of the delegation touring the Branch

Oksana Leonova, daughter of Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov, twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the first ever astronaut to spacewalk, visited the Siberian campus of the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts in Kemerovo. The visit took place during the 2nd International Yuri Gagarin Festival.

The tour of the building was hosted by the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts Branch Principal Marina Mezhova and Stroytransgaz-Sibir representatives.

Leonova noted the top-grade technical outfitting of the school, and wished the students every success in study and creative inspiration — which is easy to come by in a building so spectacular.

‘Every one of you has all the opportunities this world, this Universe could provide for your fulfilment in the field of your choosing’, Oksana Alexeyevna said. ‘My father’s example... it is about a little kid from an ordinary family living in a small village of Tisul district of the Kemerovo region, who set an important goal for himself and became the legend you all know now.’

‘It is important that our young people know that Kuzbass has plenty to be proud of. Out of the 12 astronauts of the first squad, two were from our region. They are the first man to spacewalk — Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov, and Boris Valentinovich Volynov, both twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. We are proud of their achievements, and airports in Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk are named after them. Alexander Grebenkin, a Myski native, is getting ready for space travel as we speak. I am sure that Yuri Gagarin Festival taking place in Kuzbass for the second year in a row will revive the youth’s interest in space, and, as before, they will dream of becoming astronauts to carry on what their famous countrymen have started’, said the Governor Sergey Tsivilyov at the Space Week opening.

The construction of four Culture and Education Complexes in Russia (Vladivostok, Kemerovo, Kaliningrad and the Russian South) offers new opportunities for Russian citizens.

The task to create the new cultural centres was set by Russian President V. V. Putin in the 2018 State of the Nation speech and spelled out in detail in the Decree “On National Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation for the Period until 2024.” The creation of modern Culture and Education Complexes is a unique Russian educational project that is already changing the quality of life throughout the Russian Federation through introduction to art.

The schools being a part of these Complexes have all conditions required for affordable and high-quality vocational training of young talents, who will become the new cultural and creative capital of this country. The project is important for developing the international cultural collaboration, and will have a special economic and social significance not only for the region, but for the country as well.