In the language of "Kalina Krasnaya": Russian actor Andrey Merzlikin discussed with the youth of the world the work of the famous writer Vasily Shukshin and his vision of the Motherland

Participants of the World Youth Festival discussed with popular Russian actor, Honored Artist of Russia Andrey Merzlikin how a simple Siberian guy became the main national writer and why today Vasily Shukshin's words about the Russian soul sound especially poignant. As part of the Festival, the Russian Society "Znanie" with the support of the art cluster "Tavrida" on the stage of the congress hall "Justice" in Sirius held a musical program "There Was Such a Guy".

The main role in the program — the role of the author of the story "Kalina Krasnaya" — performed by Andrey Merzlikin. He reads excerpts from the works of Vasily Shukshin, his letters, memoirs, under the unusual, melodic music of the folk band "Posle 11". The whole life of the writer – from childhood in a small village to national fame – passes before the audience eyes. The production is permeated with the search for his destiny, thoughts about the role of man in the fate of the country, about the soulfulness of Russian people. Unique photos and videos are also broadcast on the screen.

After the musical program Andrey Merzlikin told the audience about the history of the production. Preparation of the script lasted 12 years, a friend of Andrey Merzlikin – Anton Zhukov – collected letters, journalism, unpublished manuscripts of Shukshin, wrote the script. The friends worked together on the production.

"Shukshin can be attributed to those people whose conscience simply did not allow them to lie. Today, we want to hear words to strengthen us spiritually. Today, there are such generational representatives of the times to conceptualize and identity what we are now experiencing. Perhaps due to the high flow of information, we lack a platform that can cover them. But we must realize that we live in a difficult time, when everything is boiling, but also drowning everything unnecessary. I am sure that only the most genuine, the most resilient, the most necessary for all of us will endure and live on," emphasized Andrey Merzlikin.

The cultural worker also answered the audience's questions about youth and creative path. Andrey described how he came to the world of cinema in the difficult time for the country in the late 1990s, how he was afraid to stay without prospects. The speaker also shared his memories of seeing the movie "Kalina Krasnaya" for the first time in 1985.

"That movie was the number one movie for me, and nothing has changed since then. I still consider it the best movie of the 20th century. And it's not just my opinion. It has been recognized by the world community as well. It was presented at the Venice Film Festival as the best movie about Russia. I agree with that," Andrey noted.

The "Znanie" Society is the general partner of the educational program of the World Youth Festival, and an important part of the educational program was the flagship project of the Russian Society "Znanie" – the educational marathon Znanie.Pervye. A large-scale event takes place in Sirius from March 2 to 6 and covers six sites of the World Youth City: WYF International Airport, Yamal, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Belgorod, and Moscow pavilions. The tracks of the educational event are consonant with the meanings of the Festival: “Responsibility for the fate of the world”, “Multinational unity”, “A world of opportunity for everyone”, “Saving the family for future generations” and “We stand together with Russia”. The most striking presentations of lecturers are broadcast on the 24-hour media channel Znanie.TV.

In addition to the Znanie.Pervye educational marathon as part of the educational program of the World Youth Festival, the Russian Znanie Society organized the intellectual tournament Znanie.Game with the participation of scholars from different countries and Znanie.Cinema Lectorium, where viewers can watch legendary Russian and foreign films and discuss them in the company of famous actors and directors. For the Festival guests a multimedia exhibition of the National Photo Contest Znanie.Russia will work, where they will be able to see the main achievements of Russia in the XXI century and immerse themselves in their atmosphere with the help of augmented reality technology.   The World Youth Festival shall become a platform for open dialog between young people from Russia and other countries. After the completion of the events on the Sirius Federal Territory, Russian Znanie Society will continue the educational line of the World Youth Festival from March 9 to 17 within the framework of the regional program WYF 2024, which will cover all federal districts of our country.

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Overview:

The World Youth Festival is held in accordance with the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin to develop international youth cooperation. At the first meeting of the Organizing Committee chaired by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration, it was decided to hold the Festival in the Sirius Federal Territory.

20,000 young leaders in education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering, charity, sports, business, media, etc., including 10,000 foreign participants, will take part in the WYF 2024. For the first time in the history of the festival movement, teenagers from 14 to 17 years old had the opportunity to join the event, including 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. 5,000 volunteers from all regions of Russia, including 228 residents of the LPR, DPR, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions be involved in the organization and delivery of the Festival. The organizer of the World Youth Festival is the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the operator of the WYF-2024 is the Directorate of the World Youth Festival.

The first federal education marathon was held in May 2021 and became a symbol of the reboot of the Russian Znanie Society. More than 850 lecturers shared their experience during the marathon.

The Russian Znanie Society traces its history back to the Soviet public organization founded in 1947 on the initiative of representatives of the Soviet intelligentsia as the All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge (since 1963 — the All-Union Znanie Society, since 1991— the Znanie of Russia Society). Members of the Society were engaged in popularizing science and lecturing on the achievements of the Soviet economy and industry. In 2016, Znanie of Russia was transformed into the Russian Znanie Society. On April 21, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to restart the Russian Znanie Society on a modern digital platform in his address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.