RussenKo Festival 2013

by Melle Bon Plan 24 January 2013

written by Melle Bon Plan Published: 24 January 2013Updated: 12 May 2026

I already told you about it last year, and in 2013, the RussenKo Festival is coming to the Val-de-Marne this weekend.

The City of Kremlin-Bicêtre invites us to join them on January 25, 26, and 27, 2013, for the 4th edition of its festival of Russian and Russian-speaking cultures.

On the program: the first retrospective in France of the great Russian photographer Igor Moukhin, theater, cinema, visual arts, exhibitions, literature, music, and round tables.

Photography: the first retrospective in France of one of the most talented contemporary Russian photographers, Igor Moukhin. “The Russia of Igor Moukhin: photographs from 1987 to 2012” (from January 25 to February 24). Opening and guided tour in the presence of the artist. Exhibition curator: Christian Gattinoni (LaCritique.org).

Theater: Les Jeunes Filles, a play based on a short story by Ludmila Ulitskaya, performed by the SamArt Theater company.

Cinema: “The Family” cycle featuring Alexandra (2009, Russia-France), Bury Me Behind the Baseboard (2008, Russia), Family Relations (1981, USSR), The Wedding (1999, Russia), Far from Sunset Boulevard (2005, Russia). In the presence of Igor Minaev (director), Korinna Daniélou (artistic director of the VOICES Festival), Jacques Simon (president of the Kinoglaz association), and Svetlana Kryuchkova (actress).

Street Art: graffiti, installations, and performances by P183, known as the Russian Banksy, and Nebay / exhibition “P183, Nebay: Street Art, intersecting paths” (exhibition curator: Valériane Mondot from Taxie Gallery). Guided tours in the presence of the artists / round table “Art and the Street” hosted by Bahia Allouache, journalist (RFI, Nova, France Culture) with Igor Moukhin, P183, Boubacolorz (hip hop dancer and choreographer), and Nebay.

Music: classical (tribute to Edison Denisov with a concert by cellist Fedor Roudine, his grandson, as well as a conference hosted by his widow Ekaterina Kouprovskaia-Bruggeman; the Ladya choir, the Togliatti boys’ choir) / contemporary music (the Retuses, acoustic folk, Kobby Kobb, rap).

Young Audiences: “RussenKo for Kids” with street art companies (Compagnie Girafe Royale, the Klownkoffs), fairy tale readings, a literature workshop based on the Russian-French picture book by Alexander Rodchenko, Animaux à mimer, the Samara puppet theater with the show The Hopping Princess, two animated films (The Wild Swans – 1962 and The Snow Queen – 1957), an exhibition, and participatory workshops led by visual artist Oksana Stogova.

Literature: the 4th Russian and Russian-speaking Literary Days: meetings, book signings, readings, and round tables with Maylis de Kerangal (Tangente vers l’Est), Christian Garcin (Les nuits de Vladivostok), Oliver Rohe (Ma dernière création est un piège à taupes), Vladislav Otrochenko (Mes treize oncles), and a literature round table “how to translate the Russian soul” with Sophie Benech, translator of Ludmila Ulitskaya, Bernard Kreise, translator of Pavel Sanaev, and Paul Lequesne, translator of Stakhov.

And also: a round table “Freedom, citizenship, and the internet in Russia” co-hosted by Ziad Maalouf (l’Atelier des médias, RFI) and Anya Stroganova (RFI) with activist blogger Mitya Aleshkovskiy, Mikhail Fishman (ex Newsweek Russia), Johann Bihr (Reporters Without Borders), and Alexandre Bikbov (sociologist) / a round table “Crossed perspectives of Russian and French citizens” hosted by Jean Radvanyi (Franco-Russian Center for Research in Humanities and Social Sciences in Moscow), in the presence of Alexander Drozdov (Yeltsin Foundation) and Vladimir Kolosov (Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences)… activities (workshops, Russian gastronomy, street performances, etc.) and many other surprises.