V. P. NEMCHENKO

Our sobkor in Ethiopia

Keywords: Russian Center for Science and Culture( RCSC), Russia and Ethiopia, intercultural relations

In 2015 The Pushkin Russian Center for Science and Culture in Ethiopia has celebrated its 70th anniversary. It dates back to March 1945, when shortly before the end of the Great Patriotic War, a permanent Soviet exhibition was officially opened in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, under the auspices of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.

Of course, the relationship between our peoples has a much longer history. About three hundred years ago, Peter the Great adopted and baptized into the Orthodox faith a dark-skinned "arapchonka", presumably from Abyssinia (the territory of modern Ethiopia). This boy became a pupil of the Russian emperor, and then his named son-Ibrahim (Abram) Petrovich Hannibal.

Abram Petrovich for many years honestly and bravely served the Russian State. Thanks to the care of the sovereign, he received a higher engineering military education, and later was awarded the rank of general-anshef of the Russian army.

This historical precedent - even with a certain stretch-can be considered as "the first Russian scholarship for Africa".

Hannibal's great - great-grandson, the "sun of Russian poetry" Alexander Pushkin, continued and strengthened the connection between Russia and Ethiopia. And today, any educated Ethiopian will certainly tell you that Pushkin, the great poet, is of course Russian, but with Ethiopian roots. It is named after the center, because for many years it has been, in fact, a bulwark of intercultural and humanitarian dialogue between the two states.

According to Vyacheslav Konnik, Director of the RCSC, " the Russian center, located in the historical part of Addis Ababa, has been spreading the civilizational energy inherent in our country for many decades, and popularizing and promoting our national culture." The center's activities are aimed at creating a positive image of Russia among the Ethiopian public, especially young people.

An important factor for promoting the achievements of our science and education in Ethiopia, and for making bilateral relations more rich in humanitarian content, is relying on an active group of like - minded people, consisting of our compatriots and friends of Russia, local partner organizations, graduates of universities of the Soviet Union and current Russian universities. RCSC in Ethiopia is an effective conductor of the Russian language and culture, it contributes to the development of tourism, business and humanitarian contacts between our countries.

A large library of books by Soviet and Russian authors is open daily in the center. The spacious cinema hall shows Russian films on a weekly basis, hosts various festive events, as well as meetings with well-known representatives of our state. Guests of the RCSC, for example, were the composer A. I. Khachaturian, the first female cosmonaut V. V. Tereshkova, and others.-

the peony of the world chess grandmaster A. E. Karpov, ballerina G. S. Ulanova, singer L. G. Zykina and many other prominent figures of our science, culture and art.

Our country's true friends in Ethiopia are Afework Tekle , a world-renowned artist and honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts; Kassa Gebre Huivot, a writer and translator of Russian classics into Amharic, holder of the Order of Peoples ' Friendship, and former Ambassador of Ethiopia to the USSR. The Ethiopian Parliament's deputy group for Relations with Russia, headed by Dr. Elfinesh Haile, is currently doing a lot of work on cross-cultural interaction.

Concerts of Russian singers, musicians and actors who come on tour to distant and hospitable Ethiopia are very popular these days.

The center's numerous creative clubs offer classes in classical and modern ballroom dancing, needlework, and culinary arts. On weekends, the Russian club meets, where our compatriots and their Ethiopian friends gather to communicate. The literary society regularly discusses classic works by Russian authors, novelties of our prose and poetry-they are read both in Russian and in translations into local languages.

The RCSC is widely known among the cultural and creative community in Addis Ababa. The center hospitably opens its doors to exhibitions of paintings by Ethiopian artists - famous and emerging, to expositions of products of local craftsmen, to musical evenings with the participation of folk performers. All events are widely announced and covered in detail on the RCSC website.

The 70-year-old activity and wide popularity of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Addis Ababa leave no doubt that its work on bringing our peoples closer together, strengthening cooperation between Russia and Ethiopia, and promoting the Russian language, culture and education in this African country friendly to Russia will continue successfully.

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