Greek-Russian History Cross-Year: Photo Exhibition and Roundtable
October 14th, the inauguration of the exhibition entitled “Bilateral Relations of Russia and Greece in the 20th and the 21st centuries” was held in MGIMO, being part of the History Cross-Year. It showcases the materials from the archives of the Russian leading state information agency TASS, the Department of History and Records and the Fourth European Department of the Russian MFA, the Russian Embassy in Athens, and MGIMO University. Organized by the section of the Greek language, the event was included in the program of the special session of the 13th RISA Convention.
The event was hosted by the President of the MGIMO Greek Language Club Irina Tolstikova. During the ceremony, the University management was presented by the Vice-Rector for Science and Research and Dean of the School of International Relations Andrey Baykov. In his welcome speech, he noted that our countries have been cooperating for many centuries. He also stressed the important role that Russia had played in ensuring independence of Greece, pointed out the unprecedented character of the exhibition and expressed his confidence that such events needed to be promoted.
The Deputy Head of Greek diplomatic mission to Russia Stavros Venizelos noted that the event was very well organized as well as its importance for the development of bilateral relations. The Acting Head of the Greece and Cyprus Section of the Fourth European Department of the Russian MFA Elena Kolesnikova and the Chief of the TASS International Projects Directorate Dmitry Pertsev also welcomed the guests.
At the atrium of the new building the guests could enjoy unique photos, reflecting many years of bilateral relations and cooperation of the two countries. The photos cover the period of 1891–2021, making the exhibition diachronically complete and truly unique. They show the most important people and significant moments of interaction between Russia and Greece in politics, science and culture. The exhibition is open for visitors until October 18th.
The opening of the exhibition was followed by a roundtable entitled “The Role of Greek Revolution of 1821 in the Development of Greek-Russian Dialogue”, attended by leading experts in history, philology and diplomacy from the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Kuban State University, Hellenic Cultural Center in Moscow, Moscow Community of Greeks and MGIMO University, namely, A.Ulunyan, Yu.Raikov, K.Klimova, O.Petrunina, Y.Yannitsi, T.Nikitina, Yu.Bulannikova, E.Gukasova, Yu.Kvashnin, I.Sheff. The roundtable was moderated by the lecturers of the Department of Central and South-East European Languages Anna Toropova and Irina Smirnova. All reports presented during the event aroused interest of both academic community and students.
The event was held in warm and friendly atmosphere; all the guests highly appreciated it and thanked the organizers.