The Russian House in Dhaka in collaboration with the Stamford University organised the event titled ‘Russia’s Contribution to the Post-War Situation at Chittagong Port’ on the university campus.

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bangladesh Alexander Vikentyevich Mantytskiy attended the event held on Oct 2-3 as chief guest at the opening ceremony. 

In his speech, Russian ambassador thanked the Russian House in Dhaka and the authority of Stamford University for arranging this festival. He recalled the role of the Soviet Union in the liberation war of Bangladesh, overall reconstruction of post-war Bangladesh and said that the cultural relationship between Russia and Bangladesh is long and old.

“People from two countries can get to know each other through cultural exchange. This film festival is organised to continue that trend,” he said.

Alexander Vikentyevich hopes that the friendship between the two countries will become stronger. He also said that Russia will always continue to cooperate in the overall development of Bangladesh.

Director of the Russian House in Dhaka Pavel Dvoychenkov, during his speech, briefed the audience about the whole program and mentioned that the photo exhibition has a total of 50 rare historical photographs preserved by the Russian House in Dhaka, which are proof of the role of the Soviet Union after the liberation war in Bangladesh. 

Regarding the documentary films shown at the film festival, he said that through these films, the audience can learn about the lifestyle, culture and contemporary scientific activities of some regions of Russia as well as the opportunities for higher education and education in Russia.

Screenings during the festival include the classic 1959 feature film Soviet film “Ballad of a Soldier” directed by Grigory Chukhray; science-fiction movie “Heart of a Dog” directed by Vladimir Bortko based on the novel, written by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov and the action movie “Pirates Of The ХХ Century” directed by Boris Durov.

He invited all to the regular seminar on higher education scholarship opportunities in Russia which is organized by the Russian House in Dhaka. The next seminar will be held on October 9, 2023, at 4:00pm at the Russian House, Dhanmondi.

He also invited Bangladeshi youths to register and participate in the World Youth Festival-2024, which will be held in Sochi in the beginning of March next year. More than 20,000 Russian and foreign young leaders aged 18 to 35 – business, professionals from media, education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering, sports and other fields of social life – will gather at this festival.

The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Stamford University Fatinaz Feroze said that Bangladesh and Russia, these two countries have bilateral friendly relations at different levels. She hoped that the relationship will be stronger, that the people of the two countries will get to know each other better through cultural exchange.

Other speakers gratefully recalled the remarkable cooperation of the then Soviet Union and Russia in the reconstruction of Bangladesh and the ongoing development of Bangladesh after independence.

Vice-Chancellor of Stamford University Professor Dr. Moniruzzaman thanked the Russian House in Dhaka for their overall cooperation in organizing this event and he hoped to organize other events jointly with the university. Visitors to the festival thoroughly enjoyed all the events including film screenings.