September 11, 2025
Karina Tsaturova, General Director of the International Chekhov Theatre Festival and President of the International Confederation of Theatre Unions, took part in the XI St Petersburg International United Cultures Forum.
Tsaturova spoke at the round table “Dialogue of Theatres of Russia, Asia, Africa, South America and the Arab World: Investing in Cultural Exchange’, part of the Theatre section, curated by Evgeny Mironov. In her address, she spoke about the participation of BRICS and SCO member countries in the Chekhov Festival programmes and the development of cultural exchange with these nations.
The speaker also focused specifically on two festivals that had been announced in her address at the previous Forum – the Pacific Theatre Festival in Vladivostok and the Chekhov Festival in Moscow, held in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Karina Tsaturova noted that the very fact that the entire announced programme, without exception – all the performances – were successfully brought to both Vladivostok and Moscow, despite the challenging geopolitical realities, is already a victory in itself.
"Everyone who comes to our Festival for the first time subsequently stays in touch with us and expresses a strong desire to return for the next Festival," said Tsaturova.
Tsaturova was supported by Evgeny Mironov, who described the Chekhov Festival as a benchmark for a working mechanism of international theatre exchange that continues to develop within the new realities.
Following the discussion, it was decided to jointly develop a programme that would help address organisational and logistical challenges in hosting international festivals.
During the Forum, Karina Tsaturova also held working meetings with Matlubahon Sattoriyon, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan, and with Evgeny Mironov, Artistic Director of the Theatre of Nations and curator of the Theatre section at the Forum.