Russia and France: Features of cultural dialogue at the beginning of the 21st century

Abstract

This article investigates contemporary Russian and French cultural relations and peculiarities and new formats of cultural interaction between Russia and France. At the beginning of the 21st century, the cultural contacts of these countries were enriched by new interesting forms based on two basic principles: the scale of the event and the dialog principle of its organization. These two new principles could not be better embodied in such a new form of cultural exchange as cultural cross-years, which since 2010 have been regularly included in cultural exchanges between Russia and France. Russia and France have successfully held a cross-year of cultural, linguistic, and literary exchanges, as well as cultural tourism, regional cooperation, etc. Along with the emergence of new forms of Russian and French cultural ties at the beginning of the 21st century, there is a noticeable expansion of their actors, primarily due to the involvement of civil society, regions, and public organizations in the dialog. These actors conduct much work aimed at the decentralization of cultural ties, allowing them to actively develop in the extra-state plane. New ideas are also emerging, such as the twinning not only cities, but also of individual cultural monuments. The pandemic has brought many novel forms and ideas related to the organization of cultural events based on digital, remote, and online technologies into Russian and French cultural ties. This allowed Russia and France to keep cultural ties without significant losses and developing communication under quarantine restrictions. The conclusions drawn by the author of the article allow us to state that sanctions and political differences have not seriously affected Russian and French cultural ties. They proved resilient when faced with the serious challenges brought by the 21st century.