52
RUSSIA - FRANCE
T
he 2016-2017 Franco-Russian
Year of Cultural Tourismwas rich
in joint projects. Can you tell us
about its memorable events ?
The Franco-Russian Year of Cultural
Tourism was an opportunity to imple-
ment a process of cooperation in the
field of heritage with our Russian
partners. It was especially marked by
the enormous success of several
noteworthy exhibitions, such as the
one dedicated to ‘Saint Louis and the
Relics of the Sainte-Chapelle’ at the
Kremlin Museum in Moscow and the
presentation of the Shchukin collec-
tion at the Foundation Louis Vuitton
in winter 2016-2017.
You will have certainly noted that the
Shchukin exhibition had the largest
number of visitors ever for an art
exhibition in France, with more than
1.2 million visitors.
The exhibition ‘Peter The Great, a
Tsar in France’ in Versailles, inaugu-
rated by President Vladimir Putin,
reminded us of a major episode of
our joint history. An unprecedented,
ambitious and innovative programme
was launched during the Franco-
Russian Year, launching twinning
between monuments and heritage
sites in our two countries for the first
time.
Eight monuments that illustrate the
depth of our ties were twinned, the
most recent being the Royal Stables
of Versailles and the Imperial Stables
of Peterhof in November 2017.
Today, the focus is on prospects for
cooperation in the mutual promotion
of the cultural heritage of the two coun-
tries. Could you tell us about the pro-
jects that are underway and to come?
The success of the Franco-Russian year of Cultural Tourismthat finished in December
2017makes it possible to imagine new forms of cultural cooperation today, as Laurent
Bili, explains to us.
Laurent BILI,
Director-General of Global Affairs, Culture, Education and International Development, French
Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
©DR
‘The Tourism contributed to
boosting flows between our two countries’
©DR
