“Days of Russia in Republic of Srpska” festival

The three-day festival “Days of Russia in Republika Srpska” was organized in Banja Luka from May 18 to 20 with the aim of expanding cooperation between Russia and Republika Srpska. The festival presented achievements in the fields of culture, science, education, history, spiritual and moral education, as well as experiences in strengthening national unity in the multi-ethnic and multi-religious Russian Federation.

The organizers of the festival were the Literary Association “Susret” Trebinje in cooperation with the President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik, the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education and the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Srpska, the Representation of Srpska in the Russian Federation, the Embassy of Russia in BiH, the Support Foundation to public diplomacy “A.M. Gorčakov” and the Russian House in Belgrade. 

The conference discussed Russian-Serbian relations at the expert level and mutual interaction in the light of the contemporary transformation of the international system and global political upheavals. An alternative expert view on the role of Russia and the place of the Balkans in the context of the formation of a new multipolar world order was presented, and presentations were made by well-known Russian and Balkan experts, representatives of research centers, government and non-government organizations and the media.

On the first day of May 18, on Saturday, the international conference “Russian-Serbian relations in the context of the formation of a multipolar world order: experiences and perspectives” was held, the magazine “Balkan Diplomat” was presented, and 3 topics were discussed at the round table:

• “Influence of external influential players on the processes in the Balkan region: history and modernity”
• “Conflicts in the Middle East and Europe: impact on the current situation on the world stage”
• “Serbian-Russian relations in changed geopolitical circumstances: challenges and perspectives”

The following spoke with an opening speech: Leonid Drachevsky, Executive Director of the Public Diplomacy Support Fund A.M. Gorčakova, Željko Budimir, Minister of Science and Technology Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska (BiH), Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Igor Kalabuhov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On the second day of the festival, Sunday, May 19, a series of presentations “Public Diplomacy, Science and Education in Russia: Opportunities” was held.

On the last day of the manifestation, “Days of Russia in the Republic of Srpska”, on May 20, an expert round table was held under the title “Dialogue of cultures: the experience of the common life of the people of Russia and the Republic of Srpska”, and in the Parish House of the Church of Christ the Savior, a sermon was organized on the topic “Serbian – Russian spiritual ties”.