An Evening of Tatar Culture was held in St. Petersburg at Library Branch No. 1 as part of the 16th Festival of National Cultures.

The event was opened with welcoming remarks by Svetlana Korneenkova, head of Library Branch No. 1.

Takhir Valiullin, leading specialist of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Tatarstan in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, thanked the library staff and presented them with letters of appreciation.

The evening continued with a flash mob and a showcase of Tatar traditional clothing, demonstrated by activists of the Tatar community — the youngest participant, Ruslana, being only five years old.

Members of the creative association “Bizäklär” — its head Linara Nikolashkina, Yanifa Fedosova, and Albina Pankevich — delivered a lecture on Tatar traditional costume. They spoke about elements of national dress such as izü, khasite, yaka-chylbary, kalfak headpieces, shawls, and aprons.

They also displayed items from their personal collections, which they had gathered not only by purchasing or inheriting them, but also by creating them by hand. The group organized an exhibition featuring clothing items, photographs, embroidered towels, jewelry, and books.

Attendees could also view the works of Kazan artist Yuriy Pavlov, presented on the walls — lacquer miniatures and hand-painted boxes. His main artistic theme is the culture of the Republic of Tatarstan. The exhibition was presented by Ruslan Bakhtiyarov, Candidate of Art History and Associate Professor at the St. Petersburg Stieglitz Academy.

The vocal-folk ensemble “Fayda” (directed by Venera Dumtseva) performed their program “Melodies of the Homeland”. They sang several songs that were warmly received with enthusiastic applause.

At the close of the evening, Ayrat Mannanov, Chairman of the Regional Public Organization “Tatar National-Cultural Autonomy of the Leningrad Region,” gifted the library colorful posters about Tatar traditions and everyday life.
Poet and writer Irina Ostroumova read her poem “To Jalil’s Verses.” She appeared wearing a shawl inherited from her great-grandmother — commonly referred to as a “Tatar shawl,” though it was also widespread among other peoples.

Guests continued their conversations over tea and delicious Tatar pastries from “Läzzät.”
Special thanks were expressed to the library staff for their cooperation and the warm, welcoming atmosphere they create at their events.

Text and photos by Farida Grenda