Mintimer Shaimiev takes part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Light comes from the East”

On October 24, Tatarstan State Counselor, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Revival Regional Foundation and the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mintimer Shaimiev took part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Light comes from the East”, which presents artworks created under the All-Russian Plein Air dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria.

On August 3-18, 2022, the All-Russian Plein Air was held in places related to the history and culture of the Volga Bulgaria. It started in the village of Shygyrdan in the Republic of Chuvashia, then continued in Bolgar, Cheboksary, Bilyarsk.

As many as 50 outstanding artists, sculptors and craftsmen, including academicians, corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Arts, folk and honored artists from Moscow, the Moscow region, Saint Petersburg, Tatarstan, the Chuvash Republic, the Krasnodar Territory, the Stavropol Territory, the Republic of Crimea , the Republic of Dagestan, Sverdlovsk, Penza, Yaroslavl, Kostroma and Kirov regions created during the plein air high-level artistic works related to the adoption of Islam, the origin and existence of the Bulgarian civilization.

Plein-air and exhibition organizers are Russian Academy of Arts, Tatarstan Ministry of Culture, Kazan Kremlin State Museum-Reserve, Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communication of Kazan Federal University.

Today, more than 100 works were exhibited at the exhibition in the building of the Offices of the Kazan Kremlin Museum-Reserve, which depict preserved and revived monuments of the Bulgarian antiquity, stories related to the adoption of Islam, the history of the Bulgarian civilization, as well as the beautiful nature of these places. Among them are paintings, graphics, sculpture and works of arts and crafts. The exhibition has already visited Bolgar (Tatarstan), Cheboksary (Chuvashia) and Simferopol (Crimea).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Shaimiev emphasized the special significance of celebrating at the state level the 1100th anniversary of the voluntary adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria.

Shaimiev emphasized that the works of art presented today will perpetuate the present historical event and will preserve the history of Bolgar for future generations. He thanked the organizers and participants of the project, emphasizing that "the Almighty Himself helps such projects".