Rustam Minnikhanov unveils a memorial composition dedicated to Shalyapin and Gorkiy

On 5 June the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov took part in a ceremony of unveiling a memorial composition dedicated to the opera singer Fedor Shalyapin and the writer Maksim Gorkiy.

Speaking at the ceremony, Rustam Minnikhanov said: “It is symbolic that in the year of the 150th birthday of our fellow countryman, the great artist Fedor Shalyapin and on the eve of the Day of the Russian Language we have all gathered here by the museum which has become a symbol of togetherness of two iconic figures of Russia culture.”

He said that Gorkiy and Shalyapin called each other brothers and were united by their love to art, Motherland and its talented people. . “For them Kazan was the city where they grew spiritually and rose. Today these two talented men are brought together on the background of the city that loves them,” the Rais of the republic said.

He reminded that this year the republic will establish a regional award after Fedor Shalyapin for the most outstanding young performers and musicians.

The memorial composition consists of the bust of young Maksim Gorkiy made by the sculptor Ivan Novoselov in 1967 and the bust of Fedor Shalyapin and a forged panel with views of Kazan on the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries made by sculptor Zulfiya Mukhamedyanov this year.

In the current year Russia celebrates the 150th birthday of the opera singer Fedor Shalyapin and 155th birthday of the Russian writer Maksim Gorkiy.