Natalia Virtuozova: IET is a research project about Russia's past and future
The International Ethnographic Triennial (IET) is a project that reinterprets Russia's cultural legacy and the local traditions of its regions through the lens of contemporary art, anthropology and ethnography in order to shape a new, unifying story of the country and its future. Natalia Virtuozova, Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA, spoke about this at the XII St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum. She took part in the panel discussion "The Power of Legacy: Identity for Unity" within the thematic section "Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity". Participants discussed how the unity of a multinational country can be built on a combination of historical, cultural, linguistic and value-based foundations.
Natalia Virtuozova said that the International RUSSIA EXPO showcased the diversity of the country's regions through their achievements and helped people feel the country's unity. The International Ethnographic Triennial will continue this idea as a project of the National Centre RUSSIA bringing together art, anthropology and ethnography.
"The National Centre RUSSIA was created as a place of pride, bringing together the very best our country has to offer. But behind every achievement are people who develop the country and create our shared future. Today, it is very important for us to move forward by rethinking our great past, preserving traditions and giving them new forms. This is how the idea of a large-scale research project — the International Ethnographic Triennial — was born. This project will bring together art, anthropology and ethnography. It will be launched for the first time in 2030, but we are already actively carrying out the research stage, drawing on the experience and best practices of major cultural institutions in Russia and around the world," noted Natalia Virtuozova, Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA.
The "Towards the IET" programme has already been launched as part of the International Ethnographic Triennial, comprising research, meetings, residencies and work with museums, regions and local communities. The project's goal is to connect local stories with the national and international context and make the IET a space for dialogue between regions, countries and generations, as well as between scientific knowledge and contemporary art.
"Understanding Russia has always come through ethnographic expeditions, artistic imagery and science — all of this has been done before. But the methodology of this project combines tradition with new experience: it brings together specialists from very different fields and residents of different cities. And the key words here are thinking together. That is why we will follow this project with great interest: it is becoming a kind of laboratory and a way of diagnosing what is happening in our country, while the result — what we want to model from it — is something we are creating together," noted Yulia Kupina.
The press launch of the International Ethnographic Triennial, a major project at the intersection of contemporary art, anthropology and ethnography, was held on 18 June 2026. The town of Zaraysk in the Moscow Region was chosen as the project's starting point: it has a unique historical and cultural legacy combining archaeological monuments of global significance, centuries of history and rich cultural traditions. It was here, for example, that one of the most ancient works of art, the famous Zaraysk bison, was discovered.
The XII St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum is being held in the northern capital from 24 to 26 September 2026. Its main theme is "United Cultures, Common Values". Organised by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the St. Petersburg Administration, the Forum has become one of the key events of the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, declared by a decree of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
The latest meeting of the board of the Council under the National Centre RUSSIA for the Development and Promotion of a New Russian Style in Public Spaces was held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 23 September.
Travel to Altai, see whales in Kamchatka or plan a trip to Grozny — the main thing is always to travel as a family.
Among the theatrical works worthy of the audience's attention and the highest praise are student projects.
