The National Centre RUSSIA presents cultural programme at national cuisine festival in Turkmenistan

The Festival of National Dishes of the CIS Member States and the Islamic Republic of Iran is being held at the Avaza National Tourist Zone in Turkmenistan. As part of the event, the National Centre RUSSIA is presenting a cultural space on 8 October that brings together musical traditions, folk arts and crafts, and collaborative creativity.

The stand of the National Centre RUSSIA at the festival offers a vision of our country through its traditional decorative and applied arts. Its design centres on national costumes, women’s headdresses and accessories, which for centuries were not merely items of clothing, but also important elements of culture. Macramé holds a special place in the design. This thread-knotting technique carries profound symbolism: threads come together to form a pattern, just as a culture is woven from the many traditions, peoples and regions united by a shared history.

"Here at the festival, the National Centre RUSSIA is presenting our country’s cultural programme. We are introducing guests to the diversity and richness of its history and culture and its unique folk arts and crafts — everything we take pride in and that our artisans create lovingly by hand," said the Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA, Natalia Virtuozova.

Skilled lace-makers from Ryazan, where a new branch of the National Centre RUSSIA opened just a few days ago, are introducing festival participants to the secrets of creating unique Mikhailov lace. Craftswomen from the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Orenburg Region, the Kirov Region and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra are demonstrating techniques used to create Khokhloma painting, down shawls, Kukarka lace and fur ornamentation.

One of the central events of the Russian cultural programme at the festival will be the "Russian Music Salon". At the invitation of the National Centre RUSSIA, the Kupina Ensemble, whose members include teachers from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, will perform at the event. Gusli and bayan players will perform works from the Russian and Turkmen musical traditions, creating a distinctive musical dialogue between the two cultures.

Continuing its tradition, the National Centre RUSSIA is presenting a special symbol at the festival: a nevalyashka (roly-poly toy) with a new look created especially for Turkmenistan. The toy is one of Russia’s recognisable symbols, representing friendship as well as resilience and invincibility. For the festival, the nevalyashka appears in a new look: a red national costume featuring a traditional Turkmen ornament. The nevalyashka of the National Centre RUSSIA has previously worn Chinese, Uzbek and Indian national costumes and even travelled to the International Festival of Youth — 2026 dressed as Cheburashka.

The participation of the National Centre RUSSIA in the Festival of National Dishes of the CIS Member States and the Islamic Republic of Iran comes ahead of the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State and the Caspian Environmental Summit. The event provides an opportunity to introduce international audiences to the country’s cultural diversity, the traditions and crafts of Russian regions, its musical legacy and modern formats for cultural interaction. The festival programme will continue until 9 October.