Representatives of the Khanty indigenous minority people from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra to marry at the III All-Russian Wedding Festival

Two couples in love from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra will travel to the III All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts", where they will join more than 100 couples from across the country in a simultaneous wedding ceremony. The large-scale event will be held on Family, Love and Fidelity Day, 8 July, at the National Centre RUSSIA.

Vladimir Sopochin and Arina Kolyvanova from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra are representatives of the Khanty Indigenous Minority People. The groom is an oil and gas production operator, while the bride is completing her studies at Surgut Institute of Economics, Management and Law and will receive a diploma as a preschool teacher this year. The couple met six years ago at the national celebration "Oblas Rowing" in Nefteyugansk, when Vladimir was 15 and Arina was 13.

The couple grew up in large families that follow the traditional Khanty way of life and live on ancestral lands. Their fathers work for an oil company, while their mothers are keepers of the home. Vladimir’s mother is known as an original craftswoman, while his grandmother is a recognised master of sewing national clothing, making sinew threads and tanning hides, and knows many Khanty songs, fairy tales and legends. Arina’s mother is an excellent seamstress and embroiderer and makes traditional souvenirs; in 2003, a documentary film was made about their family, reflecting the everyday life and traditions of the Khanty people.

Vladimir and Arina actively take part in cultural events of the indigenous minority peoples of the North and in district and area celebrations such as "Reindeer Herder’s Day", "Fisherman’s Day" and "Oblas Day". They enjoy walks in the forest, fishing together and riding snowmobiles in winter. They are also fond of diamond mosaic art and have many joint photo portraits that they have made by hand.

"These are our first serious relationship and our first love, which we very much want to preserve and carry through many decades. We want to live a long and happy family life together in love and harmony. We have already been together for six years. That time was enough for us to get to know each other better and decide to take a serious step — to become a family under the laws of the Russian Federation. We really want the whole country to learn about our Indigenous Minority People — the Khanty. And we want everyone to see our traditional wedding attire. And, of course, as a peaceful and hospitable northern people, we would like to invite people to visit us, to our homeland," Vladimir and Arina shared.

Another couple from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra are Georgy Kunin and Diana Plisova. Both grew up in large families that preserve the traditions and family way of life of the Khanty people. Their parents instilled in them a love of nature through fishing, gathering wild plants and berries, and sailing in oblases (a kind of traditional boat). Georgy and Diana met at their friends’ wedding. Although Georgy was living in the village of Lempino at the time and Diana was living in Khanty-Mansiysk, their relationship quickly grew into strong feelings. Diana decided to move to Georgy, and the couple have been inseparable for three years.

Photo: From the personal archive

he groom works as a firefighter, while the bride studies at Khanty-Mansiysk Technological and Pedagogical College. Together, they take part in cultural events of the indigenous minority peoples of the North, including "Crow Day" and "Indigenous Residents", as well as the "Northern Track" race on kamus skis.

"It is a great dream for us to unite our destinies at the III All-Russian Wedding Festival at the National Centre RUSSIA. We lead an active traditional way of life, carefully preserve Khanty culture and want to present it at this large-scale celebration and show our national costumes. For us, taking part in the festival is not just a festive event, but an opportunity to feel unity, share our love story and be inspired by the warmth of other families from across Russia," Georgy and Diana said.

On the first day of the festival at the National Centre RUSSIA, 8 July, the main event will be the simultaneous wedding ceremony for couples in love from across the country. The celebration of love will be enhanced by the passing on of the flame of the All-Russian Family Hearth "Heart of Russia". The newlyweds will receive a particle of the flame from Murom, where the holy patrons of marriage, Peter and Fevronia, lived, from couples who married at previous festivals. On the second day of the festival, educational lectures, a gastronomic and cultural programme, as well as guided tours of the National Centre RUSSIA expositions "Journey Across Russia" and "Geography Lessons", will be held for the newlyweds, their guests and everyone interested in wedding themes.

This year, for the first time, the ceremonial simultaneous marriage registration as part of the All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts" will be held not only at the National Centre RUSSIA in the capital, but also at its branches, including in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra.