The Russian Field festival was held in Kolomenskoye

The interregional creative festival of Slavic art “Russian Field” in 2022 was held on August 27 on the territory of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. Traditionally, the festival brought together thousands of participants from various regions of the country to talk about the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of our Motherland.

“Our festival is annual, it is held for the 11th time in Moscow. It began in 2012 right here, in Kolomenskoye. And this is no coincidence, because in the Middle Ages the residence of Russian tsars was in Kolomenskoye, ”said Margarita Zheleznova, head of the organizing committee, chief director of the Russian Field festival.

Welcoming the guests of the holiday, Vitaly Suchkov, head of the Department of National Policy and Interregional Relations of the city of Moscow, noted: “For two years in a row, due to the epidemiological situation, the Russian Field festival beloved by the citizens was held online, but gathered millions of people at the screens. In 2021, the broadcast of the festival was watched by 4,123,358 people from 112 countries. We are very pleased that the new format allowed us to share the feeling of the holiday with everyone, but it’s still nice to return to the usual – finally, the festival will reopen its doors to guests at the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. At the same time, we will continue the tradition of live broadcasts with great pleasure. I am sure that every year the audience and geography of the audience of the Russian Field will expand. Every year, the Russian Field becomes a place of attraction for people who love and appreciate the history of Russia, its rich spiritual heritage, the versatility of traditions and customs, and its vibrant and original culture. Thousands of creative teams, artisans, commodity producers and tour operators come to the festival to give Muscovites and guests of the capital a real “spiritual Russian weekend”.

The main themes of the main folklore event of the country were the Year of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Russia, as well as the 875th anniversary of Moscow. The program of the Russian Field traditionally impressed the visitors with its scale: four stages and eight thematic venues, both long-loved by the guests, and completely new ones, worked simultaneously on the territory of the festival.

This year, “Russian Field”, as before, brings together musicians, artisans, commodity producers and tour operators, in total – at least 2,000 representatives from 49 regions of Russia. Among them are Adygea, Komi, Mari El, Chuvashia. Creative delegations from Turkey, Uzbekistan, LPR and Belarus are also invited.

Visitors were able to study pottery, watch theatrical performances, and purchase products of folk craftsmen. The Modny Dvor site delighted with displays of unique collections of national costumes from 22 Russian designers and made it possible to admire beautiful folk costumes.

In addition to a large-scale entertainment program, the organizers of the festival annually try to surprise Muscovites and guests of the capital with interesting records. 2022 was no exception and was dedicated to gastronomic delights. For the guests of the holiday, two tons of porridge were prepared, and not just ordinary, but unusual, according to the recipe of 1147, when Moscow was first mentioned in ancient chronicles. Especially for this, a unique pot with 4.5 thousand liters was brought from Turkey. In addition to porridge, representatives of different regions of Russia and other countries prepared delicacies of their national cuisine at the National Cuisine site. There was also a competition of cooks “From the peasant woman to the hodgepodge of 5 centuries”, timed to coincide with the 475th anniversary of the mention of hodgepodge in the recipe book “Domostroy” (1547). Chefs from Moscow, the Republic of Mari El, the Republic of Udmurtia, the Kursk, Smolensk, Yaroslavl regions, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and other regions prepared a favorite dish with a national accent. The well-known Russian restaurant critic Oleg Nazarov was the host of the culinary competition.

Based on the results of all competitions, the festival jury determined the best choir; the best choreographic team; the best instrumental group; the best collection “Heritage and Traditions”; the best tourist route; the best gastronomic brand; the best folk craftsman and the best commodity producer.

The Russian Field festival not only surprised with new records, but also reminded of the records of previous years. Especially for the guests of the Russian Field, this year unique record-breaking products were brought to the festival, made for the IX (2020) and X (2021) festivals, but due to the pandemic, previously shown to viewers only in an online format. The audience was presented with: the largest panel painted by the craftsmen of the Fedoskino miniature painting factory (1.8 by 1.4 m, 30 kg), the longest towel in the world (210 m by 35 cm, 30 kg) and the largest tray in Russia, decorated with painted by the masters of the Zhostovo factory (2.1 by 1.5 m, 84 kg).

The site-reconstruction “Molodetskaya Squad” this year, of course, was dedicated to the era of Peter the Great: amusing battles, an exhibition of weapons and equipment from the times of Peter the Great, a crafts fair and master classes. For the youngest guests of the festival, there was a Children’s Fun playground with games, contests, relay races and competitions, attractions and other fun entertainment.

One of the main events of the festival was a gala concert with the participation of famous Russian performers and choirs of Russia: a large Russian choir of the participants of the “Russian Field” and the Academic Choir of Russian Song of Radio “Orpheus”, accompanied by the State Academic Folk Ensemble “Russia” named after. Lyudmila Zykina, the male choir “Peresvet”, the Moscow Cossack choir, the national show of Russia “Kostroma”, the festive choir of the Danilov Monastery. During the day, favorite performers of all generations performed at the Musical Square. The festival ended with colorful fireworks and a choral performance of the popular song “I am Russian”.

Mikhail Kovalyov.

Author’s photo