Metropolitan Hilarion attends the opening of All-Russian Festival of Culture of North Caucasus Peoples in Federal District

On 26 April 2012, the All-Russian Festival of the Culture of North Caucusus Peoples in the Federal District opened at the State Kremlin Palace.

During the opening ceremony, Sergei Ivanov, head of the presidential administration, read out a message of greeting from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Among the guests were Ramzan Kadyrov, President of Chechnya; Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, President of Ingushetia; and Arsen Kanokov, President of Kabardino-Balkaria. Present at the celebration were also Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, and Archbishop Zosima of Vladikavkaz and Makhachkala.

Among the performers were Lezginka, a dance ensemble from Dagestan, Vainakh, a dance ensemble from Chechnya, and Stavropolie, a Cossak song and dance ensemble, as well as Alania, a chamber choir from Northern Ossetia-Alania. There were also artists from Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria, and several children’s performing groups. Within the framework of this cultural forum, exhibitions of visual and applied arts are taking place, with the works of Ingush masters on display.