With Russian Roots

23 06, 2025

A Musical Evening in Brussels Celebrated Mysteries of the Russian Soul, Honoring Pushkin, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev

2025-06-23T16:05:20+02:00June 23rd, 2025|Categories: Exhibitions, Russian House News, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , , , |

On June 20, 2025, the Russian House in Brussels hosted a festive musical evening titled Mysteries of the Russian Soul: Pushkin – Tchaikovsky – Prokofiev, dedicated to important cultural anniversaries: the birthday of Alexander Pushkin, the 185th anniversary of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and the upcoming 135th anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev. The event became a vivid musical and literary tribute to three titans of Russian culture. Before the start of the concert, the atmosphere was imbued with the spirit of high literature: the distinguished French writer and member of the Académie Française, Dominique Fernandez, enthusiastically presented his new novel — Un choix [...]

9 06, 2025

Pushkin Readings in Brussels: Poetry, Memory, and a Living Legacy

2025-06-20T16:12:27+02:00June 9th, 2025|Categories: History Club, Our Compatriots, Poushkin, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , |

On June 7, the traditional Pushkin Readings took place at the monument to the great Russian poet on Pushkin Square in Laeken. Children and adults recited poems by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin in both Russian and French. Fittingly, Pushkin himself wrote his first poems in French — and today, his poetry continues to resonate in multiple languages, bringing cultures together. The ceremony was held with the support of the International A.S. Pushkin Foundation, established by Maria Alexandrovna Pushkina-Durnovo and Alexander Alexandrovich Pushkin, direct descendants of the poet in the fifth generation. Their presence was a special highlight of the event. They listened [...]

16 05, 2025

Russian Compatriots in Brussels Commemorated the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Genk

2025-06-20T16:12:28+02:00May 16th, 2025|Categories: History Club, Our Compatriots, Victory80, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , , |

On May 10th, at the cemetery in Genk, Limburg Province, Belgium, Russian compatriots organized a memorial event dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The ceremony included the laying of flowers at the graves of Soviet soldiers who died during World War II and the “Immortal Regiment” march. The event was supported by the Russian House in Brussels. The ceremony was attended by the Director of the Russian House, V.G. Bunina, diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Belgium, as well as members of the Russian community and local residents of Genk. During the ceremony, participants [...]

13 05, 2025

Director of the Russian House in Brussels Took Part in the Victory Day Commemoration Ceremony

2025-06-20T16:12:29+02:00May 13th, 2025|Categories: History Club, Our Compatriots, Victory80, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , , , , |

On May 9, 2025, the Director of the Russian House in Brussels took part in a solemn ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. On this day, the Ambassador of Russia to Belgium, A.A. Tokovinin, together with the Acting Permanent Representative of Russia to the European Union, K.K. Malayan, and heads of diplomatic missions from CIS countries, laid flowers at the memorials to Soviet citizens who died in the liberation of Belgium, as well as to members of the Belgian Resistance. The ceremony was held at the cemetery in the Brussels commune of Evere. It [...]

12 05, 2025

Russian House in Brussels Commemorates Fallen Soldiers at Ixelles Cemetery

2025-06-20T16:12:29+02:00May 12th, 2025|Categories: History Club, Our Compatriots, Russian House News, Victory80, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Brussels, May 8, 2025 — On Victory Day, representatives of the Russian House in Brussels laid flowers at Ixelles Cemetery, where Soviet soldiers who died in Belgium during the First and Second World Wars are buried. The annual ceremony symbolizes gratitude and remembrance for those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom and peace in Europe. A special guest at the ceremony was Liliane Maroutaeff, daughter of Yury Maroutaev, a member of the Belgian Resistance. His first wife was Marina Shafroff-Maroutaeva, a heroic figure of the Russian émigré community in Belgium. Marina Shafroff-Maroutaeva, daughter of a naval engineer [...]

9 05, 2025

Round Table Brought Together Researchers and Descendants of Resistance Members

2025-06-20T16:12:29+02:00May 9th, 2025|Categories: Exhibitions, History Club, Our Compatriots, Russian House News, Victory80, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , , , , |

On 6 May, the Russian House in Brussels hosted an international round table dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The event focused on the heroic and united struggle of the peoples of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the Soviet Union against Nazism, as well as on the challenges of preserving historical memory in the 21st century. The event brought together prominent historians, researchers, local historians, representatives of academic institutions, and descendants of members of the anti-fascist movement. The discussion centred on both well-known and lesser-studied chapters of the Resistance in Western Europe, in which [...]

25 04, 2025

ONLINE exhibition: The Resistance Movement in Belgium During World War II: Heroes, Memory, History (RU)

2025-05-11T20:32:02+02:00April 25th, 2025|Categories: , , , , , , |Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Welcome to the online exhibition "Russian heroes of the European Resistance during the Second World War". This exhibition is prepared by The Solzhenitsyn House of Russia Abroad (Moscow) and tells the stories of those who risked their lives to resist the Nazi occupation in Belgium and Europe. These individuals, whose names often remain in the shadows, played a decisive role in preserving freedom and humanity in the face of tyranny. Through archival materials and personal stories, we journey back to the years of World War II, remembering the value of freedom and the importance of unity in the fight against [...]

25 02, 2025

Andrei Makin presented his new novel in Brussels

2025-02-26T10:23:54+01:00February 25th, 2025|Categories: Library, Meet Russia, Russian House News, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , , , , |

ANDREÏ MAKINE, a member of the French Academy and a famous writer of Russian origin, presented his new novel Prisonnier du rêve écarlate in Russian House Brussels-Europe At the meeting with the famous writer, various questions were discussed - from the literary tradition in which the novel was created, and its links with Russian and French culture, to the historical background of the events described in the book. The book published in 2025 by Les Editions Grasset, traces half a century of history between the Soviet Union and France through the intense life story of Lucien Baer, a [...]

21 01, 2025

A book signing event with Andreï Makine, member of the Académie française (French Academy)

2025-01-27T09:56:33+01:00January 21st, 2025|Categories: , |Tags: |

ANDREÏ MAKINE. Member of the French Academy Languages: French, siultaneous translation into Russian On 21 February the Russian House in Brussels invites to a creative meeting with Andreï Makin, a member of the French Academy and a famous writer of Russian origin. Free Registration Andrei Makine's new novel, «Prisonnier du reve écarlate» , traces half a century of history between the Soviet Union and France through the intense life story of Lucien Baer, a young French communist. Arriving in Moscow in 1939 to discover a paradise on earth, he encounters a starkly different reality [...]

20 12, 2024

Émile Verhaeren and Russian Literature: Vladimir Ronin’s Lecture at the Russian House in Brussels

2025-06-20T16:12:53+02:00December 20th, 2024|Categories: History Club, Library, Meet Russia, Our Compatriots, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

On December 15, 2024, the Russian House in Brussels hosted a lecture by Professor Vladimir Ronin titled "Émile Verhaeren and the Russians: Que reste-t-il de nos amours?" The event attracted a diverse audience, including literature enthusiasts, students, and members of the Russian-speaking community in Belgium. Professor Ronin, a renowned expert in Franco-Russian literary relations, explored the profound impact of Belgian poet Émile Verhaeren on Russian literature. He discussed how Verhaeren's symbolist works resonated with Russian poets such as Alexander Blok and Valery Bryusov, influencing their creative paths. The lecture also highlighted the reciprocal nature of this cultural exchange, noting how [...]

14 11, 2024

Émile Verhaeren and the Russians: ‘Que reste-t-il de nos amours?’ Lecture by prof. Vladimir Ronin

2024-12-02T13:10:47+01:00November 14th, 2024|Categories: , , , , |Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

The meeting will be held in French with simultaneous translation into Russian. Russia and Belgium have fascinating pages of history together. There have been several periods when our countries were closely connected, and when people from both countries interacted a lot. One of these was the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and the period of the First World War, which began exactly 110 years ago. We're so excited to announce that the famous historian professor Vladimir Ronin will be giving three lectures on this dramatic and fateful period! These lectures are a must-listen for anyone interested in history. [...]

6 11, 2024

Film Premiere: «A Russian Youth». Cinema Club + History

2024-11-06T22:49:24+01:00November 6th, 2024|Categories: , , , |Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Free Registration To the 106th Anniversary of the End of World War I «A Russian Youth» Director: Alexander Zolotukhin (Alexander Sokurov’s film directing workshop) Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff Starring: Mikhail Buturlov, Philipp Dyachkov 2018 * 72 min.  English subtitles  A simple village boy goes to the front of the First World War with a naive youthful dream of fame and medals. However, in the first battle he participates, he loses his sight. He is left to serve as a listener - he must listen carefully through huge metal funnels and raise an alarm to warn of the approach of enemy airplanes. [...]

1 11, 2024

“With Russian Roots: Vernissage of the Exhibition “Landscapes of Yasnaya Polyana in the World of Leo Tolstoy,” and Concert of Young Talents Held at the Russian House in Brussels

2025-06-20T16:12:55+02:00November 1st, 2024|Categories: Exhibitions, History Club, Russian House News, With Russian Roots|Tags: , , , , |

On October 31 in Brussels, as part of the With Russian Roots project by the Russian House, an evening was dedicated to one of Russia’s most renowned families—the Tolstoy family. Attendees included members of various branches of the Tolstoy lineage living in Europe, including descendants of the writer himself: his great-grandson Dimitry Tolstoï , president of the Friends of Leo Tolstoy Society, and great-granddaughter Sonia Tolstoï, artist (France), as well as Marina Tolstoy, former president of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Russian Heritage in the European Union, and journalist Gregory Tolstoï (Belgium). According to Russian House director V. Bunina, [...]

29 10, 2024

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. And on the Eastern one? Lecture by prof. Vladimir Ronin

2024-10-29T20:33:49+01:00October 29th, 2024|Categories: , , , |Tags: , , , , , , |

Russia and Belgium have fascinating pages of history together. There have been several periods when our countries were closely connected, and when people from both countries interacted a lot. One of these was the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and the period of the First World War, which began exactly 110 years ago. We're so excited to announce that the famous historian professor Vladimir Ronin will be giving three lectures on this dramatic and fateful period! These lectures are a must-listen for anyone interested in history. We invite you to join us at the History Club, a new [...]

25 10, 2024

Commemorative Events of the First World War

2024-11-14T14:29:06+01:00October 25th, 2024|Categories: , , , , |Tags: , , , , , |

110 years ago the First World War began. Only after four long years, in November 1918, it ended with the long-awaited ‘Armistice’. The largest war in human history for its time, it was literally a global catastrophe - both for its contemporaries and for generations to come. Belgium was one of the hardest hit - and one of the most heroic - of the Great War. Novels and studies, poems and music have been written about her role. It became for many, including Russia at that time, a model of fortitude and courage, a symbol of freedom. [...]

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