Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly with delegates and Russian people at the Vietnam Cultural Festival 2025 in Red Square on July 30 - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
"In the context of a changing and challenging world, we need to affirm the role of culture and art as a thread connecting people to people, nations to nations. Works of art, cinema, music or literature - even without translation - can touch people's hearts, overcoming all language or border barriers," Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly, wife of General Secretary To Lam, shared during her working trip to Russia that ended last weekend.
The working trip of Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly took place at the invitation of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Saint Petersburg city government, from July 22 to August 1.
During those 10 days, she visited and participated in cultural diplomacy activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The trip left unforgettable images in the hearts of those directly involved and the Russian people, strengthening the friendship between the two countries through cultural and artistic ties.
Living proof of Vietnam - Russia friendship
During the working trip, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly dedicated her first activity to the Vietnamese community in Russia, kindly advising generations born in Russia to try to learn Vietnamese well and turn to their homeland.
In Saint Petersburg, she attended the inauguration ceremony of Ho Chi Minh Square, marking that the "northern capital" of Russia has a complete complex of the great leader of Vietnam and a great friend of the Russian people.
Not only does the square bear his name, the city also has a monument, a street named after Ho Chi Minh and a museum space about Uncle Ho at High School No. 488 near the square.
At this special school, the Lady said that Vietnam has many schools named after President Ho Chi Minh during his revolutionary activities. With Saint Petersburg, the first place in Soviet Russia that Uncle Ho visited in 1923, she hopes that in the future there will be a school named after him.
Inauguration of Ho Chi Minh Square in Saint Petersburg on July 29 - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
Russia's affection for Vietnam is also shown through the warm welcome that the Governor of Saint Petersburg gave to Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly and the Vietnamese delegation, with conversations lasting for many hours.
Also in Saint Petersburg, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly inaugurated the Russian-Vietnamese Cultural Center at the Herzen National Pedagogical University - the school of many Vietnamese people in the past and present.
She also attended the painting exhibition with the theme "Cultural Dialogue in the Language of Art", with works from Vietnam by the late People's Artist Ngo Manh Lan, painter Vu Thai Binh, painter Doan Van Toi, and Russian painters Tuman Zhumabaev, Vladimir Kuzmichev and Dmitry Levitin.
Meanwhile, in the capital Moscow, Vietnamese green rice, bread, pho, spring rolls, and coffee gathered together at the "Vietnamese Cultural Festival - Colors from the Tropics" for 10 days in Red Square. Attending the opening ceremony on July 25 and returning to the festival once more, visiting all the booths before returning home, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly expressed to the Russian side her pride and emotion at the great love of the Russian people for Vietnam.
As she affirmed in her speech at the opening ceremony, the first Vietnamese cultural festival on Red Square is a symbol of a relationship that is constantly renewed, constantly developing, but always preserving its historical depth.
Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly and performances and booths at the 2025 Vietnam Cultural Festival in Red Square - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
Not only cuisine, the festival brought to Red Square the quintessence of Vietnamese culture, from traditional arts such as water puppetry, land puppetry, folk music, silk and traditional ao dai to handicrafts and lacquer jewelry...
Each performance, each booth, each cultural product is not only an expression of aesthetics, but also contains the historical depth and soul of the Vietnamese people - a nation that loves peace, values loyalty, is industrious and compassionate.
The traditional, vibrant images, colors and flavors of a tropical country present in an ancient and majestic historical space have created a cultural picture that is both similar and complementary, enriching global cultural diversity.
It is the cultural exchange and spiritual harmony that crystallizes into common values. That is the understanding, sympathy and friendship between Vietnam and Russia, the precious material that promotes further exchange, cooperation and mutual understanding.
Art has no borders
Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly and the delegation met with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
Also in Moscow, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly had a meeting and friendly exchange with Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Nikolayevich Chernyshenko and Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova, thereby contributing to promoting cultural and artistic cooperation and people-to-people exchange between the two countries in the coming time.
The Russian side supports the initiative to open Vietnamese language classes in schools with many Vietnamese students; wishes to promote the Russian-Vietnamese High School project in Hanoi and turn the Pushkin Institute in Hanoi into a Russian language learning center in Southeast Asia.
At the Russian Academy of Arts, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly attended an exhibition of 15 pairs of Vietnamese and Russian teachers and students through the generations, demonstrating the deep bond between the two countries in the fields of education, training, and art.
"For me, art has no borders. And music, painting, literature... have contributed to building a bridge of peace, connecting the souls of nations", Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly expressed when being awarded the gold medal "Dostoinomu" at the Russian Academy of Arts, respectfully sharing this honor with all those who are contributing to the friendly relationship between Vietnam and Russia.
Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly with the traditional Vietnamese ao dai she donated to the State Museum of Oriental Medicine in Moscow - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
At the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, the wife of General Secretary To Lam and the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition of Vietnamese lacquer paintings with the theme "Beauty behind the halo: Vietnamese lacquer paintings".
The exhibition, taking place from July 30 to September 14, 2025, is the largest lacquer painting exhibition of the National Museum of Oriental Art ever, gathering almost the entire collection of the museum on this traditional art form typical of Vietnam.
With her precious love for heritage and the desire to spread the beauty of Vietnamese culture to international friends, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly respectfully donated a number of cultural items to the museum, including a traditional Vietnamese ao dai.
When birch is depicted on the ao dai, two cultures seem to blend into one: the gentle Vietnamese soul and the pure, unshakable Russian beauty.
Modestly sharing that this is a small gift, the wife of General Secretary To Lam hopes that the traditional Vietnamese ao dai will become part of the Vietnamese cultural collection at the National Museum of Oriental Medicine and, above all, will be a delicate symbol of the sincere, close and lasting friendship between the two peoples.
Students of High School No. 488 presented Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly with a hand-knitted Matryoshka doll - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
"With the memory of a very meaningful and memorable visit of the Vietnamese delegation, let me once again express my deep gratitude to the Government and people of the Russian Federation, especially the Moscow city government and the State Museum of the Orient, for the warm and respectful welcome given to our delegation.
Thank you for creating the opportunity for Vietnam's unique cultural values to be present and spread in the beautiful country of Russia," Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly expressed at the end of the visit.
Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly visited and gave gifts to students at two Vietnamese classes at INCENTRA on July 23 - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH
The working trip of Mrs. Ngo Phuong Ly received the attention of the Russian media. Many major Russian newspapers and radio stations reported extensively on the working trip with meaningful cultural diplomacy activities, emphasizing the positive role of cultural diplomacy in preserving and developing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia.
According to initial statistics from the Moscow Department of Tourism, during the 10 days of the event, the Vietnam Cultural Festival at Red Square attracted 968,000 residents and tourists of the Russian capital, nearly equal to the average of 1 million visitors to this location each month.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/van-hoa-gan-ket-con-nguoi-xoa-nhoa-bien-gioi-20250805010942472.htm
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