Ceremony for Premiere of Russian Cartoon Series Smeshariki Held

The CPAFFC and China Central Television (CCTV) jointly held a ceremony on March 1 in the CPAFFC’s Peace Palace， marking the premiere of Smeshariki (GoGoRiki)， a Russian Animated TV Series being broadcast on CCTV.

Both China and Russia attach great importance to the broadcast. Among those present at the ceremony were Chen Haosu， CPAFFC and China-Russia Friendship Association (CRFA) President， along with Tomikhin Evgeny， Minister-Counselor of the Russian Embassy in China， Gao Hongbo， Vice President of the Chinese Writers Association and famous writer of children’s literature， Li Xueqian， Vice Chairman of the National Children’s Work Coordination Committee and Sheng Yilai， Director of CCTV Children’s Channel. Leading officials of the relevant Chinese and Russian departments and journalists from the media of both countries， totaling over 100 people， were also present.

Chen Haosu said Smeshariki (meaning funny little balls) shown in China would enhance Chinese children’s understanding of Russia and play a positive role in creating the next generation of those committed to the cause of Sino-Russian friendship. The year 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries. The series broadcast would surely add color to the celebration. As this was the first Russian animated TV series to be aired in China， it would greatly boost exchanges and cooperation.

Tomikhin Evgeny said he was happy to see the well-known Russian cartoon being shown in China. Youth were the future of the cause of Russia-China friendship and it was very important to enhance understanding and friendship between the younger generations. Russia-China good- neighborly relations had been developing continuously thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides. It was imperative to promote friendship and cooperation by holding large-scale events of friendly exchanges. He expressed his belief that the cartoon series would make new contributions to bilateral cultural exchanges and the cause of Russia-China friendship.

Ilya Popov， President of the Russian Smeshariki Ltd. explained how， with the support of the Russian Government and the National Children’s Fund of the Russian Federation， the multi-themed cartoon series had been produced. From March 7， a total of 104 episodes will be shown on the children’s channel of CCTV. Each episode tells a story， teaching children to love life and respect teachers， and to be honest， ready to help others， diligent and courageous. The series has 10 main characters， each having his/her strong and weak points. By judging for themselves， children can greatly improve their ability to know right from wrong.

In recent years， the series have achieved great success and been shown on more than 300 TV stations in dozens of countries including Russia， the United States and across Europe with an audience of over five million across the world viewing daily.

Ilya Popov expressed his sincere thanks to the China Service Center for Friendship and Cooperation with Foreign Countries (CSCFCFC) for the effective work it had done since 2005 for the promotion of the series in China.

Gao Hongbo， Li Xueqian， Sheng Yilai and the aged famous writer of children’s literature Jin Bo also spoke at the ceremony.

At the end， Xiao Lu， anchorwoman of the children’s channel of CCTV， said this would be remembered as the day on which a new flower was added to the garden of the China-Russia friendship; from this day on， the Chinese children would have new cartoon friends coming from a friendly neighbor to accompany them in growing up， making due contribution to China-Russia long- term friendship and building a harmonious society.