Galina Kulikova, Cultural Envoy Of Sino-Russian Friendship

Russian Songs Performed at the Beijing Concert Hall

“Our country is so vast with numerous fields and forests. We have never seen other nationals breathe as freely as we do.” These words open the first song Motherland March， performed by the Kalinka Choir at a concert of Russian songs in the Beijing Concert Hall on June 25， 1995.

Since there was scarce opportunity to see a performance of Russian songs on Chinese stage for almost 30 years， the concert drew a large number of music lovers， including members of the National Day Alumni Association Chorus， Western Returned Scholars Association Chorus， Beijing Tongxin Chorus and the Friends of Folk Song Chorus， as well as local media， staff of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries（CPAFFC） and the Russian Embassy， and students from Russia， etc.

We included in the repertoire songs familiar to the audience， such as The Song of the Perturbed Youth， My Dear Mother， Five Daughters like Five Flowers， Hawthorn Tree， Quiet Field， earning warm applause each time. When the MC announced the last item， a female chorus of the Russian Embassy， there was thunderous applause.

Galina Kulikova， Vice President of the Russia-China Friendship Association （RCFA）， and nine others， dressed in white blouses and black skirts， walked onto the stage and sang two songs. The beautiful melodies and their passionate singing excited the au-dience， who clapped and cheered at the end of each song.

After that， our choir joined the Russian performers in singing Moscow Nights together with the audience under the baton of conductor Chen Shiwei. The words reverberated through the concert hall， followed by a long ovation.

I felt relieved to see such a warm scene. Only seven days earlier， when I announced that our choir would hold a concert at the Beijing Concert Hall during a party for World Women’s Films Week， I was not so confident.

Ms. Kulikova said she would attend. After the party， I wrote to her， inviting her to perform in the concert. She immediately called me back and told me they would sing two songs. Although they only rehearsed three times over the weekend before the show， their performance added extraordinary color to the concert.

Shortly after the concert， Ms. Kulikova wrote a passionate letter to our choir， expressing her amazement at our performance which not only embodied the art of music， but also the connotation of Russian vocal music.

She admired our endeavor to bring about a revival of singing Soviet and Russian songs in China and considered the poetic name of our choir “Kalinka” （meaning edelweiss in Russian） as evidence of the cultural interaction， mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

A Good Friend and Competent Diplomat

In 1995， the 50th anniversary of the victory of World Anti-Fascist War， our choir was invited to join the celebration in the Russian Embassy that winter. We sang several classical Russian songs such as The Bird of Happiness， Kalinka and My Moscow at the party， and Ms. Kulikova presented honorary certificates to those making outstanding contributions to the promotion of Sino-Russian friendship.

I was very excited to receive the certificate on behalf of our choir. After all， we were just a group of fans of Russian culture.

The first time I met Ms. Kulikova was in 1993 at a Mid-Autumn Festival get-together at the Russian Embassy. The middle-aged woman with big eyes and beautiful blond hair spoke excellent Chinese. In her capacity as Cultural Counselor of the Russian Embassy and Vice President of the RCFA， she introduced our choir to all the guests present.

Russian Ambassador Igor Rogachev even offered us piano accompaniment. This first meeting left a beautiful memory and was the start of continuous contact.

Ms. Kulikova was very energetic. Her warm laughter and elegant demeanor attracted everyone around her. She often went to watch concerts of Russian songs held in Beijing and performances by visiting Russian art groups and attended other cultural activities. Besides， she often joined the small gatherings with our choir.

In 1997， she led a group of Russian experts in Beijing to perform in the Russian-style friendship party hosted by Yang Hua from Beijing Music Radio Station featuring a dozen amateur choruses. She sang with passion and danced beautifully at the party.

In 1998， she led a group of Rus- sian children from the Russian Embassy to participate jointly with us in a Retrospect of Songs in Soviet Films organized by China Central Television. The children sang Blue Train and their tender voice and sweet smiles drew warm applause.

Excellent works of Russian music， dancing， poetry， literature， painting， audio and video products， and collections of Russian songs have emerged in large numbers in recent decades. Russian Concerts and Chinese choruses singing Russian songs have become popular.

There have been frequent exchanges between cultural groups of the two countries. The Russian Alexander Rolf Red Flag Song and Dance Troupe， Moscow Classical Ballet， National Little Birch Tree Dance Troupe， and Igor Moiseyev Ballet have made several tours of China.

Chinese fans of Russian culture always rush to the venues such as Beijing Concert Hall， Tianqiao Theater， Poly Theatre， Exhibition Center Theatre and the Great Hall of the People to enjoy the excellent performances.

Promise to Meet Again at Departure

The Russian Embassy held a farewell reception for Ms. Kulikova on January 19， 2001， and a few representatives from our choir were among many Chinese and foreign guests.

In his speech， Ambassador Rogachev spoke highly of her excellent service for 11 years. Art performances then followed. Two members of our choir， Dai Misheng and Li Ming， sang in Russian The Russian Field， a favorite piece of Ms. Kulikova while I accompanied them at the piano.

Ms. Kulikova was very pleased and came over to give each of us a hug. Other guests also came over， gave her gifts and had pictures taken with her. Ms. Kulikova shook hands and hugged everyone while saying goodbye with tears in her eyes. She told us： “You must go to Russia to visit the famous Summer Palace and Winter Palace， and the Volga River. See you in Moscow.”

Reunion in Moscow

Ms. Kulikova often thought of us after returning to Russia. At Christmas of 2003， she arranged for New Year greeting cards to be brought to us together with a passionate letter and a big box of delicious chocolates. In the letter she invited us to visit Russia. All of us felt a touch of sweetness in our hearts while tasting the Russian chocolate.

In August， 2004， a tour group composed of members of our choir and our relatives visited Russia. Ms. Kulikova came to see us at the hotel on the day of our arrival in Moscow. We were very excited to see our old friend again.

Ms. Kulikova invited us to visit the RCFA that evening， where members had prepared a variety of Russian dishes and drinks. Also present were Colonel Somov， Head of the Alexander Red Flag Song and Dance Troupe and several well-known Russian singers and artists.

After the welcome speech by Ms. Kulikova， everyone began to enjoy the delicious food and talk in Chinese， Russian， or English mixed with gestures. After dinner， the Russian artists and ourselves presented solo， duet， chorus and musical instrument performances. The three-hour long get-together ended with all present singing in unison The Song of the Perturbed Youth by the famous composer Aleksandra Pakhmutova.

It is said the best way to know Russia was to take a tour along the Volga River. We began our cruise from Moscow on the third day. During the day， we visited several cities； at night， we stayed on board， the only group from China （most of others came from Russia）.

On the cruise ship was Alexei Alexeyevich who played the Bayan（the Russian-style accordion） remarkably well. He would play after dinner every night and that was the most enjoyable time. Hearing the music， people would head towards the deck to dance and sing in turns.

We took out The Collection of

88 Russian Songs， and asked him to accompany us. We sang over a dozen Russian songs to our hearts content. The Russians on board were really surprised. They had never seen Chinese who could sing so many Russian songs.

I stood on the deck gazing at the direction towards Moscow where Ms. Kulikova lived. Our hearts were close despite our ship slipping further away. We visited the famous Summer Palace， Winter Palace and sang on the Volga River， Mother River of Russia， just as she wished.

Music and dance go beyond borders. Friendship between the Chinese and Russian people is just like the Volga River that never stops flowing. As sincere fans of the Russian culture， we will always remember that wonderful time.