Culture is very sensitive to climate around us. Just like any form of “soft” power. Recently the great leaders of the world met in Beijing, and now this type of positive dialogue is continuing in the “Northern Capital” of Russia. New films, unimaginable technologies, joint projects and long-distance tours – a lot of things are happening here in St. Petersbrug. A certain kind of people have gathered here. They are of the same faith, possess talent and have a life mission oriented toward humanism.

The current forum is the 11th in a row, and its Business Program symbolically includes 11 sections, including a new one – “Art Education”. In total, over 400 speakers from Russia and other countries are speaking at the various venues. The total number of participants will be more than two thousand people.

“The participation of representatives of foreign countries at the Forum proves that interest in Russian culture is irrevocable”, said Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation.

According to her, politicians, diplomats, and cultural figures from more than 70 countries are discussing “all their problems, joys, difficulties, and achievements” with their Russian counterparts.

“Now we can say with certainty that interest in Russian culture is irrevocable, and has not been canceled,” the minister said.

A truly Grand Event

The epicenter of the session “Culture and the Building of Civilization”, which was attended by famous cultural and religious figures, was an exclusive interview with Patriarch Kirill, published in the latest issue of Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Moderator of the meeting Ilya Kuzmenkov, editor-in-chief of Radio Vera, called this publication a kind of message to all participants of the Forum and reminded that last year it was His Holiness’s lecture that opened the Forum on the banks of the Neva River – “the patriarch’s message is becoming a good tradition,” he stressed.

It was what His Holiness said in an interview with RG that the participants in the discussion tried to comprehend and “experience”. Alexander Zhuravsky, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Public Projects, drew attention to the fact that a return to traditional values is being observed all over the world today, and this return has great economic and social potential.

Western civilization has gone the way of rejecting traditional values, a good marker of this is the relationship in the family, to blood relatives. According to a survey in which there was such a question as “do you consider yourself responsible for a sick parent,” in the UK, France, and the USA, only 8-10 percent of respondents answered “yes”. This was a powerful example provided by Vladimir Legoyda, chairman of the Synodal Department for Church-Society Relations and the Media.

Continuing the conversation, Mr. Legoyda, noted that “in the ultimate sense, the whole purpose of culture is an attempt to answer the question: what does it mean to be human.”

People’s Artist Yevgeny Knyazev recalled that ten years ago he wrote a letter to the patriarch – two pages in small handwriting. And I even read it at the Forum. It is concerned about the values of modern mass culture with its stream of mediocre performances, productions, and shows… I didn’t have to send the letter then: “We started working together with the Ministry of Culture, the issues began to be resolved little by little, and I postponed it,” the artist said.

European politicians feed the fires of Russophobia

The Forum of United Cultures has captured another venue outside the city: the Gatchina Palace, built by Paul I. It hosted the “Civilizational Dialogue between Russia and the West” event. This is the first forum that takes place simultaneously in the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg.

The guest of the meeting in Gatchina was Pierre de Gaulle, Chairman of the Pierre de Gaulle Foundation for Peace and Friendship between Peoples. “What is typical for France today is the use of a simple language of manipulation,” said the grandson of General Charles de Gaulle. “There are technocrats in Europe who do not have knowledge and diplomas. They want Europe to turn into a space operating according to Anglo-Saxon rules. In France, as in Russia, we defend traditional family values.”

In interviews with Russian media, he has repeatedly stated that he is ready to obtain Russian citizenship and move to Russia. “I want to move to Russia in order to preserve myself, so that my children can participate in building a multipolar world. And this is possible only in Russia. The very fact that I came here is a signal that France is not at war with Russia. Russia does not want war. I will always defend our Franco-Russian friendship. Grandpa said that our two countries have a lot in common. When we all unite together, we will become even stronger.”

Karin Kneissl, the former Austrian Foreign Minister, also confessed her love for Russian culture. She is now the head of the G.O.R.K.I. Geopolitical Observatory on Key Russian Issues at St. Petersburg State University. “Russia preserves all the best of that which was in Europe,” she said. “In Europe, everything was black and white for a long time. This is also an echo of religious wars, when you can only be either a good believer or a heretic. If you are with Russia, then you need to leave Europe. You’re either for or against. Or a supporter of the green deal, which today replaces religion. European politicians feed on Russophobia.”

Karin Kneissl was accused of sympathizing with Russia in Europe in 2018. She had to leave Austria. Now she lives and works in St. Petersburg.

Arnaud Frillet, Director of the Rachmaninoff Conservatory in Paris spoke in perfect Russian: “Russian culture is universal, has influenced the whole world for centuries, and it cannot be undone.” In his opinion, the cessation of the dialogue between the West and Russia is temporary “it is necessary for a new generation to grow up, realizing that traditional values are the basis of the world order.” He said that the Paris Conservatoire teaches according to the Russian methodology. There are also many teachers from Russia working there.

The Problem with AI is that it knows “everything”

For the third year a magnificent discussion has been conducted at the Forum: “New technologies in culture and art. Benefit or harm, advantage or risk?”

In a word: talent and robots: are they in a duel or are they a duet?

As Roman Karmanov, the permanent moderator and director of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives, joked, “such a team can safely form a working group on legislative and ethical curbing of AI”.

Mikhail Piotrovsky, as the overseer of the Hermitage, was extremely relevant in his words. “The danger of AI is that it is ideal for lazy bosses and performers. The temptation is to fill in all the boxes and consider yourself an ideal manager. The AI doesn’t say no. He knows ‘everything’. That’s the trouble. The Hermitage has found the right niches for AI. Using new technologies, we humanize them. We are creating a cloud Hermitage. And signing an agreement with Korean partners is about a cultural tomorrow without borders.”

Mikhail Shvydkoi holds many titles, but one of them, honorary professor at the Korean Cyber University, was a revelation even for the seasoned journalists in attendance.

He is convinced that sovereign humanism is no less important than sovereign intelligence. “Artificial intelligence plays chess better than humans. Where a living creator and man are needed, he is powerless. During the pandemic, everyone could listen to the best performers in the world. It was over, and people went to their philharmonic halls to their imperfect performers – alive and beautiful.”

This idea was vividly picked up by director Konstantin Bogomolov. “A significant crisis of the film language is due to the fact that new professionals are addicted to new technologies. They are successfully mastering the buttons of remotes and cameras, but they have forgotten how to work with an actor and tell stories. AI as a manipulator is dangerous. In the theater, you can immediately see who is alive and who is playing. There is a sense of life in a person. It is important to preserve this as an immune system. Unfortunately, it is weakening. AI causes atrophy, but the feeling of being alive is the feeling of the divine.”

We hope you enjoyed this synopsis of this grand event