The international project “Russian Seasons,” which launched in Thailand in early 2026 and has already gained a devoted audience, continues with two new events.
On 29 July, the city of Ubon Ratchathani in northeastern Thailand will open a vibrant photo exhibition, Buddhism in Buryatia, dedicated to the traditions and culture of Buddhism in Russia. It will be held as part of the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival, a landmark event in the city.
Soelma Dagaeva, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Buryatia, sent a greeting to the project participants, noting:
“We are honored to present a piece of Buryat spiritual culture in hospitable Thailand. It is symbolic that our exhibition is taking place during the Candle Festival. Light is a universal symbol of the Buddhist tradition, embodying knowledge that conquers the darkness of ignorance. We believe that the light of our hearts and the warmth of our culture, which we brought with us from distant Buryatia, will resonate in your hearts.”
The exhibition is dedicated to the formation and development of Buddhism in Russia and is a kind of visual dialogue between the past and the present. The historical section features rare archival photographs from the early 20th century from the collections of the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia. These images are priceless testaments to the era, capturing Buddhist clergy, the architecture and rich decoration of lost or altered datsans, and conveying the atmosphere of religious holidays and rituals that have become part of history. The contemporary section features works by Buryatia-based photographers Sergey Tarasenko and Anna Arapova. Through their lenses, they explore Buddhism as a living, vibrant tradition. Their photographs convey the aesthetics of Buddhist art, portraits of contemporary Buddhist teachers, and the meditative silence of sacred sites.
On 31 July, the Thailand Cultural Centre in Bangkok will host a concert by the brilliant flutist Sophia Wieland, accompanied by the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Conducting the evening will be the young, talented, and highly sought-after Russian conductor Ivan Nikiforchin.
The concert titled The Royal Benevolence is dedicated to the 74th birthday of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand (Rama X). The first half will feature works by Felix Mendelssohn, one of the greatest representatives of early Romanticism. The musicians will perform his famous Overture from William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21, and his Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64. The second part will feature a symphonic suite Scheherazade, Op. 35 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, one of the most popular works by the outstanding Russian composer, the founder of the fairytale opera genre. This orchestral work combines two characteristic features of Rimsky-Korsakov and Russian music in general: dazzling, colorful orchestration and an interest in the East. The title Scheherazade refers to the main character of the book One Thousand and One Nights.
Sofia Wieland is a first prize winner and gold medalist at the 17th International Tchaikovsky Competition, a soloist of the flute section of the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra and the World Orchestra for Peace, and a participant in numerous international festivals. As a soloist, she has performed with many orchestras and ensembles, and her repertoire includes flute concertos by Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Fétis, Mercadante, Verhey, Nielsen, Ibert, Françaix, Liebermann, and other composers.
Ivan Nikiforchin is the youngest chief conductor in Russia. At the age of 29, he took charge of the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra, one of the oldest symphony orchestras in the country. He is the founder, artistic director, and chief conductor of the Academy of Russian Music, which unites a symphony orchestra and choir and is one of the most prominent orchestral and choral ensembles in modern Russia. Nikiforchin is a laureate of the 1st Sergei Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers, and Conductors (2022) and a laureate of the Russian Presidential Prize for Young Cultural Figures (2024). In 2025, Ivan Nikiforchin was named Conductor of the Year by the BraVo International Professional Music Award.
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“Russian Seasons” is a flagship international project of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. It will continue in Thailand until the end of 2026. Future events will include performances by the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Puppet Theatre, the Boris Eifman Ballet, the Igor Moiseyev State Academic Folk Dance Ensemble, and much more.
