Bashkortostan and Netherlands continue to develop cultural cooperation

The project was supposed to be completed in 2020, but due to the pandemic, events in the Kingdom of the Netherlands were postponed to 2021. Scientists and public figures from Russia, the Netherlands, Estonia, Germany, France, Great Britain, the USA, and Canada took part in the conference dedicated to the liberation of the Netherlands from Napoleonic rule with the participation of the Russian army.

The conference participants were greeted by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bashkortostan Amina Shafikova and the mayor of Olst-Wijhe Ton Strien. The Minister of Culture noted that ties between the regions had been fruitfully developing in the field of culture since 2013 and thanked the director of the Gelvink Museum, Dr. Jurn Buisman, the chairman of the museum fund, Dunya-Maria Vervey, and the municipalities of the cities of Heerde and Wijhe for perpetuating the memory of the feat of our compatriots who took part in the liberation of the Netherlands. The words of greetings from the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bashkortostan were read by Valentina Latypova, Director of the Center for Intercultural Partnership, coordinator of the Bashkortostan-Netherlands cooperation project. Ton Strien also expressed hope for welcoming the official delegation of the Republic of Bashkortostan on the land of the Netherlands and stressed that the inhabitants of the Netherlands would never forget the feat of the Bashkirs. The conference was moderated by the co-organizer of the meeting, Director of the Gelvink Museum, Dr. Jurn Buisman.

Summing up the conference results, he named the priority areas for future research that would require further study and consideration at a future conference in 2022 or 2023. Events dedicated to the 208th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from the rule of Napoleon took place in Wessen and Wijhe of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

As part of the festive events, the work of interactive platforms was organized: a photo exhibition about the Republic of Bashkortostan, a display in the Historical Museum of Wijhe, a presentation of military uniforms of Russian and Bashkir warriors of that time, a concert and a flash mob at the monument to a Bashkir warrior on the banks of the Ijssel in Vessen, master classes and a rally dedicated to the installation of a monument to the Russian general Alexander Benckendorff in the park of the city of Wijhe made by the sculptor Alexander Taratynov.

The humanitarian ties between the Republic of Bashkortostan and the province of Gelderland of the Kingdom of the Netherlands suppose new projects on preserving historical memory and developing cultural connections between our peoples.