Exeter Yaroslavl Twinning Association

History of relations between Yaroslavl and Exeter in the memoirs of the members of the "Yaroslavl-Exeter Friendship Society"

 

In our difficult, troubled times, it is so desirable that people of all the earth, different nationalities, religions and political views have the opportunity to feel the unity and satisfy the need for communication. That is why it is so important to keep friendly ties between people from different countries, which started many years ago. For Yaroslavl, it is especially important, because the city maintains long-term brotherly relations with the cities in different countries.

 

Twinning relations with the English city of Exeter have been developing for over 30 years. "Yaroslavl-Exeter Friendship Society" always plays the most important role in it. The initiative to create such a society appeared in the far 1990 ( the previous century)

 

Members of "Yaroslavl-Exeter Friendship Society" Svetlana Shishkova and Galina Evstifeeva recollect:

 

"The first chairman of the "Society" was the Head of the Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushinsky Nikolay Pavlovich Voronin. He took part in the reception of Exeter Children's Orchestra in Yaroslavl. A huge contribution to the organization of the reception was made by the City Hall of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Regional Council of Trade Unions and the Head of the Department of Culture of this organiszation Polozova Neonila Nikolaevna. Two buses were allocated to transport 60 children, orchestra members and their parents (10 people) from Sheremetyevo airport to Yaroslavl.

 

With great excitement we were waiting for the arrival of the English guests in the airport hall. We are Galina Evstifeeva, Deputy Director and Director of the English Language Department at the secondary school No. 4 specializing in teaching English, and teachers Svetlana Shishkova, Irina Frolova and Irina Chistyakova, as well as Nadezhda Surikova, an employee of the Yaroslavl Regional Trade Union Committee. When we saw our guests we realized that we did not take into account the huge number and size of musical instruments that they had brought with them. The children and their parents were placed in buses, and one of us stayed at the airport to guard the valuable cargo and wait for the arrival of the truck to deliver the instruments to Yaroslavl.

 

The guests were accommodated in the hotel "Yubileinaya" on the bank of the Kotorosl River. And the next day a “stormy” life began. For the head of the children's orchestra Mr. Richard Bower, a very serious and talented man, devoted to music, a great connoisseur and lover of Russian music, this trip became a matter of life. Mr. David Patterson, Chairman of the Parents' Committee of the Exeter Children's Orchestra diligently fulfilled all his tasks. Richard Bower was interested in what instruments were sold in music stores in Yaroslavl, and we accompanied him and the children to such a store in Moskovsky Avenue where they spent a lot of time.

 

The program of our guests in Yaroslavl was full of events and included, for example, a visit to the Radio House , where its employees organized a tour, told them about the history of the first radio programs, about the work of Yaroslavl Radio station during the Great Patriotic War, and about outstanding announcers. The children listened to the speakers very attentively. At that time, the young generation was not so immersed in gadgets, they were interested in everything that was strange and new for them.

 

And what wonderful meetings were held in the House of Culture of the Radio Plant, where the Children's Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments under the direction of Stepan Vishnevsky (director of the Stompelev Children's Music School) performed !!! The acquaintance with the dancing group "Elling" of the Palace of Culture of the Shipyard under the direction of Nikolai Kuzmin was very interesting and exciting for our English guests..

 

The English musicians spent 10 days in Yaroslavl and gave many concerts. One of the most memorable was a concert at the monument to N.A. Nekrasov on Volga embankment. Richard Bower was noticeably nervous and asked Svetlana Shishkova if it was possible to play the music of the German composer Wagner. He probably feared that since Wagner (according to rumors) was Hitler's favorite composer, allegedly his music was not welcomed in the USSR. But the concert was received with delight, Exeter Children’s Orchestra professionally performed all pieces. The language of music was familiar to everyone. After the concert a lively, exciting communication began between musicians and listeners, and it lasted for several hours.

 

Traditionally, the visit included trips to the Yaroslavl region. We travelled to Uglich by ship - we had fun and laughed a lot .We talked about Russian food and the children said that not everyone got used to it, about chewing gum which was some kind of a miracle in the USSR at that time. In Uglich we enjoyed a wonderful excursion to the Church of Tsarevich Dmitry on Blood. Everyone was stunned listening to the heartbreaking story about the murder of the Tsar’s heir - a boy- Tsarevich Dimitri

 

Then, we had a visit to the famous Uglich Watch Factory . Before the tour, the children went to the factory's store and bought souvenirs - mechanical wristwatches. I think that the English guests remembered the factory for perfect order. Besides that everybody received a colourful brochure.

 

After that there was a trip to Kostroma with its ancient sights. Many guests were surprised to see it. In Rostov, for example, one of the parents was amazed by the luxurious interior decoration of the churches, noticing that Catholic churches are much simpler and more modest.

 

We also took our British visitors to the health resort of the workers of the radio plant There was one more delightful concert there ! Attendees applauded to the musicians for a long time. The head doctor of the resort, a father of several children, liked the parents of the English children very much. They had a lovely conversation which lasted until late in the evening, because it does not matter what country the parents are from, there is always a topic for a conversation .

 

The musicians also gave several concerts in the children's summer camps.

 

Everything was new for our guests and they wanted to learn as much as possible about the Russians and their customs and traditions. One day the grown-ups mentioned that it would be interesting for them to see how the Russians lived and Galina Evstifeeva invited them to her home.. They were very grateful when their wish came true.

 

One of the most exciting events for our guests was a visit to Moscow- our capital. One should have seen the delight of the children when they found themselves in Red Square: they were laughing, squealing and jumping with joy that they visited such a historic place. There were shouts: "Hurah !!! We are in Red Square!"

 

And then there was a touching parting and promises to write letters, not electronic, but real paper letters to support the epistolary genre, so to say. The friendship that was born in those August days of 1990 continues to this day. Some participants of that first visit to Yaroslavl are still active in the “Exeter- Yaroslavl Twinning Association “ ( Marilyn Pegg) .

 

It should be noted that it was the first visit of the Exeter Children's Orchestra to Yaroslavl that played a huge role in the establishment and development of many years of friendly relations with the twin city of Exeter in Devon County, Great Britain. Children and adults, Englishmen and Russians have planted the seeds of friendship, trust and mutual respect for many years.

 

A year later, in 1991, the leaders and the participants of the “Yaroslavl children's folk instruments orchestra” and the dancing group “Elling” visited Exeter at the invitation of the Exeter Children's Orchestra and made new friends there. The interest in Russian music was so great that later, on the initiative and desire of parents and children (the Turner family and others ), a Russian balalaika learning club was created in Exeter, which later became known as the Russian Balalaika ensemble. For many years, the Vishnevsky spouses came to Devon and conducted balalaika workshops for the children

 

In conclusion, we would like to recall last year's visit of the members of the "Twinning Association Exeter-Yaroslavl" to our city in the anniversary year of our friendship and hope that our friendship will continue and strengthen.

 

Members of the "Yaroslavl-Exeter Friendship Society".

Svetlana Shishkova and Galina Evstifeeva

 

Exeter Children's Orchestra