6th Russian culture fest to open in Japan in 2011

The Sixth Festival of Russian culture in Japan is due to get under way in the city of Hakodate, on Hokkaido Island, in summer 2011.

The festival will be dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the new Russia and the 150 years since the founder of the Japanese Orthodox Church, Archbishop Nikolai, started his mission in that city.

The Archbishop translated the Bible into Japanese, built the first Orthodox church in Japan and has been canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

At present, the congregation of the Japanese Orthodox Church exceeds 36,000.

The Festival of Russian Culture-2010 was officially closed in Tokyo yesterday. More than a million Japanese visited the festival.