UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature

Just a year after the 2014 UK-Russia Cross-Cultural Year came to an end 2016 has been designated a UK-Russia year of Language and Literature.

Many events during the year will mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death in 1616. Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery and London's National Portrait Galley will celebrate their 160th anniversaries next year with an exchange of masterpiece exhibitions in the spring.

"In the context of the current political and military crisis, a year of language and literature seems to be very important. It proves that culture and nations have a presumption of innocence," Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Russian President’s Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation, said.