OREANDA-NEWS. May 20, 2009. A series of the actions that highlighted the contribution of the Turkmen nation to the treasure of world culture were held in the framework of the Turkmenistan in the Epoch of New Revival compatriots forum organized by the branch of the Humanitarian Association of the World Turkmen in St. Petersburg and Northwest Region of the Russian Federation and the Mekan Society of Turkmen Culture in St. Petersburg was held in the northern capital of the Russian Federation.

St. Petersburg – the recognized cultural capital of Russia and the world keeps the real treasures including the evidence of the ancient cultural of the Turkmen people in its numerous scientific centres, libraries, museums. The collection of the Russian National Library includes about 13,000 books in the Turkmen language. Four manuscripts with Magtymguly’s poetical masterpieces are of great value. Today, the priceless rarities casting light on the history and spiritual heritage of the Turkmen nation is a focus of the thorough scientific research of Turkmen specialists during their trips abroad, to the city on the Neva River as well.

These centres include the Russian Ethnography Museum situated on Square of Arts in the centre of St. Petersburg with its unique collection of particular interest to Turkmen specialists and culture experts. Its collection has about 500,000 original written monuments, documents and photographs on traditional culture of158 peoples of Russia and the neighbouring countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

The forum participants visited one of the central museum expositions – Turkmenistan that presents the versatile panorama of Turkmen culture. A part of the collections is wonderful Turkmen carpets and national costumes.

In one of the halls of the museum, the presentation of Magtymguly’s poetical collection in the Russian language was made. As is known, this collection was published on the initiative of the Embassy of Turkmenistan to the Russian Federation and timed to the 275th birth anniversary of the great son of the Turkmen people.

The presentation tuned into an art meeting where everyone could share their personal experience of reading Magtymguly and declaimed the favourite lines. The students of Magtymguly Fraghi Sunday school and the Turkmen young people who studied at the higher schools in St. Petersburg prepared a special cultural programme for the guests.

In the afternoon the forum participants visited one of the wonderful architectural ensembles of the ‘pearl necklace’ of St. Petersburg – Petrodvoretz

The forum on the banks of the Neva River was an important step to enhance and expand Turkmen-Russian cooperation in one of its strategic fields – humanitarian partnership.