Our Website, April 30

Magadan celebrates Russia's first Indigenous Peoples Day with cultural exchange

MAGADAN—An interregional session titled "Wisdom of the Peoples: In Words and Deeds" was held in Magadan, marking both Russia's Year of National Unity and the first celebration of the Day of Russia's Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples. The holiday was established by a decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2025, according to the press service of the Magadan Regional Government.

The event was organized by the Department of Native Languages and Literature at the Magadan Regional Institute of Educational Development, the regional branch of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia, and the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Rosdetcenter" ("Navigators of Childhood").

During the session, Olga Starikova, acting rector of the Institute of Educational Development, and Olga Stretovich, chair of the regional branch of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia, signed a cooperation agreement. The document outlines joint efforts to implement Russia's State National Policy Strategy through 2036, as approved by Presidential Decree No. 858 on November 25, 2025.

The session's program featured three thematic blocks:

— A presentation by China Motorova, a member of the Russian Writers' Union, on the role of folktales in preserving cultural continuity; — A practical exchange among educators from Magadan, the village of Evensk, Kamchatka Krai (Palana settlement), the Ola Center for Supplementary Education, preschool institutions, as well as staff from Rosdetcenter and the Institute of Educational Development; — A creative segment with performances by children from Kindergarten No. 33, who staged "The Cuckoo", an ethnic play based on a Nenets folktale.

As part of the event, the Pushkin Library hosted an exhibition of literature showcasing the fairy-tale heritage of Russia's peoples, while the Regional Museum of Local Lore presented an ethnographic display.