Masters Created First Wooden Sculptures at Istoki KAkieMY

The 9th Istoki KAkieMY festival of Russian Old Believer culture took place in the village of Kuliga, Kez District. The event was held with grant support from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and was part of the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia.

Participants included 12 Russian Old Believer ensembles from Udmurtia and Perm Krai. They performed folk songs and dances accompanied by the accordion.

The central event was the wooden sculpture festival. Five master carvers from the Malopurginsky, Yarsky, Alnashsky, and Igrinsky districts and Izhevsk created the composition ‘Bear Family’. For guests, an interactive recreation area ‘Bear Corner’ was set up, where the history of the Old Believer settlement of Kuliga is told.

Trade and craft rows operated on the festival grounds. Visitors watched the carvers at work and took part in five master classes on making souvenirs. Traditional dishes and folk craft items were also presented. Such events contribute to the preservation of family and spiritual-moral values, which corresponds to the objectives of the national project ‘Family’, implemented by decree of President Vladimir Putin.

Minister of National Policy of Udmurtia Eduard Petrov noted: “The ‘Istoki KAkieMY’ festival has become a living workshop where craftsmen create art objects and show children and young people how beauty and art are born. Such events unite people of different ages and nationalities around common values — love for the native land, respect for work and creation. This is precisely how the unity of the peoples of Russia manifests itself.”

The festival ended with a disco ‘Bast Shoes in Disco Rhythm’, combining folk traditions and a modern leisure format.