Russian poets to recite in Trafalgar Square

The fifth festival of Russian poetry and culture in London is called “In the highest London Circles”. The name is a line from one of the most famous Aleksandr Pushkin's poems “Evgeny Onegin.”

The event is a contest for all Russian poets who live abroad, and though the prizes are symbolic, they're honourable for any writer.

The festival began as a small poetry tournament organized by Russian literary man Oleg Borushko. When more and more people started to participate in the event its scale grew to become the biggest international festival of Russian poets abroad.

The programme of the upcoming event includes a tournament of poetic video clips as well as prose and poems contests. The finalists will read their poems in Trafalgar Square on the 6th of June – the day of Aleksandr Pushkin's birth.

The organiser of the event, Mr Borushko, believes it will help Europeans better understand Russia.

“Pushkin is the best reflection of Russian spirit. But Europeans do not know Pushkin in this capacity, therefore through Pushkin's name and Pushkin's lines we try to show to Europeans what the spirit of Russia is,” he says.