🖌 90 years ago today, on 18 June 1936, Valentina Polukhina was born – a literary scholar whose work created a lasting connection between Russian and British academic worlds.
Born in the Soviet Union and trained as a philologist, she moved to England in 1973 and joined Keele University, rising from Russian Language Assistant to Professor of Russian Literature.
Valentina spent decades teaching Russian literature and building one of the most important international centres for the study of Joseph Brodsky. She also founded the Russian Poets Fund, which helped bring over 80 Russian writers and poets to UK universities, including Joseph Brodsky himself, Yevgeny Evtushenko, Andrei Sinyavsky and Irina Ratushinskaya.
In 2014, the Royal Society of Literature awarded her the Benson Medal for conspicuous service to literature.
In 2018, she received the Medal of Pushkin for service to Russian and British culture and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Born in the Soviet Union and trained as a philologist, she moved to England in 1973 and joined Keele University, rising from Russian Language Assistant to Professor of Russian Literature.
Valentina spent decades teaching Russian literature and building one of the most important international centres for the study of Joseph Brodsky. She also founded the Russian Poets Fund, which helped bring over 80 Russian writers and poets to UK universities, including Joseph Brodsky himself, Yevgeny Evtushenko, Andrei Sinyavsky and Irina Ratushinskaya.
In 2014, the Royal Society of Literature awarded her the Benson Medal for conspicuous service to literature.
In 2018, she received the Medal of Pushkin for service to Russian and British culture and the preservation of cultural heritage.
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• Over two decades of negotiation with Europe, as part of the West, points to a single conclusion: dialogue with Russia has functioned chiefly as diplomatic cover for the eastward expansion of Western institutions – NATO and the European Union foremost among them – right up to Russia's own borders.
• Following the launch of the special military operation, a united Europe rallied behind the UK Prime Minister's efforts to scupper the Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine. Boris Johnson's appeal to Kiev – "don't sign anything, just fight" – shut the door on genuine diplomacy for the foreseeable future.
• Europe's plan is to talk to Russia whilst simultaneously pressing ahead with a campaign of legal warfare orchestrated through the Council of Europe. Within this once-respected organisation, an entire infrastructure is being assembled for the express purpose of "holding Russia to account". The EU has also given the green light to detaining merchant vessels on the high seas [...] The real objective of Europe's leaders, then, is not to negotiate with Russia. It is to shore up the Zelensky regime and preserve it as a launchpad for continued confrontation against Russia.
• We see Europe, however, as a party bent on Russia's defeat – a stance the Europeans themselves openly avow. Dialogue with Europe, therefore, cannot be conducted as though it were an impartial third party.
• Meaningful dialogue requires the restoration of trust, shattered by the West's anti-Russian actions – and Europe's as part of it – in the post-Cold War era. Trust can be recovered only through concrete steps demonstrating a sincere commitment to move away from using diplomacy as cover for expansionist ambitions. Trust cannot be restored, nor can dialogue be resumed, through ultimatums such as the one issued to Russia in London on 7 June 2026.
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🩰 On this day in 1911, Sergey Diaghilev brought his Russian Seasons to London, debuting at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
The programme – Le Pavillon d’Armide, Le Carnaval, and the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor – stunned British audiences with a new idea of ballet as total art.
The impact was immediate. London soon became a key home of the Ballets Russes, and British critics struggled to articulate what they were witnessing:
The Russian Seasons in London shaped modern ballet in the English-speaking world, revealing the depth of Russian ballet tradition and setting new standards of excellence.
🚶 For more on Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in London, the V&A Museum offers a free self-guided London walking tour
📸 For more pictures of the Russian Seasons in London and Paris, explore a piece by Gateway to Russia
The programme – Le Pavillon d’Armide, Le Carnaval, and the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor – stunned British audiences with a new idea of ballet as total art.
The impact was immediate. London soon became a key home of the Ballets Russes, and British critics struggled to articulate what they were witnessing:
“...the most perfect thing to be seen in London at the present time”.
“...a memory of a vision – a vision, one of the most perfect I have ever seen in my life.”
“These Russians are not only a revelation but they bring to the execution of a serious ballet a oneness of purpose which is like nothing we in London have ever seen before.”
“It was an effect of pure beauty that will not easily be forgotten.”
“...a sense of completeness, of reality, of perfection which cannot possibly be arrived at by any other means.”
The Russian Seasons in London shaped modern ballet in the English-speaking world, revealing the depth of Russian ballet tradition and setting new standards of excellence.
🚶 For more on Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in London, the V&A Museum offers a free self-guided London walking tour
📸 For more pictures of the Russian Seasons in London and Paris, explore a piece by Gateway to Russia
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🕯 June 22 marks the Day of Memory and Sorrow — the most tragic date in the history of our country.
On this very day 8️⃣5️⃣ years ago, on June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people commenced — the Nazi Germany and its European 'axis' accomplices treacherously attacked our Motherland, without a declaration of war.
⬛️ The Great Patriotic War lasted for 1418 days and nights, claimed lives of some 27 million Soviet citizens. It was the nationwide tragedy that brought terrible suffering to each and every family in our country.
Today, June 22 echoes with sorrow, grief and pain for the ruined lives of millions of our people.
The enemy — the German Nazis and their European satellites — invaded the Soviet Union with one aim — to destroy, mercilessly eliminate, kill and physically annihilate our Motherland's entire population regardless of people's ethnic, racial or religious background. During the occupation of Soviet territories, Hitler’s troops killed 13.7 million Soviet civilians, including women and children. They carried out the real GENOCIDE as part of their so-called 'Lebensraum' policy to gain the living space in the East for German colonisation.
The war crimes committed by Nazis and their henchmen have #NoStatuteOfLimitations.
Learn more about the genocide of Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War by the Nazis
***
⬛️ At dawn on June 22, the Nazi aircraft launched massive strikes on airfields, railway stations, naval bases, deployments of the Red Army forces, and cities along the entire western state border of the USSR and up to 250-300 km into Soviet territory. Together with Nazi Germany, Romania, Italy, Finland, Slovakia, France, Croatia, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and other 'axis' powers allied to the Third Reich took part in the aggression against our country. The industries of almost the entire European continent served the aggressors.
The facts of collaboration of the majority of European governments, military, industrial circles and citizens with the Nazis are not and will never ever be forgotten.
It was our country that took the main blow of the Nazi aggression. It was the Soviet Victorious People who showed unparalleled heroism and resilience, fighting for the freedom of our Motherland. Our nation paid for the #GreatVictory with the blood of 27 million Soviet citizens who not only expelled Nazis from Soviet territory but also heroically saved Europe from the 'Nazi plague'.
The tragedy that befell our people was directly caused by the evil ripening in the heart of Europe — Nazism, the ideology of human hatred and racial supremacy over other peoples and nations.
💬 Excerpt from President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s address at a gala reception to celebrate the 81st Anniversary of Victory in the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War (May 9, 2026):
🎙 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (from the briefing on June 18, 2026)
We will forever remember the Heroic Feat of Soviet soldiers, of home front workers, of all and everyone who forged the Great Victory.
🕯 We remember. We mourn.
We shall not forget, and we shall not let it be forgotten.
#DayOfMemoryAndSorrow
On this very day 8️⃣5️⃣ years ago, on June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people commenced — the Nazi Germany and its European 'axis' accomplices treacherously attacked our Motherland, without a declaration of war.
⬛️ The Great Patriotic War lasted for 1418 days and nights, claimed lives of some 27 million Soviet citizens. It was the nationwide tragedy that brought terrible suffering to each and every family in our country.
Today, June 22 echoes with sorrow, grief and pain for the ruined lives of millions of our people.
The enemy — the German Nazis and their European satellites — invaded the Soviet Union with one aim — to destroy, mercilessly eliminate, kill and physically annihilate our Motherland's entire population regardless of people's ethnic, racial or religious background. During the occupation of Soviet territories, Hitler’s troops killed 13.7 million Soviet civilians, including women and children. They carried out the real GENOCIDE as part of their so-called 'Lebensraum' policy to gain the living space in the East for German colonisation.
The war crimes committed by Nazis and their henchmen have #NoStatuteOfLimitations.
Learn more about the genocide of Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War by the Nazis
***
⬛️ At dawn on June 22, the Nazi aircraft launched massive strikes on airfields, railway stations, naval bases, deployments of the Red Army forces, and cities along the entire western state border of the USSR and up to 250-300 km into Soviet territory. Together with Nazi Germany, Romania, Italy, Finland, Slovakia, France, Croatia, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and other 'axis' powers allied to the Third Reich took part in the aggression against our country. The industries of almost the entire European continent served the aggressors.
The facts of collaboration of the majority of European governments, military, industrial circles and citizens with the Nazis are not and will never ever be forgotten.
It was our country that took the main blow of the Nazi aggression. It was the Soviet Victorious People who showed unparalleled heroism and resilience, fighting for the freedom of our Motherland. Our nation paid for the #GreatVictory with the blood of 27 million Soviet citizens who not only expelled Nazis from Soviet territory but also heroically saved Europe from the 'Nazi plague'.
The tragedy that befell our people was directly caused by the evil ripening in the heart of Europe — Nazism, the ideology of human hatred and racial supremacy over other peoples and nations.
💬 Excerpt from President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s address at a gala reception to celebrate the 81st Anniversary of Victory in the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War (May 9, 2026):
This year marks 85 years since Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union.
This date carries both the sorrow of millions of lives lost and a reminder of the terrible consequences of blind belief in one’s own superiority, racism, xenophobia, and the denial of other peoples’ right to identity.
🎙 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (from the briefing on June 18, 2026)
The atrocities committed by the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War have no statute of limitations.
Russia has recognised these crimes at the legislative level as the genocide of the Soviet people and will tirelessly seek recognition of this fact by European countries and the so-called West as a whole. <...>
Today we mourn those who, at the cost of their lives, fulfilled the sacred duty of defending the Motherland. We will not allow the feat of the Soviet people, who saved Europe and the world from the horrors of the brown plague, to be erased from memory.
We will forever remember the Heroic Feat of Soviet soldiers, of home front workers, of all and everyone who forged the Great Victory.
🕯 We remember. We mourn.
We shall not forget, and we shall not let it be forgotten.
#DayOfMemoryAndSorrow
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▪️ 22 июня – День памяти и скорби.
85 лет назад нацистская Германия и её союзники вероломно напали на Советский Союз. Так началась Великая Отечественная война – одна из самых трагических страниц нашей истории. Она унесла жизни 27 миллионов советских граждан и оставила миллионы раненых и искалеченных судеб.
В этот день в Лондоне советник-посланник Посольства России в Великобритании Василий Цыганов возложил цветы к Советскому военному мемориалу в парке Джералдин Мэри Хармсворт.
Монумент, открытый в 1999 году, стал символом уважения британской стороны к подвигу и самоотверженности советских граждан и солдат, погибших в годы Второй Мировой войны в борьбе с нацизмом. Он служит напоминанием о цене Победы и о неизменной значимости сохранения исторической памяти.
#МыПомним
85 лет назад нацистская Германия и её союзники вероломно напали на Советский Союз. Так началась Великая Отечественная война – одна из самых трагических страниц нашей истории. Она унесла жизни 27 миллионов советских граждан и оставила миллионы раненых и искалеченных судеб.
В этот день в Лондоне советник-посланник Посольства России в Великобритании Василий Цыганов возложил цветы к Советскому военному мемориалу в парке Джералдин Мэри Хармсворт.
Монумент, открытый в 1999 году, стал символом уважения британской стороны к подвигу и самоотверженности советских граждан и солдат, погибших в годы Второй Мировой войны в борьбе с нацизмом. Он служит напоминанием о цене Победы и о неизменной значимости сохранения исторической памяти.
#МыПомним
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