Under the flag of the Union of creators and Development Leaders of the Living Cities Union presents Russian authors and books at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF 2023). It is an initiative for the comprehensive dissemination of Russian classical and modern literature to foreign markets.

The “Living Cities” project is a joint initiative of the union and the cultural and educational fund “Living Fire”, with the support of the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Alexandra Ochirova, member of the Commission for UNESCO of the Russian Federation. 

Organizers said that the need to create such a project is due not only to the intensified attempts to cancel and ban Russian culture around the world: “Russian literature is the pillar of our nation and the entire world civilization. The demand for the study of Russian literature is growing both in the countries of the Middle East; which is traditionally friendly to us, and around the world.

Russian literature is in demand both in translations and in the original language. Participation in such landmark events is the key to countries and regions, and a direct road to their markets and directly to readers. In this pilot event for our initiative, we invited large publishing houses to participate in order to exchange experience and search for optimal organizational solutions. Thus, only about 200 books are presented at our stand, including: publishing house "Peter", "Alpina Publisher", books by science fiction writers, participants in the literary festival "Stars over Donbass", the national book publishing house of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) "Bichik" and an exclusive collection of poetry by Dr. Alexandra Ochirova translated into English and Arabic, as well as books by the Egyptian author Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, head of the Silk Road Literature Series and Anthology.

Ashraf Aboul-Yazid Books’ list exhibited in the Living Cities Union section included his Arabic translation of  “My Horizons in Sequence” by Alexandra Ochirova,  and versions of his poetry book “A Street in Cairo” in German, Russian (translated by Eldar Akhadov) and Serbian by: Ana Stjelja, along with Poetics of Narrative in Ashraf Aboul-Yazid’s Novels, by Sabina K., and Nano Poems for Africa, The Silk Road Anthology, 2023, in multi- language edition.   

 Chairperson Alexandra Lazukina said: “Of course, we cannot compete in attractiveness with the national stands of Turkey, Germany and other permanent participants of all international exhibitions, which build monumental expositions with their own color and large scope, and in addition to the central stand, these countries are represented by dozens of commercial publishers. From Russia, from time to time, we see one or two modest niches with several shelves, but having rallied and found understanding in authorized state structures, we must proudly and loudly declare at every such fair or festival that Russian literature, like Russian culture, is eternal, nowhere will not go away, and will spread exponentially, continuing to carry eternal values and uniting countries and continents.”

Within the framework of the book fair, there were presentations and an autograph session of books by the Russian author and screenwriter Kristina Kretova and Alexandra Ochirova, for her book “My Horizons” in Arabic which was nominated for the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize. The Living Cities Union and the Living World project are represented by its authors and leaders Alexandra Lazukina and Alexander Ostroverkh. They took part in a conference dedicated to literature and creative industries in the UAE. Agreements were reached on the translation and publication of our books with representatives of 14 countries.

She concludes: “Here in Abu Dhabi, in a friendly neighborhood with wonderful colleagues from RT and Rutenia, we clearly understood the necessary vector of development and already at the next fair we will confidently present dozens of Russian publications, and we are waiting for the personal participation of many authors.”