The 6^th Russia’s Primeval Nature national festival opened in Moscow on 18 January. The project is supported by the Russian Federation Council, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Federal Agency for Tourism.

“Russia’s Primeval Nature is a unique, one-of-a-kind festival. It features Europe’s largest wildlife photo exhibition with a record number of photos on display,” Konstantin Kosachev, chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, said at the opening ceremony.

This year, the festival’s key project is an exhibition by the China Wildlife Conservation Association with 100 unique photos by 49 photographers. Visitors will learn about the rare animal species living in China, including the Amur tiger. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Russia Li Hui introduced the exhibition.

A roundtable meeting, Russia and China: Preserving Nature Together, was held after the opening ceremony. Participants in the meeting discussed the creation of a cross-border nature reserve to protect big rare cats.

In addition, the awards ceremony of the Camera Trap 2018 fourth national contest took place at the opening ceremony of the festival.

On 9 February, a themed day of the Russian Geographical Society will be held as part of the festival. It will feature meetings with travellers, geography quizzes, as well as a screening of the documentary Tigers and Humans made by Sergei Yastrzhembsky at the request of the Amur Tiger Centre.

The Russia’s Primeval Nature festival will run through 17 February 2019. The festival programme can be found on its official website.