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After the high-level talks in Moscow, the Presidents of Armenia and Russia Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin visited on Wednesday the Tretyakov Gallery, where the ceremonious official opening of the Armenian Culture Days in Russia was held, attended by the leaders of the two countries.

As the press department at the President’s Office reported, the event began with the exhibition of great Armenian painter Martiros Saryan’s works. The exposition features about three dozen exceptional masterpieces by Saryan available from the National Art Gallery of Armenia, the Yerevan House Museum of Martiros Saryan and from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, created by the famous master during his trips to the Middle East, as well as based on memories of these trips.

After the exhibition, the Presidents of Armenia and Russia delivered speeches in the Vrubel Hall of the Tretyakov Gallery.

During the event, Russian President Vladimir Putin handed to President Serzh Sargsyan famous Russian painter Mikhail Vrubel’s painting entitled “The Demon and the Angel with the Soul of Tamara,” which was stolen from Armenia in 1995.

Note that the RF President told President Sargsyan about the Russian side’s intention to hand over the painting to Armenia during their March 15 meeting in Moscow.

President Serzh Sargsyan next delivered remarks praising the centuries-old ties of Armenian-Russian friendship. ”We have always been together: both in peacetime and during the years of hard trials. Our fathers and grandfathers often used to fight side by side on the fronts,” said Sargsyan.

In the president’s words, in the last quarter of a century, impressive progress has been made in the development of humanitarian contacts.

“We have much in common - openness, goodwill, sociability, emotionality and, of course, receptivity to everything new. Russia is rightfully considered to be one of the world’s cultural centers. It is no coincidence that a significant number of Armenian cultural figures - writers, musicians, architects and artists – have not only been graduates of the Russian school of art, but also continued to build on its glorious traditions to multiply the common cultural and spiritual heritage,” said Sargsyan, adding, the Armenian culture, like the culture of Russia, cannot be imagined without such well-known personalities as Hovhannes Aivazovsky, Aram Khachaturyan, Arno Babajanyan, Mikael Tariverdiyev and many other outstanding figures who have become symbols of the Armenian-Russian friendship.

“It is not just coincidence that we are inaugurating the Days of Armenian Culture with the exhibition of the works by one of last century’s greatest painters, Martiros Saryan, a courageous innovator who skillfully connected the picturesque traditions of the East with the new trends of Russian and European art of the 20th century. And literally today a commemorative plaque to the great master was unveiled on the facade of the house where he lived in Moscow. I am sure that over time we will have new Saryans and Aivazovskys, Khachaturians and Tariverdiyevs, while our cooperation in the field of culture will be enriched with bright and interesting projects,” stated Sargsyan.

He also expressed hope the opportunity will promote humanitarian contacts, get even closer to each other, open up the unknown pages of Armenia’s history and culture.

“I am confident that this great cultural project will give fresh impetus to the development of bilateral relations and their continued mutual enrichment,” added the president.