Russian Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov to Kick off BRICS Universe Photo Exhibition in Ulyanovsk

The Museum of Fine Arts of the 20th and 21st Centuries in Ulyanovsk will host a meeting on 25 July 2024 with Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, a pilot, cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation, the 124th cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, winner of the Gagarin Medal and the Sign of St. Sergius of Radonezh, and the author of the book What Can I Learn from Yury Gagarin?

In Ulyanovsk, Kud-Sverchkov will present an international photo exhibition compiled by the BRICS Universe project, which combines photographs of UNESCO creative cities located in BRICS countries taken from Earth and from space.

“We would like to tell people about the beauty and diversity of BRICS countries. Among other things, we have a simple goal – to show Russia to the world and give a chance to Russians to better understand other countries,” Kud-Sverchkov said.

The BRICS Universe photo exhibition features unique photographs taken by Kud-Sverchkov and his colleague Ivan Vagner, who is also a pilot, cosmonaut, and Hero of the Russian Federation, from aboard the International Space Station, as well as photographers on the ground who present UNESCO creative cities in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with all their colours, feelings, secrets, events, heritage, and brilliant nature. The project involves a total of 48 Russian photographers (including from Ulyanovsk) and 41 foreign photographers from BRICS countries.

In addition to the presentation of the photo exhibition, Kud-Sverchkov will hold a meeting with Ulyanovsk residents to tell them about seeing Earth from orbit and what sensations a human experiences in outer space, take questions from visitors, and sign autographs. He will also present a short film he made on the ISS. Visitors will have a chance to see some routine moments on the ISS, such as crew change, conducting research, as well as ways to monitor their health, sleep, lunch, and training.

The kickoff of the BRICS Universe exhibition will be a vivid highlight of the event programme of the BRICS Youth Summit, which will take place in Ulyanovsk on 22–26 July 2024, and will bring together more than 200 young representatives of BRICS countries aged 18 to 35 years.

The BRICS Universe project was made possible due to the partnership of the Grechko Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium with the Roscosmos State Corporation, the Creative Industries Fund of the Ulyanovsk Region, and the Russia-BRICS Project Office for International Youth Cooperation with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. This project, which is being implemented under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, was included in the plan of events of Russia’s BRICS Chairship in 2024, which are managed by the Roscongress Foundation.

The grand opening of the first exhibition took place on 1 February at the Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow before continuing its journey in St. Petersburg (Russia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Kargopol (Russia), Beijing (China), and Nizhny Novgorod (Russia). To date, more than 150,000 people have visited the exhibitions, which will soon be held in Mumbai (India), Cape Town (South Africa), and Kazan (Russia).