The opening ceremony of the Russian Seasons was attended by the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe and the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Olga Golodets.

      On Sunday, the Giselle ballet performed by the artists of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia opened the Russian Seasons in Japan.

      The Russian Seasons festival will become the prologue to the Russian-Japanese Bilateral Year of 2018.

      The project program includes over 200 events that will be held throughout the year in more than 45 cities in Japan. More than 3 million people are expected to become spectators of the Russian Seasons.

      "Russian Seasons" will present in Japan Over 20 eminent Russian cultural institutions, including the Bolshoi Theater, the Mariinsky Theater, the Hermitage Museum, the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet will take part in the large-scale project.