MOSCOW -- Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Abbas Salehi arrived in Moscow on Thursday, at the head of a senior delegation to participate in the 12th St Petersburg International United Cultures Forum and a series of events marking Iranian Cultural Days in Russia.
Salehi was received at Sheremetyevo International Airport by Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali. After a brief stay in Moscow, the minister travelled to St Petersburg, where he is scheduled to address the international forum and present Iran’s views and proposals on cultural cooperation.
The 12th St Petersburg International United Cultures Forum is being held under the theme “United Cultures, Common Values.” According to the organizers, representatives of 70 countries, including 44 official delegations, are participating in the gathering. 
The program addresses major issues in contemporary cultural policy, including the preservation of cultural heritage, international humanitarian cooperation, and the impact of new technologies and artificial intelligence on culture and the creative industries.
During his visit to St Petersburg, Salehi was also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova. The two ministers were subsequently to participate in a meeting of the Iran-Russia Cultural Committee, following preparatory discussions among three working groups focusing on culture, the arts and tourism.
Salehi was also expected to meet academics, students and cultural figures at a Russian university in St Petersburg, where he would speak about the role of culture in relations between Iran and Russia and Iran’s cultural position within the wider civilisational sphere.
The minister would then travel to Moscow for the official opening of Iranian Cultural Days in Russia. The program was presented by Iranian organizers as one of the country’s most extensive cultural delegations to Russia in recent decades, bringing together 168 artists working across approximately 30 artistic disciplines.
Events will take place in four Russian cities — St Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan and Astrakhan — and will include visual-art exhibitions, specialist workshops, film screenings, musical performances and academic discussions.
In Moscow, an exhibition featuring Iranian visual artists is scheduled to open at the Russian National Museum of Decorative Arts on September 28. The formal opening

 ceremony of Iranian Cultural Days will subsequently be held at the Bolshoi Theatre, featuring a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra of Iran before an audience of more than 1,700 cultural figures and members of the Russian public.
The program will continue in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, where Iranian artists will exhibit their work and conduct specialist workshops at the Kazan Kremlin. A 60-member Iranian musical ensemble is also scheduled to perform at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre of Tatarstan.
Cinema will form another part of the program, with 14 Iranian films scheduled to be screened in Moscow, Kazan and Astrakhan. Iranian filmmakers will also participate in discussions on the development of Iran’s film industry.
The final stage will take place in Astrakhan, were Iranian musicians will perform traditional music using Iranian instruments, alongside film screenings and an exhibition of photographs and posters.
The wider program will continue after Salehi’s departure, with discussions devoted to Nizami Ganjavi, written diplomacy, the Persian language and the role of Iranologists in strengthening cultural relations.
The latest program builds on previous exchanges, including Russian Cultural Days in Iran in June 2025 and Iranian cultural events held in Moscow and St Petersburg in July 2023.