About the Foundation

Advisory Board

Strengthening ties through art and culture

Executive Director

Alexander Potemkin

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost;

that is where they should be.  Now put foundations under them."

      - Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

For centuries, the bridge linking Russian and American culture has floated like a castle in

the air, mysteriously working its magic without the benefit of a stable foundation.

With active support from people of both our cultures in the form of this Foundation, we

hope to make the future for creative collaboration truly limitless.

To encourage and support increased cultural exchange between the United States and

Russia, The American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation was established as a

non-profit organization in 1992 by Pamela B. Harriman, Donald M. Kendall, Dwayne O. Andreas,

Howard H. Baker, Jr., Marshall Coyne, J.W. Marriott, Jr. and other distinguished Americans.

Central to our organization is the belief that mutual appreciation for our two

cultures is the firmest foundation for peace.

Russia has a rich cultural history that has produced some of the world's greatest artists.

Yet the rising cost of travel between the US and Russia inhibits the development of

cultural ties.

To address the problem of financial support for cultural exchange, a group of

distinguished Americans, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Russian Federation,

created this Foundation.

We welcome your interest and support.

• Dr. James H. Billington –

Chairman

Librarian of Congress

• Robert C. McAdams –

Secretary Emeritus,

Smithsonian Institution

• Van Cliburn –

Pianist

• Yuri Grigorovich –

Artistic Director,

Emeritus Bolshoi Ballet

• Ernst Neizvestney –

Artist,

Sculptor

• Igor Oistrakh –

Violinist

• James Wyeth –

Artist

• The Hon. James W. Symington –

Chairman

Of Counsel, NOSSAMAN LLP

• H. E. Sergey I. Kislyak –

Honorary Director

Ambassador of the Russian Federation

• The Hon. Joseph D. Duffey –

Laureate International Universities

• Michael B. Goldstein –

Partner, Dow Lohnes PLLC

• George Hambleton

• Donald M. Kendall –

Former Chairman & CEO Pepsico, Inc

• Paul Rodzianko –

Chairman,

The Hermitage Museum Foundation

• Rabbi Arthur Schneier –

President,

The Appeal of Conscience Foundation

• Shelley Zeiger –

Zeiger Enterprises, Inc

We are looking forward to celebrating 

20 Years of Cultural Dialogue and Diplomacy this fall.

Please take a look at our new Russian Cultural Events page!

 This Month: 

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 

presents

 Mariinsky Ballet 

in

 Les Saisons Russes

 (The Russian Seasons)

 featuring three works choreographed by Michel Fokine

Scheherazade

The Firebird

January 17-22, 2012 in the Opera House