Our Mission Statement
"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
that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."
- Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
The American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation (ARCCF) is a public nonprofit organization, founded 24 years ago by a group of prominent Americans, including Pamela Harriman, Howard Baker, and Bill Marriott. ARCCF is dedicated to the promotion of cultural cooperation between the United States and Russia by organizing galas, concerts, exhibitions, and major commemorative events. The foundation’s guiding principle is to foster cultural dialogue and understanding between the United States and Russia through a mutual appreciation of Russian and American art and culture.
ARCCF has arranged acclaimed performances by prominent Russian and American virtuosos and has produced major events at the Russian Embassy, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, the Corcoran Gallery, and on Capitol Hill. It has showcased visual and performing arts and has celebrated the most important joint pages of American-Russian history. Among the Honorary Chairs of ARCCF’s events were US and Russian Presidents as well as leaders of the US Senate and House of Representatives. Attendees at ARCCF’s celebrations and galas have included First Ladies, the US Vice President, the Russian Prime Minister, as well as members of the US Cabinet, Senate, and House of Representatives.
The Foundation has held multimillion dollar exhibitions from leading Russian museums, emphasizing the parallels in US and Russian history. These exhibitions included “Jewels of the Romanovs,” “Churches of Moscow,” as well as “The Tsar and the President: Alexander II and Abraham Lincoln.” They were held in fourteen major US cities and viewed by over a million Americans.
On the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s greatest poet, ARCCF erected a larger-than-life monument to him on the campus of George Washington University, at the intersection of 22nd and H Streets, NW. This statue was presented by US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. In 2009, ARCCF, in collaboration with the Russian Peace Foundation, also placed a reciprocal monument of America’s beloved poet Walt Whitman on the campus of Moscow State University, where it was unveiled by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. These two projects form a “Poetic Bridge” between the two capitals and emphasize the connection between the people of the two countries.
Over the years, ARCCF has proudly recognized many prominent American and Russian artists, writers, musicians and public servants with its Foundation Award For Significant Contributions to American-Russian Cultural Relations. Its past honorees include Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich, pianist Van Cliburn, Russian choreographer Igor Moiseyev, U.S. Librarian of Congress Dr. James Billington, Russian translator of American literature Tatiana Kudriavtseva, Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theater Maestro Valery Gergiev, prominent Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, American jazz legend David Brubeck, President of the Kennedy Center Michael Kaiser, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Dr. G. Wayne Clough, jazz musicians Wynton Marsalis and Igor Butman, and Mosfilm director Karen Shakhnazarov.
With its most recent event, titled “Tying the Knots of Friendship,” ARCCF commemorated the 150th anniversary of the first US naval visit to Russia. The event, which took place at the Army & Navy Club in Washington, DC, featured dances and music as well as more serious discussions about the importance of the diplomatic mission of 1866—an undertaking that precipitated the sale of Alaska to the United States and helped expand commercial ties between American and Russian entrepreneurs.
The Foundation is currently working on a gala that will celebrate the extensive correspondence between Leo Tolstoy, one of Russia’s greatest literary minds, and his American pen-pals, among whom were such names as Thomas Edison, Clara Barton, Jane Addams, and William Jennings Bryan. The event will “upgrade” the dialogue initiated by Tolstoy and his correspondents into the digital age, hence its title, “America and Tolstoy: A Dialogue From Quill to Tweet.” The gala, which promises to feature music, re-enactments, and many other colorful depictions of Tolstoy’s vibrant works, will take place at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC on December 6.
The Foundation is currently chaired by Eugene K. Lawson, the former President of the US-Russia Business Council (USRBC) and Vice President of the US Export-Import Bank. Its Board Members include John R. Beyrle, the former US Ambassador to Russia; Joseph D. Duffey, the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Paul Rodzianko, Chairman Emeritus of the Hermitage Museum Foundation; and Donald M. Kendall, the former CEO of PepsiCo. For over twenty years, ARCCF founder James W. Symington tirelessly served as the organization’s chairman, having been a vocal supporter of détente as a House Representative from Missouri. The Foundation honored Symington’s dedication to cultural cooperation during its “Knight of Détente” event in 2015.
ARCCF has arranged acclaimed performances by prominent Russian and American virtuosos and has produced major events at the Russian Embassy, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, the Corcoran Gallery, and on Capitol Hill. It has showcased visual and performing arts and has celebrated the most important joint pages of American-Russian history. Among the Honorary Chairs of ARCCF’s events were US and Russian Presidents as well as leaders of the US Senate and House of Representatives. Attendees at ARCCF’s celebrations and galas have included First Ladies, the US Vice President, the Russian Prime Minister, as well as members of the US Cabinet, Senate, and House of Representatives.
The Foundation has held multimillion dollar exhibitions from leading Russian museums, emphasizing the parallels in US and Russian history. These exhibitions included “Jewels of the Romanovs,” “Churches of Moscow,” as well as “The Tsar and the President: Alexander II and Abraham Lincoln.” They were held in fourteen major US cities and viewed by over a million Americans.
On the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s greatest poet, ARCCF erected a larger-than-life monument to him on the campus of George Washington University, at the intersection of 22nd and H Streets, NW. This statue was presented by US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. In 2009, ARCCF, in collaboration with the Russian Peace Foundation, also placed a reciprocal monument of America’s beloved poet Walt Whitman on the campus of Moscow State University, where it was unveiled by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. These two projects form a “Poetic Bridge” between the two capitals and emphasize the connection between the people of the two countries.
Over the years, ARCCF has proudly recognized many prominent American and Russian artists, writers, musicians and public servants with its Foundation Award For Significant Contributions to American-Russian Cultural Relations. Its past honorees include Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich, pianist Van Cliburn, Russian choreographer Igor Moiseyev, U.S. Librarian of Congress Dr. James Billington, Russian translator of American literature Tatiana Kudriavtseva, Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theater Maestro Valery Gergiev, prominent Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, American jazz legend David Brubeck, President of the Kennedy Center Michael Kaiser, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Dr. G. Wayne Clough, jazz musicians Wynton Marsalis and Igor Butman, and Mosfilm director Karen Shakhnazarov.
With its most recent event, titled “Tying the Knots of Friendship,” ARCCF commemorated the 150th anniversary of the first US naval visit to Russia. The event, which took place at the Army & Navy Club in Washington, DC, featured dances and music as well as more serious discussions about the importance of the diplomatic mission of 1866—an undertaking that precipitated the sale of Alaska to the United States and helped expand commercial ties between American and Russian entrepreneurs.
The Foundation is currently working on a gala that will celebrate the extensive correspondence between Leo Tolstoy, one of Russia’s greatest literary minds, and his American pen-pals, among whom were such names as Thomas Edison, Clara Barton, Jane Addams, and William Jennings Bryan. The event will “upgrade” the dialogue initiated by Tolstoy and his correspondents into the digital age, hence its title, “America and Tolstoy: A Dialogue From Quill to Tweet.” The gala, which promises to feature music, re-enactments, and many other colorful depictions of Tolstoy’s vibrant works, will take place at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC on December 6.
The Foundation is currently chaired by Eugene K. Lawson, the former President of the US-Russia Business Council (USRBC) and Vice President of the US Export-Import Bank. Its Board Members include John R. Beyrle, the former US Ambassador to Russia; Joseph D. Duffey, the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Paul Rodzianko, Chairman Emeritus of the Hermitage Museum Foundation; and Donald M. Kendall, the former CEO of PepsiCo. For over twenty years, ARCCF founder James W. Symington tirelessly served as the organization’s chairman, having been a vocal supporter of détente as a House Representative from Missouri. The Foundation honored Symington’s dedication to cultural cooperation during its “Knight of Détente” event in 2015.