A guide to the export and import of cultural goods between Russia ...

Chapter 3: European Union Member States
Ireland
CHAPTER
The close cooperation between Ireland and Russia in the cultural sphere encourages the
continuing development of Irish – Russian cultural relations.
The Embassy organises regular literary celebrations. The International James Joyce exhibition
was held in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Voronezh in 2004 and 2005. The Samuel Beckett
Centenary exhibition was opened in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Samara in 2006 and Saratov
in 2007, and will continue to tour Russian regions together with an exhibition of photographs,
‘Ireland through Russian Eyes’. Moscow and St. Petersburg welcomed three Irish authors
and the Ireland Literature Exchange, which supports translations of Irish literature, in October
2006. 2007 sees the unveiling of a statue of James Joyce in the courtyard of the Russian State
Library of Foreign Literature, and an Irish edition of the journal Innostrannaya Literatura.
A cultural exchange is developing between St. Petersburg and Cork. St. Petersburg participated
in the Cork 2005 European Capital of Culture, and a delegation from Cork participated
in the Irish Cultural Week in St. Petersburg in June 2006, which included the Reel Ireland
Irish Film Festival and the annual Bloomsday celebration in the Vladimir Nabokov Museum.
Cork will again participate in the Irish Cultural Week in St. Petersburg in June 2007.
The Irish composer John Field (1782–1837), who lived most of his adult life in St. Petersburg
and Moscow, where he is buried, is perhaps the most important historical musical
link between Ireland and Russia. The Irish pianist Míceál O’Rourke, who is one of the foremost
exponents of Field’s music, performs regularly with the St Petersburg Philharmonic
Orchestra and in solo concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
WHAT LEGISLATION APPLIES TO THE IMPORT/EXPORT OF CULTURAL GOODS
BETWEEN IRELAND AND RUSSIA?
NATIONAL
Documents and Pictures (Regulation of Export) Act 1945
National Cultural Institutions Act 1997
INTERNATIONAL
European Community legislation is applicable as explained in Chapter 2
It should be noted that not all sections of the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997 have
been enabled.
Who is responsible for implementing these regulations?
The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is the competent authority for the issuing of
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