A student from Varna Free University exhibits his photographs in St. Petersburg
Hristo Rusev – a laureate of Varna Free University’s scholarship programme “I will study and succeed in Bulgaria” 2014 took part in the Sails of the Russian World youth forum, organised by the Russkiy Mir Foundation.
Over 100 young people, aged between 18 and 25, from 32 countries, participated in the forum. Among the guests at the opening ceremony was the mayor of Saint Petersburg, Georgii Poltavichenko.
Hristo displayed 20 black-and-white photos, focusing on the theme “The Balkans Today”. Among the photographs there were some which the young photographer had shot in Macedonia, during the anti-government protests in Skopje, and during the anti-terrorist action in Kumanovo. Two of his stories came from Turkey, and other shots had captured the refugees at the refugee centres in Harmanli, Lyubimets and Pastrogor.
The exhibition also featured the photograph which was chosen for the February photo in the European Parliament’s competition on Education. In it, the 20-year-old photographer had captured an improvised classroom for refugee children in the town of Harmanli, where volunteers teach them English.
“These photographs are amazing and one can only feel deeply touched by them”, said the Head of the forum’s coordination centre Anna Kosenkova at the opening ceremony.
Emotions ran deep for the young people from Donetsk, and there were tears in their eyes at the sight of the photographs shot in Kumanovo, as war rages in their country too. They thanked me and said that this exhibition will leave a vivid memory for life, said the young Bulgarian photographer.
Hristo’s participation in the international youth forum was made possible with the support of Varna Free University “Chernorizets Hrabar”, where he is a 3-year student in International Relations and Law. His going to Saint Petersburg was also supported by the university’s Russian Centre and its Director Prof. Galina Shamonina, as a reward for his excellent achievements in the study of the Russian language. The exhibition is going to be presented at Varna Free University, followed by Istanbul and Svilengrad.
Hristo Rusev has been doing photography since school. He has published photographs in various Bulgarian media, and has received awards from national and international competitions. His photographs have found their way onto the pages of The National Geographic and The Associated Press.
