On December 2, 2024, the opening of the exhibition “Manuscript Treasures of Iran on the Banks of the Neva” took place in the Green Hall of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts as part of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Agreement on the Establishment of Sister-City Relations between Saint Petersburg and Isfahan.

The exhibition was opened by Mr. Masud Ahmadvand, Head of the Cultural Center at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation. Representatives of the Saint Petersburg Committee for Foreign Relations also attended the ceremony: Aplesnin D.V., Head of the Department of Regional Trade and Economic Partnership, and Shishkin K.A., Chief Expert of the Department of Regional Trade and Economic Partnership. Mr. Masud Ahmadvand thanked the government of Saint Petersburg and the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts RAS for active work that promotes Iran-Russia relations and also conveyed greetings from the Governor of Isfahan, Mr. Mehdi Jamalinejad and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation, Mr. Kazem Jalali. The Head of the Cultural Center at the Embassy of Iran to Russia expressed his hope that Cultural Weeks of Saint Petersburg and Isfahan will take place in the two sister cities in 2025 and confirmed the willingness to provide comprehensive assistance to Iranological research in Russia.

Dmitriy V. Aplesnin responded with a speech and read the welcome message from Grigoryev E.D., Chairperson of the Committee for External Relations of Saint Petersburg.

Irina F. Popova, Director of the IOM RAS, Corresponding member of the RAS, showed the exhibition which included Persian manuscripts of the 15th-16th centuries: Poetical album of Mir Ali Heravi, Ahkam-i Qiranat (“Laws of Conjunctions of Celestial bodies”), Sharaf-name-yi Shakhi (“Book of Shah’s Glory”), Khosrow and Shirin, Shahnameh, several folios of “The Saint Petersburg Muraqqa” as well as other items from the collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. The event concluded with the meeting of distinguished guests with Iranian studies researchers of the IOM RAS.

Photos are available on the Russian website.