Top: Russian students of Kasem Bundit University pictured Friday at the Russian Festival in Siam Paragon.

BANGKOK — A Russian-themed festival in Siam Paragon that ran Friday through Sunday drew those who longed for a taste of the largest country in the world.

At the “Sharing Our Past, Forging Our Future” Russian festival held in Siam Paragon, mall-goers dropped by to see the fake snow and the polar bear mascot.

“I’m really happy that such events are organized in Thailand so we can share our cultural identity, ” Vladislav Tornikov, 19, a Russian student studying Thai at Kasem Bundit University, said at the Friday event.

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Vladislav Tornikov, 19, a student studying Thai at Kasem Bundit University.

When asked what he would like Thais to know more about Russia, Tornikov mentioned his motherland’s history and culture.

“Russian culture is really interesting and fascinating. I would advise you to read novels by Russians, such as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy or Chekhov,” Tornikov said.

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The event was held to commemorate 120 years of Russo-Thai relations, and included dances by the Pattaya-based Katyusha Dance Academy as well as academic exhibitions from Thai universities with Russian programs.

Read: Celebrate 120 Years of Thai-Russian Relations at July Festival

Children on Friday pose with Mr. Russky Sri Ayudhya, the mascot for the event.
Russian women sell matryoshkas and other souvenirs at the Embassy of Russia’s booth.
The Katyusha Dance Academy’s dancers perform a Russian dance.
Mr. Russky Sri Ayudhya, the Muay Thai-fighting polar bear, was inspired by Muay Thai champ Buakaw Banchamek’s win against Russian Artem Pashporin in 2015. His signature move? The “Fist of Friendship.”
Attendees take selfies with Mr. Russky Sri Ayudhya.
The festival on Saturday morning.

Students from the Russian Studies Program at Thammasat University dress up in Russian costumes and hand out Russian vinaigrette salad on Friday.
Russian students studying at Kasem Bundit University pose in front of cardboard matryoshkas and temples Friday at Siam Paragon.
At the Chulalongkorn University booth Friday, a student shows off an exhibition on Soviet director Lev Kuleshov’s Kuleshov Effect.
A Chulalongkorn student demonstrates the booth’s interactive features, where an app pointed at the exhibition will show the Odessa steps scene from Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 film, Battleship Potemkin.
Pointing the interactive app at another section of the exhibition shows a 3D rendition of Eisenstein, as demonstrated by a student.
A student poses next to Soviet and Russian postcards Saturday.
A woman smiles next to the exhibition of the table setting modeled after the dinner Queen Sirikit had with Vladimir Putin on her state visit to Russia in July 2007.

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Celebrate 120 Years of Thai-Russian Relations at July Festival