In addition, every newcomer is engaged in creating a decent material foundation on which his future well-being will be based.

However, when the first period of adjustment is over, we suddenly realize that, having developed such American qualities as business sense, organization skills, and punctuality, we lost something genuinely Russian that we had before. The interaction of cultures should be equal so that none of them damaged or dominated the other.

We have been living here for quite a long time .Sometimes we look back to remember something and every time it becomes more difficult and even painful. That's why the creation of the Cultural Club was so significant for the Federation.

The initiators of the rebirth of the Russian culture are Mark and Rachel Lekherzaks. They were the organizers of the first concerts of classical music in Atlanta. The very first concert was arranged in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Valentine Khanetsky, an outstanding pianist and professor and, of course, a long-term friend of the Lekherzaks. This home concert was the first stone in the foundation of the Cultural Club.

Home concerts were called by the founders "Evenings by the Piano". They showed that culture not only determines the intellectual level of a person or society, but also serves as a lighthouse without which you lose your past, present and most likely won't be able to create a harmonious future.

"Evenings by the piano" gave so many immigrants a chance to express themselves. The first part of the"Evenings" presented famous musicians and singers. After that the attendees were offered dinner. Finally, the third part presented amateurs from the audience among whom there were singers, pianists, guitar players, storytellers, and comedians.

In addition to organization duties, the hosts of the party also contributed to the dramatic part of the evening: Mark Lekherzak is a professional pianist, a performer of classical music. Rachel Lekherzak not only excelled as a performer of Russian romances, but also aroused the audience's admiration as an exceptional hostess of the show.

Mark and Rachel Lekherzaks marked their 20th anniversary of living in the USA by opening "The Russian Stage" in their house. In other words, home concerts by the piano turned into a small philharmonic hall for conducting performances of the Russian art housing a hundred spectators. The theme variety of "The Russian Stage" is wide: from instrumental and song classics to folk songs. The fact that it became possible proves that the Russian-speaking community of Atlanta had a need to create an island that combined feelings of both nostalgia and joy.

Rachel Lekherzak's long-term dream is to organize a theme concert "Pushkin and Music". No doubt, it's very likely to happen.

By the present time, the Federation has organized two festivals "Young Talents" the participants of which were children of 6-15 years old.

These are bright children that have skills in different fields of art. Among the nominees of the festival there were kids playing different musical instruments and also those who have singing and dancing abilities.

The main goal of the Festival was finding young talented individuals in the USA, Russia, Israel and other countries. The RAF and its Cultural Club did their best to give the youngsters a chance to present themselves as performers.

The Department of Culture of the Federation decided to give a different name to the upcoming third festival. Due to constant terrorism threat the next festival will be called "Children of the World Against Terrorism" which will also be its motto.

We hope that conducting festivals of young talents will become a traditional event that the Russian-speaking population of Atlanta will support and look forward to.

The agenda of activities of the Cultural Club also includes establishing contacts with other ethnic communities of Atlanta. Cultural activities conducted in other communities are directly related to the Federation since the goal of popularization of the Russian heritance in not dividing, but uniting those who cherish their ancestry. In the future, the Cultural Club is planning to establish contacts with Russian-speaking communities from other countries.

There is one more very important decision made by the Department of Culture. The Russian-speaking community must have its own library. It will work on a volunteer basis. Making archives, creating catalogs, and serving readers will be possible only with the active participation of those for whom the Russian Library is projected.

At present time, the question of creating the library is still open.

Dear compatriots!
We will be happy to receive your attention and participation. Let's work together on realizing our common dreams and goals!

The Department of Culture of the Federation is going to inform you about new projects and plans on this site.

If you have questions or ideas about developing the cultural life of Atlanta's Russian-speaking community, we are open for discussion.