Andrey Evseevich Slonim is among the outstanding figures of world culture, whose achievements brightly illuminate the cultural firmament. As a director, scenographer, poet, and publicist, his multifaceted talent is an important part of Uzbekistan's cultural heritage. As an Honored Artist of the republic and a Knight of the International Association 'Art of Peoples of the World,' Slonim is recognized as an artist whose works are characterized by deep reflection, psychological subtlety, and faith in humanity.
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Slonim's biography is an example of self-dedication and hard work. His creative potential blossomed in Uzbekistan, where he created many memorable performances, drawing inspiration from the atmosphere of ancient culture. The beginning of his journey in the world of art took place at the Alisher Navoi State Academic Grand Theatre. Born in Tashkent in 1949, he graduated from the Theatre and Art Institute in 1974, finding his calling.
Andrey Slonim is known for his ability to work with actors, revealing their best qualities and creating vivid, multifaceted images on stage. His productions represent entire worlds into which spectators immerse themselves, becoming witnesses to the joys and sorrows of the characters. He skillfully combines classical traditions with modern trends, making art understandable and relevant to the general public. Thanks to his activity in theatre, the Small Stage exists.
Slonim has acted as a director and set designer in over 70 productions of operas, dramas, and ballets. Today, he is considered a master of opera directing, whose works amaze with a unique combination of deep knowledge of musical dramaturgy and authorial intent, enriched by innovative techniques. He finds a balance between preserving the spirit of the era and the composer, imbuing characters with timeless psychological depth.
Throughout his career, Slonim has gifted the world over 80 performances, including masterpieces of world operatic classics such as Verdi's 'Rigoletto' and 'La Traviata,' Puccini's 'Tosca,' 'Madama Butterfly,' and 'La Bohème,' Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville,' and Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro.' From Russian classics, his repertoire includes Tchaikovsky's 'Eugene Onegin' and Rimsky-Korsakov's 'The Tsar's Bride.' His talent was also displayed on the Moscow stage: at the Gneshin Academy of Music Studio Theatre, he staged the operas 'The Witch' by V. Vlasov and V. Fere (1984) and 'The Queen of Spades' by Tchaikovsky (1986).
Since 1990, Andrey Slonim has been the leading director-producer and scenographer of the Alisher Navoi State Academic Grand Theatre of Uzbekistan. In the last twenty years, he has created more than 35 productions of Uzbek and world classics, as well as works by contemporary Uzbek composers. Among them, 'Lucia di Lammermoor' by G. Donizetti, 'The Magic Flute' by W. Mozart, 'The Gypsy Baron' by P. Mascagni, and 'Mavra' by I. Stravinsky were presented in Uzbekistan for the first time. A special place is occupied by N. Zakirov's opera 'Path to the Throne,' based on Shakespeare's tragedies 'Hamlet' and 'Macbeth.' New, bold interpretations, such as 'Hoffmann's Tales' by J. Offenbach, 'The Theatre Director' by W. Mozart, 'Aleko' by S. Rachmaninoff, and 'Boris Godunov' by M. Mussorgsky, delighted the public and earned critical acclaim.
In 1992, Slonim presented the opera 'Diloram' by M. Ashrafi, dedicated to the composer's 80th anniversary. His mastery as a scenographer was demonstrated in the design of the ballets 'Spartacus' by A. Khachaturian and 'Poetic Miniatures' by U. Musaev on the stage of the A. Navoi State Academic Grand Theatre, as well as in international cooperation with the Japanese 'Toyota City Ballet' on the ballets 'Don Quixote' by L. Minkus and 'The Sleeping Beauty' by Tchaikovsky.
Andrey Slonim is the author and producer of over 200 theatrical projects and concert compositions that skillfully combine operatic and chamber performance with poetry. He participated in organizing numerous events dedicated to great masters of word and music, including Navoi, Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Blok, Turgenev, Yesenin, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Schumann, Shalyapin, Obukhova, Kozlovsky, and many others. He himself often performs poetic lyrics, demonstrating a deep understanding of poetry from different eras.
Recent achievements include a series of events dedicated to the anniversary of A.S. Pushkin in Uzbekistan, memorial evenings for K. Mukhitdinov, M. Ashrafi, M. Kari-Yakubov, as well as a cycle of gala concerts by the People's Artist of Uzbekistan and Karakalpakstan M. Razzakova.
For more than forty years, Slonim has been devoted to theatrical education, teaching young specialists the basics of acting. He taught the opera class at the Opera Studio of the Uzbekistan State Conservatory and headed the course of opera mastery at the Tashkent Theatre and Art Institute. He was invited to the Gneshin Academy of Music in Russia to conduct master classes on the skill of the opera singer-actor in Ryazan.
From 2015 to 2019, Andrey Slonim performed four times as a project author, director-producer, and host of memorial evenings for I.S. Kozlovsky in Moscow. In 2019, he organized the evening 'I Watched Everything Towards the Volga...' in Moscow, dedicated to the female image in romantic lyricism and 'Silver Age' poetry.
Slonim's contribution to the development of opera art in Uzbekistan is immense. In 2013, he staged the first production of F. Yanov-Yanovsky's opera 'The Princess in the Pea,' and in 2017, the first production of M. Bafoyev's opera-ballet 'Hamsa,' inspired by the poems of A. Navoi. During the same period, he presented the little-known opera 'The Pretender' by W. Mozart to the audience.
Andrey Slonim is a ten-time author of theatrical concert projects dedicated to the royal family. These works were included in the program of the International Festival 'Royal Days' in Yekaterinburg and Alapaevsk (periods 2015-2019 and 2022-2026). Under his direction, the creative group of the A. Navoi State Academic Grand Theatre has repeatedly received high praise from the public.
In December 2018, Slonim led the soloist group of the A. Navoi State Academic Grand Theatre at the International Festival 'Power of Faith' named after Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov) in St. Petersburg, where the soloists received awards. In December 2023, the same group successfully performed at this festival in Istry, and his wife Lyudmila Slonim was awarded the diploma 'Best Concertmaster of the Festival.' In December 2024, the group achieved success again at the festival in Vladimir.
In March 2025, together with Lyudmila Slonim and the soloist Begzot Sadykov of the A. Navoi State Academic Grand Theatre, Andrey Evseevich held four important events in Moscow dedicated to the 125th anniversary of I.S. Kozlovsky. These included the staging of a concert-theatrical performance based on Tchaikovsky's opera 'Eugene Onegin' in the hall of the K.S. Stanislavsky House-Museum, as well as the concert-composition 'Knight of Light and Goodness' in the Beethoven Hall of the Grand Theatre. In the same year, upon invitation from the All-Russian Pushkin Foundation, a composition based on Tchaikovsky's opera 'Eugene Onegin' was staged at the G.R. Derzhavin Estate Museum in St. Petersburg. This project was recognized as a bright cultural event of Russia and received gratitude from the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation O. Lyubimova and the Committee for Foreign Relations of St. Petersburg.
In December of the same year, the evening 'In a Beautiful Country of Love,' dedicated to the anniversary of I.S. Kozlovsky, took place at the Concert Hall of the Central Music School – Academy of Performing Arts of Moscow. This event brought together leading soloists of Moscow opera theaters and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the CMS.
For ten years, Andrey Evseevich led and inspired the Youth Studio Theatre 'Star of Youth' at the Cultural Center of Germans in Uzbekistan. Under his guidance, young artists embodied masterpieces of world drama on stage, including Goethe's 'Faust' and Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night.'
For the first time in history, the Vande Mataram anthem was performed from the ramparts of the Red Fort during the celebration of Independence Day on Saturday, marking the 150th anniversary of the nation's national anthem.
The event also featured 2500 NCC cadets and MY Bharat volunteers who formed the inscription 'Vande Mataram' on the grounds. Approximately 5000 achievers and local workers were invited as special guests to the celebrations.
In the sports sphere, Independence Day marked an important milestone for the Indian cricket team in Sri Lanka on Saturday, as players and staff observed the day ahead of the historic 600th Test match.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill, and members of the Indian team hoisted the tricolor in Galle before this landmark match, merging the Independence Day celebration with a significant moment in the history of Indian Test cricket.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stated on Saturday that democracy allows for the existence of various and even contradictory viewpoints, but such expressions must not harm the Constitution or the socio-cultural foundation of the country.
At the flag hoisting ceremony in Nagpur, Bhagwat noted: 'We are democracy, and there will be dialogue, debates, arguments, and counterarguments. This difference is an expression of unity.'
On the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi refrained from a personal visit to the Yasukuni Shrine. Instead, she laid flowers at the Chidorigafuchi national cemetery and participated in the national war memorial ceremony. Nevertheless, she sent a representative to make sacrifices at the shrine, which commemorates Class A war criminals from World War II; several cabinet ministers personally visited the site.
This move provoked a sharp negative reaction in East Asia. South Korea condemned the action as an insult to the historical sentiments of war victims and a blow to bilateral trust. North Korea warned that Japan's historical revisionism indicates a resurgence of militarism threatening security in Northeast Asia.
Russia also criticized what it called Japan's double standards on historical issues, noting that its revisionist stance and buildup of military potential pose a threat to strategic stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Our correspondent Zhou Jiaxin is studying the political impact of holding the event at Yasukuni this year.
Despite the end of the war in 1945, severe hardships continued for thirteen Korean women who were forcibly taken by the Japanese military machine to China. After liberation, they could not return home and spent the rest of their lives in exile in China, living under assumed names and facing poverty, illness, and loneliness.
A new photo exhibition in Seoul titled 'Names Engraved on Secondary Roads' once again draws attention to their lives and personalities. Photographer Ahn Se-hon documented them through personal belongings, documents, and portraits over more than two decades.
Ahn Se-hon stated: 'Behind the words 'comfort women' were real people—our neighbors, sisters, and mothers. We remember them so that this history never repeats itself.'
