On September 20, 2019, Director of the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy Alexey Shaburov ceremoniously opened the “Great Chinese Calligraphy and Painting” exhibition, designed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between Russia and China. Galina Kulikova, the First Deputy Chairman of the Central Board of the Association for Russian and Chinese Friendship, attended the event as one of the guests of honour, and Shaburov made a specific mention of her contribution to the development of the relations between Russia and China in his speech at the opening ceremony.
One of the leading sinologists in Russia, Kulikova has been holding the position of senior fellow in the Institute of Far Eastern Studies, the Russian Academy of Sciences, since 2003, being the First Deputy Chairman of the Central Board of the Association for Russian and Chinese Friendship at the same time.
Her activities brought her numerous awards in the USSR, the Russian Federation, and internationally, including the Order of Friendship of the People’s Republic of China, the highest Chinese award to be presented to foreigners. Interestingly, the leader of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, awarded Galina Kulikova personally.
