The 25th Khlestakov Festival was held in the assembly hall, Bldg. 10. Students, staff and guests of Saratov State University plunged into the celebration of creativity, which once again transported them to the world of Gogol's works. This festival not only became the hallmark of the Institute of Philology and Journalism, but also went far beyond it.

The president of the festival and the author of the idea – Chair of the Department of Literary Studies and Journalism, Professor Valerii Prozorov – told about the great mission of the Saratov land, which was entrusted by N.V. Gogol himself, to celebrate the birthday of the main character of the comedy The Inspector Ivan Khlestakov. ‘Khlestakov is our literary hero, he is our countryman. And we are supposed to celebrate Gogol's birthday here, in Saratov, at the Institute of Philology and Journalism of our university, every year,’ he explained.

25 years ago, in 1998, a brick was laid in the old building of the Faculty of Philology as the basis of the future monument to the literary hero. This was recalled by Professor of the Department of Literary Studies and Journalism Kirill Zakharov, who stood at the origins of the festival. ‘The Khlestakov Festival is such an advertising monument to Ivan Khlestakov, whose physical monument should have been in Saratov. In addition, the Khlestakov Festival is the only Gogol humor in the world dedicated to the memory of the Saratov literary hero. There are very few such projects.’

This year, the hosts of the Khlestakovka, Pyotrs Ivanoviches Duo – Professor Kirill Zakharov and Associate Professor of the Department of Literary Studies and Journalism Andrei Suvorov – announced from the stage the idea of closing the festival. Their performance was interrupted by “evil spirits” – Solokha and Vii, whose roles were played by Daria Artyomova and Vitalii Ageyenkov (the Institute of Philology and Journalism). It was they who connected Pyotrs Ivanoviches, becoming the new presenters of this evening.

As part of the festival program, the students of the School No. 61 presented an excerpt from the story of The Overcoat by Gogol, the actors of the Institute of Philology and Journalism performed an energetic and very naughty dance entitled Buffoons, and the participants of the Music Workshop, who played carollers, sang a ritual song.

The students of Gymnasium No. 4 took the audience to Spain, where hot love intrigues and family dramas played out. Thus, the acting team Girandol under the guidance of the teacher of Russian language and literature L.A. Shalyganova presented a performance based on the works of Lope de Vega Under the Stars of Seville.

The real decoration of the festival was a scene based on the novella by Nikolai Gogol – The Night Before Christmas. The actors of the Reverse Perspective theatre-studio took part in its production. The scene ended with a song by its director Vasilisa Belkova. During its performance, dozens of lanterns lit up in the hall – they resembled the starry sky, through which Vakula was flying on horseback.

The comic Hairdressing Romance of Professor Kirill Zakharov helped to preserve this creative enthusiasm. Emotional performance, text filled with language play, vivid improvisations – all this caused a violent reaction of the audience.

After such a bright number, the hall was plunged into darkness. The 2nd-year journalism students showed an excerpt from the first act of the comedy The Inspector. The effect and originality of this number was added by the fact that it was performed exclusively by actors' hands in white gloves, they imitated the faces of Gogol's heroes and musical instruments.

At the end of the holiday, the guests were shown archival footage of the very first Khlestakov Festivals. The video aroused warm feelings among the audience, and they began to loudly applaud and whistle, recognizing their teachers, colleagues, friends.

When the curtain was lowered, the audience poured out onto the stage to take photos for memory, and some of them – to get an autograph from their favorite actors.

President of the Khlestakov Festival Valerii Prozorov, highly appreciated the work of the screenwriters and actors and said that the holiday was a success. ‘People of different ages and generations took part in the festival this year, and they all worked with full dedication. Each of them gave himself to the festival with feeling and mischief. The 25th Khlestakov Festival is comparable to the very first festivals when we fantasized and tried everything. The holiday was a success!’

The scriptwriter and director of the festival program Vitalii Ageyenkov admits that the most difficult role at the festival is the role of the organizer, because Vitaly combined several tasks at once: he played two characters (Vii and Vakula), wrote the script, acted as director and even administrator.

‘The jokes that sounded worked, the numbers that were supposed to surprise surprised, so I can say with full confidence that the Khlestakov Festival was a success. It may not be in the form we planned, but that's the beauty of the festival, because it is never fully planned. And he always brings amazing improvisational forms and methods of work,’ Vitalii Ageyenkov said.

Permanent participants of the Pyotrs Ivanoviches Duo reported that the next festival will be held with other presenters.

You can find the photos from the 25th Khlestakov Festival here.