On the 10th of March, an event which garnered the interest of the Malaysian public took place at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture. The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Malaysia L.G. Vorobyova participated in the send-off for the news crew of the Malaysian broadcasting channel TV3, which will be embarking on a six week trip around Russia. The eleven-member team of journalists, producers and cameramen will spend the period between the 15th of March and 26th of April travelling to Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan, Dagestan (Derbent), and Chechnya (Grozny), where they will be filming a documentary series of 30 episodes about our country. Each episode will occupy 30 minutes of airtime. The series is expected to hit Malaysian television screens in August this year. It will be shown during prime time for 30 days in a row.

Such an informative news event featuring our country is the first to take place in this country. It shows evidence of increasing interest by Malaysians in Russia.

The representatives of Rossotrudnichestvo and the Embassy of the Russian Federation are providing organizing and informative support for the aforementioned project. The creative team of TV3 has more than once paid visit the RCSC, where they received thematic multimedia presentations and briefings. There was constant communication with the Department of Press and Information of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The most important aspect relating to the impending trip by TV3’s crew to Russia is its interest in bringing to the public’s attention objective information on the situation of Islam in our country. This theme will permeate the whole series. They plan to film and survey mosques in Russian cities, feature stories on the everyday life of Russian Muslims, as well as meet up with the leaders of Islamic organizations. According to the creators’ plan for the series, the emphasis is on displaying multi-confessional modern Russia, the peaceful coexistence of various religions, and the noticeable place of Islam in our country’s spiritual life as the 2nd most important religion in its number of believers. The TV journalists intend to tell Malaysians on the increasing number of mosques and Islamic organizations in Russia, the interaction between the Central Administration of Muslims and the Russian Orthodox Church, and on the Russian authority’s constructive policy on the existence of Islam in the country.

Characteristically, the series about Russia and the place of Islam in our country will be aired in Malaysia in August – that is, during the month of Ramadan, which precedes the main holiday of the Islamic countries – Aidilfitri.