With love for Russia: Liberatum puts the spotlight on St Petersburg

Diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Russia can be strained at the best of times, so do we need a new approach? Impresario Pablo Ganguli – the 27 year old founder of cultural organisation Liberatum – certainly seems to think so; this month he will be bringing together the finest minds of both countries at a cultural diplomacy festival in St Petersburg.

The three-day St PetersBall festival will celebrate Russia's artistic contributions to the world, and Ganguli has great hopes that it will forge stronger cultural ties between the host nation and its visitors. People who've already booked their flights to St Petersburg include author DBC Pierre, fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic, artist Polly Morgan and ballet dancer/choreographer Slava Samodurov, who grew up in the city. While in town, they will meet local artists, film-makers, musicians and writers to discuss creativity and culture in landmark venues across the city.

The Liberatum concept recently proved to be a winner in Istanbul, where August's Istancool festival generated plenty of buzz, and St Petersburg – home to the State Hermitage and the Winter Palace – is already ideal for culturally-minded travellers.

'Creating strong, captivating, thought-provoking programmes is [Liberatum's] main goal,' says Ganguli, whose other ventures include literary festivals in Bombay and a film festival in Papua New Guinea.

Looking at the festival schedule, I'm particularly intrigued by 'Literature For a Globalised World' where the influences of internationalism and the duties of literature in the 21st century will be discussed (1pm on 13 November at Rosfoto), the screening of Sergei Sholokhov's Three Years with Maestro, about Valery Gergiev (4.30pm on 13 November at Dom Kino), and the debate on the language of world cinema in the digital age with Sholokhov, John Hillcoat and Martha Fiennes (4pm on 14 November at Rosfoto).

St PetersBall with Corinthia Hotels runs from 12-14 November 2010, and is free and open to the public. 

Emma Lundin is a freelance travel journalist, broadcaster and writer.