Hello, I'm your Seryozha: "Hands up!" in the new movie, Zivert and Eva Polna — on VK Fest

Izvestia's choice

VK Fest in Moscow, 0+

Having started in Kazan in June, having made a two-day stop in St. Petersburg in July and then stopped in Nizhny Novgorod for a day, VK Fest-2026 traditionally completes the festival tour in Moscow.

Zivert, Xolidayboy, Eva Polna, Vadim Samoilov and Agatha Christie, Moth, T.A.T.U., Tatiana Kurtukova will perform on the Blue Stage. On the White one are the legends of Ural rap AK-47 and TGK. Among others, Cheese People, a Samara indie band that became one of the main discoveries of the Russian alternative scene of the late 2000s, will appear on Purple. There are also three secret guests in the music program.

But this event is more than music. In the Lecture Hall, actresses Lukerya Ilyashenko, Nika Zdorik, Eva Smirnova and Ekaterina Volkova will talk about what remains behind the scenes. The Influencers zone will host autograph sessions with Masha, Karina Murashkina, Dima Maslennikov, Jan Topless, Anya Pokrov and Artur Babich.

The festival's map also includes sports and family areas, cosplay, video games, workshops, and a large food court.

On July 18 and 19 at VDNKh

Home full house: VK Fest in St. Petersburg was attended by more than 70 thousand people

Why is the hometown of the festival still the most atmospheric venue of the tour and what surprised the audience of t.A.T.u., Klava Coca and Feduk

Music

SandlerFest, 12+

The festival will bring together musicians for whom there are no geographical or genre boundaries: artists from Russia, Europe, the USA, Africa and Latin America — from jazz and blues to classical and progressive rock. Last year, the pioneers of the movement, Ariel, Muscovites, Tin Soldiers, as well as cult groups of the 1970s and 1980s, including Mystery Buff, Successful Acquisition, and Ruby Attack, performed at SandlerFest. The festival will continue this musical chronicle. The main event will be the Shostakovich 120 project, where the composer's works will be performed in an unexpected combination with modern styles.

On July 18 and 19 at the VDNKH Green Theater

Leonid Agutin Stadium Concert, 6+

After last year's solo show at the Luzhniki Stadium, Leonid Agutin is reassembling the arena. Over three decades, he has created his own musical language, in which pop music is freely combined with Latin American rhythms, jazz and funk. That is why the artist's songs are almost independent of time and sound equally convincing both on a chamber stage and in a stadium of thousands. The new concert will combine well-known compositions from different years and more recent material.

July 18 at the Luzhniki Grand Sports Arena

ODYSSEY Festival, 18+

The eighth ODYSSEY Festival returns with a new concept — the "Time Loop". In two days, more than 50 Russian and foreign artists will perform here, including AIWASKA, German Brigante, PAAX, Mayze X Faria and Nemiga. The Eternal stage will bring together melodic house representatives against the backdrop of the Gulf of Finland. The Part venue will take you back to the era of MTV and dance culture of the 2000s. The Present will become the territory of the progressive electronic scene, and Paradise WC Time Capsule will become a futuristic dance floor.

The key event is a musical and theatrical show on the main stage of Future, where electronics will meet with a symphony orchestra, opera, ballet and a light production. While most summer festivals rely on layup, ODYSSEY focuses on a seamless experience where music becomes part of a larger action.

On July 18 and 19 at the Brusnitsyn Cultural Quarter in St. Petersburg

The Taming of the Shrews: The Russian Theater from Florence will perform in front of the government of Tuscany

How Chekhov, Gogol, and Pushkin are played in Europe outside of culture.

What to see

"Hello, it's me!", 16+

A documentary about the history of "Hands up!" will reveal the phenomenon of the band, which in the 1990s was called musical trash, but today is considered the voice of the generation. The group has been assembling stadiums for 30 years. At the center of the story is Sergey Zhukov's journey: from a provincial DJ to an artist who became the idol of millions. Viewers will see archival footage with candid interviews of the band's leader and stories of people for whom the songs "Hands up!" have become a lifeline. Igor Nikolaev, Vadim Samoilov, Ivan Okhlobystin, Sergey Bezrukov, Yana Churikova, Sergey Minaev, Vladimir Sychev, Tutta Larsen, Ilya Legostaev, Artur Gasparyan, as well as Sergey Zhukov's wife Regina Burd took part in the film. The voice-over is Alexey Chadov.

July 17 at 23:40 on REN TV

Dzerzhinsky, 16+

On REN TV— the premiere of the documentary film "Dzerzhinsky" from the NMG DOC cycle "The Great Ones". The film is dedicated to the centenary of Felix Edmundovich's death, he died on July 20, 1926 of a heart attack during the plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Committee of the CPSU(b). In the film, viewers will see how seemingly incompatible traits got along in one person: they were intimidated by Dzerzhinsky's name, and he saved street children. The creator of the most formidable intelligence service in the world advocated for the rights of prisoners and the abolition of the death penalty — a tape on REN TV will tell about these contradictions. The director of photography is Roman Iovitsa, the author of the idea of the cycle is Vladimir Tyulin.

July 19 at 23:30 on REN TV

Museums

45th anniversary of the Museum of Decorative Arts, 6+

The All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts will celebrate its 45th anniversary. The holiday program will combine music, theater, excursions, lectures and performances. Opera diva Hibla Gerzmava will perform with Peter Vostokov's Big Jazz Orchestra in the garden of Osterman Manor. The writer Tatiana Tolstaya will arrange a tea party with the guests. And People's Artist Alexander Oleshko will read "The Storeroom of the Sun" by Prishvin for young visitors. All this is not just an open day, but an opportunity to see the museum as a living cultural space.

July 21 at the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts

What else should I pay attention to

VII Russian Creative Week, 16+

The main event in the creative economy of the country: 45 events and more than 350 leading speakers. The focus will be on the most in-demand areas of creative business: from the expansion of domestic brands into international markets and the integration of cultural heritage into modern business to the large-scale introduction of artificial intelligence into creative professions. The forum program includes strategic sessions, expert discussions and practical business collaborations from industry leaders aimed at developing real economic solutions.

On July 17 and 18 at the Dream complex in Gorky Park