On May 18 U.S. Consul General Marcus Micheli visited Orenburg. During meetings with Acting Minister of Culture and External Affairs Aleksander Kalinin, Deputy Mayor Yaroslav Moiseev, and MFA Representative in Orenburg Aleksander Kuznetsov, Consul General Micheli highlighted the importance of maintaining and strengthening productive ties between Orenburg region and the United States through cultural projects, educational exchanges, and commercial connections.
One of the great examples of business cooperation between Russia and the United States is a John Deere plant that has been successfully working in Orenburg since 2005. This plant produces nine models of high-quality agricultural machinery for farms throughout Russia and northern Kazakhstan. Consul General Micheli visited the plant’s welding, painting, and assembling departments to see the start of the summer production cycle.
Consul General Micheli also delivered remarks at the opening of an exhibit, titled Woven Together, at the Orenburg Museum of Fine Arts, together with Acting Minister of Culture and External Affairs Kalinin and Museum Director Yuriy Komlev. This exhibit, curated by Dr. Suzanne Fricke from Santa Fe University, presents works of contemporary Native American artists made in different techniques – from paintings to quilts to photography. Consul General Micheli also visited a historical exhibit, “Sarmatian Gold,” at the Orenburg Regional History Museum, and an open-air exhibit devoted to the Great Patriotic War.
