China News Service, Moscow, September 27th. Question: How to make ancient civilizations ‘alive’ in the contemporary era?
——Exclusive interview with Vladimir Petrovsky, director and chief researcher of the Asia-Arctic Research Center, Institute of China and Modern Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences
China News Service reporter Tian Bing
When cultural heritage spanning thousands of years meets current civilizational dialogue, how to make ancient civilizations ‘alive’ in the contemporary era? How to make people from different countries more exposed to diverse cultural heritage? During the 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum, Vladimir Petrovsky, director and chief researcher of the Asia-Arctic Research Center of the Institute of China and Modern Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" and shared his observations and thoughts.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: What special significance does the theme of ‘Cultural Heritage and Mutual Learning of Civilizations’ have on current exchanges in the global cultural field?
Petrovsky: In my opinion, this topic is crucial. ‘Cultural heritage and mutual learning among civilizations’ precisely meet the core needs of current global cultural exchanges. Civilization dialogue has never been an empty propaganda of ideas. Its fundamental basis lies in the importance and protection of respective cultural heritages, as well as the equal mutual learning and mutual reference between different civilizations.
The process of each country presenting its cultural heritage to the world is itself a process of self-sorting and re-understanding. When people learn about the cultural heritage of other civilizations with respect, they do not passively receive external information, but find a common spiritual thread in cross-civilization comparisons. This two-way seeing and understanding is one of the ways to break through the current misunderstandings of the so-called ‘civilization gap’ and ‘clash of civilizations’.
On September 23, 2026, the Beijing Cultural Forum Parallel Forum ‘Cultural Heritage Protection and Inheritance and Youth Participation’ was held at the Beijing Hotel. Photo by China News Service reporter Yang Yuran
China News Service reporter: China and Russia both have splendid civilizations. What common spiritual cores do the two countries have that can transcend civilizational differences and become a bond of dialogue between different civilizations?
Petrovsky: Russia and China have a lot of unique spiritual wealth in their respective cultural heritages, and there is a common spiritual foundation in them. This commonality is first reflected in the respect the two civilizations have for other civilizations, other cultures, and other nations, and their open attitude in always being committed to dialogue on the premise of equality and peaceful coexistence. This is the link and bridge that connects dialogue between different civilizations.
Russia has designated 2026 as the ‘Year of Russian National Unity’. This move has important symbolic significance. It itself is a practice of the concept of symbiosis of multi-civilizations and multi-ethnic cultures. It echoes the global civilization initiative proposed by China across national borders and provides a practical sample for the coexistence of multi-civilizations in the two countries and even around the world.
On September 2, 2026 local time, the 39th Moscow International Book Fair opened in Moscow, and held China's guest country activities. The picture shows Russian readers in the Chinese fine books exhibition area. Photo by China News Service reporter Tian Bing
Reporter from China News Service: 2026 coincides with the "China-Russia Education Year". In this context, what new opportunities does the Beijing Cultural Forum provide for China and Russia to exchange in the field of cultural heritage?
Petrovsky: Exchanges and cooperation between Russia and China in the fields of humanities and education are entering a new stage of continuous deepening. In this context, the Beijing Cultural Forum provides an important platform for cultural heritage exchanges between Russia and China. As far as I know, experts in the fields of culture, education, and heritage protection from both countries participated in many sessions of the forum, which provided opportunities for face-to-face dialogue between the two sides to discuss setting up transnational education training goals in the field of cultural heritage and jointly developing special cooperation projects. This kind of in-depth communication allows the people-to-people and cultural cooperation between the two countries to not only stop at the level of organizing events, but also to be implemented into a long-term and sustainable exchange mechanism.
China News Service reporter: What kind of mutual learning cooperation can be carried out in digital exhibitions and the construction of digital cultural heritage libraries, so that people in different countries can more easily access and understand diverse cultural heritages?
Petrovsky: Digital technology is changing the way cultural heritage is disseminated, and provides unprecedented possibilities for the research and popularization of cultural heritage. It breaks many limitations of time, space, and geography in offline communication in the past. After all, offline interaction is not always feasible. Digital exhibition platforms like the Silk Road Digital Museum and multilingual cultural heritage sharing databases have become powerful tools to promote dialogue among civilizations in this era.
Both Russia and China are actively promoting the digital development of cultural heritage. The two countries can carry out in-depth cooperation in the development of digital resource standards, joint curation, and database interconnection, and transform the long-standing cultural heritage content of the two countries into more accessible digital forms, so that people in different countries around the world can easily access the achievements of diverse civilizations, thereby truly realizing borderless sharing of cultural heritage.
On February 17, 2026 local time, a New Year Temple Fair was held at the China Trade Center in Moscow. The picture shows a Russian instructor demonstrating how to hold a brush. Photo by China News Service reporter Tian Bing
China News Service reporter: Youth groups are an important force in the inheritance of cultural heritage. What unique role do you think the younger generation can play in promoting cross-civilization cultural exchanges?
Petrovsky: In recent years, the enthusiasm and participation of young talents in cultural heritage protection has been steadily increasing. They are the most dynamic force in the inheritance of cultural heritage. The younger generation that has grown up in the digital age is precisely the group that is most familiar with digital communication tools and the most receptive to cross-cultural content. They play an irreplaceable and unique role in cross-cultural communication.
Carrying out civilized dialogue is never about abstract cultural symbols themselves, but about concrete human actions that represent different civilizations. If the younger generation can establish a sense of respect for different civilizations from an early age, master the ability of cross-cultural communication, and deeply understand the value of mutual learning among civilizations, they will become the most steadfast practitioners of dialogue among civilizations in the future and lay the solid foundation for long-term peaceful coexistence, exchanges and cooperation between different civilizations. It is precisely because of this that cross-cultural communication is particularly important. (End)
Interviewee profile:
Vladimir Petrovsky. Photo provided by interviewee
Vladimir Petrovsky, Ph.D. in political science, director and chief researcher of the Asia-Arctic Research Center of the Institute of China and Modern Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences, and academician of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences. Main research areas: international mechanism theory, multilateral security mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions, Russian diplomatic concepts in the Asia-Pacific region, international peacekeeping and conflict resolution, etc. Author of several monographs and more than 100 academic papers.
