"Blagovest" was first held in 2005. It began as a talent competition for CIS countries with a Slavic theme, but over time it evolved into a festival of Slavic art due to organizational challenges in maintaining it as a competition. The event had virtually no sponsors, and the capacity to adequately accommodate all interested participants and provide them with substantial prizes diminished. These issues are now in the past, and guests from all corners of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia eagerly attend the festival, with free concerts filling venues—from the spiritual and educational center at the diocese to the RCDY "Seitek." This year, over two weeks, around 300 performers from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as creative associations of compatriots, took the stage: choirs "Russian Soul," "Prjalitsa," "Stanitsa," vocal ensembles "Cossack Song" and "Dawn of Semirechye," singers and dancers from Bishkek, Kara-Balta, Tokmok, Almaty, and the village of Belovodskoye.
The program featured predominantly Slavic and spiritual works performed by both young and old, demonstrating that interest in traditional culture remains strong.
- A number of creative groups and soloists increasingly consider the festival theme: Slavic identity, Orthodoxy, and patriotism. Although some performers could be critiqued for the quality of their execution, - believes the chief organizer of the festival and head of the diocesan culture department, Yuri Anastasian. - By God's grace, the eleventh festival was successful, and I would like to express heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in the organization of this large-scale event—Bishop Daniil, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Society of Leningrad Blockade Survivors, the organizing committee, artists, and audiences, thanks to whom "Blagovest" took place.