5,000 people gathered in Ekaterinburg to perform a flash mob dance to the classic Russian folk song “Kalinka,” part of the run-up to the International Festival of Youth 2026, which opens in the city on Friday, and runs through September 17.
The dancers were employees of Sima-Land, a trade and manufacturing company headquartered in Ekaterinburg. Organizers described the event as a musical greeting to participants of the International Festival of Youth.
Sima-Land, which employs about 9,000 people and has representative offices across Russia and abroad, produces goods under hundreds of its own brands, including beauty products, home textiles, furniture and electronics. Its facilities span more than 400,000 square metres and its catalogue includes over a million items.
💬 #Zakharova: The International Festival of Youth – one of the world’s largest youth events – will take place in #Yekaterinburg on Sept 11-17.
🌍 It unites 10,000 young people from 190 countries.
The 9th Global Forum of Young Diplomats will be held on the sidelines.#IFY2026 pic.twitter.com/E6BGeMuC6u
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) September 9, 2026
The flash mob comes just days before the International Festival of Youth 2026 is expected to bring together 10,000 young people from 191 countries in Ekaterinburg. The festival is being staged as part of Russia’s Youth and Children national project.
This year’s event follows a broader pattern of state-organized youth gatherings launched after President Vladimir Putin instructed officials to preserve and expand the legacy of the World Youth Festival, leading to annual youth events held across the country.
The inaugural World Youth Festival was held in Sirius in March 2024, drawing 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.
Read More: Russian Embassy Invites Pakistani Youth to World Youth Festival 2026
A follow-up assembly took place in Nizhny Novgorod in 2025, attracting 2,000 participants from 120 countries. Organizers say the next full-scale World Youth Festival, expected to host 20,000 attendees, is scheduled for 2030.
The World Youth Festival Directorate says its ongoing goal is to strengthen international youth cooperation and build a global community of young people.
While the scale of the choreography made for a striking spectacle, the festival series itself sits within a wider Russian soft-power push to position the country as a hub for international youth engagement.
