Bratsk-ART: the story of the city’s major cultural stage.

Where Bratsk becomes an audience

Bratsk-ART has a precise city address, 28 Lenin Avenue, and a much wider role. It brings together touring-concert audiences, pupils’ families, participants in civic ceremonies and people who take the stage themselves. For one resident it means an evening with a favourite performer; for another, years of rehearsals and a first bow before a full auditorium.

The municipal theatre and concert centre brings together theatre, music, dance and creative classes.

18 July 1982

The institution’s official contact page gives 18 July 1982 as its founding date. Its technical development programme also dates construction and commissioning of the building to 1982. This provides a firm starting point for the premises themselves.

When the posters said Metallurg

Before its present name, the building was known as the Metallurg Palace of Culture. That name survives in documentary traces of its musical life: newspaper advertising from December 1982 places concerts specifically at DK Metallurg. Recollections of Bratsk discos identify the same palace as an important early-eighties venue.

Barykin and two December concerts

A specific early episode was the visit of 12 December 1982. A newspaper advertisement reproduced in Glagol’s historical account announces two performances at DK Metallurg, at 4 pm and 7 pm. Carnival, Krasnye Maki and Igrisi appear on the programme. Alexander Barykin was performing with Carnival at that time.

A surviving photograph of Barykin in Bratsk is dated 14 December and belongs to the same visit.

A disco built through technical ingenuity

In published recollections, Vladimir Grebnev places the fitting-out of a disco in Metallurg’s lower hall around 1982–1983. He describes purchased equipment, home-built lighting effects and powerful loudspeakers. It is a participant’s account of creating a local youth music environment.

A municipal cultural institution

Bratsk-ART now operates as a municipal autonomous cultural institution. The city is its founder and property owner, with cultural responsibilities connected to the municipal culture department. Its official archive publishes the charter, assignments, reports and development documents.

Documents establishing the autonomous institution date to 2007; the building and cultural centre opened in 1982.

Almost sixteen thousand square metres

The 2023–2025 development programme describes a building with a total floor area of 15,891.9 square metres. That scale explains why Bratsk-ART cannot be understood from its façade alone: audiences, performers, teaching groups, workshops and technical operations all need accommodation.

An auditorium for a substantial gathering

The main theatre auditorium accommodates 1,012 people. The centre’s current page breaks this down into 1,003 conventional seats and nine wheelchair places. Its technical description also identifies a balcony.

Use the official seating plan to choose a seat. If you need assistance, arrange your route through the building and seating with staff in advance.

The stage as a working space

The technical programme gives the stage an area of 579.5 square metres. The figure helps convey the setting for a large dance ensemble or a crowded finale. Size matters, alongside coordination between movement, lighting, recorded sound and changing formations.

A different scale: the White Hall

The technical programme describes the White Hall as a 371.7-square-metre room with 300 seats. Its role is particularly clear in the history of Zhavoronok: the choir’s 2024 anniversary evening took place here, amid paper birds, congratulations and returning graduates.

Winter garden, fireplace room and foyers

The official description separately identifies a winter garden and a fireplace room, alongside theatre, double-height and ticket-office foyers. A visit therefore starts before the first entrance onstage: arriving, waiting, meeting acquaintances and finding one’s place are all part of it.

Costumes come before the applause

The centre’s facilities include costume storage and a sewing workshop. Its 2023–2025 programme describes a substantial costume collection, while the staff list identifies a dedicated costume-and-sewing operation. Stage appearance has its own practical production side here.

The recording studio: another side of the centre

The official website has a separate recording-studio page. Services include voice recording, processing, mixing and mastering, with arrangements for soloists and larger ensembles. Musical work consequently extends beyond the auditorium.

Contact the centre for recording arrangements and prices.

When the stage received a new setting

For its fortieth anniversary in 2022, the centre renewed its stage setting. The report lists curtains, side masking and other elements of stage dress. It also describes new seats, modern equipment, an LED screen and specialist stage-floor covering.

Managing a large cultural home

As checked in October 2026, the official site names Svetlana Alexandrovna Smolina as director. The centre’s structure includes creative and concert departments, facilities management, engineering and workshops. Svetlana Nikolayevna Aleksandrova is listed as artistic director.

Ogonki: older than the building

Ogonki Dance Ensemble was established in February 1968 by Raisa Petrovna Molchanova. Its history began well before the present building opened in 1982. Within Bratsk-ART, it represents continuity between generations of local choreography.

The official profile names Elena Valeryevna Pazhentseva as director and lists classical, folk and contemporary dance. In December 2023, the ensemble received the title of Honoured Folk Art Collective of the Russian Federation.

A gallery made through dance

In its 2024 reporting concert, Ogonki organised the programme as an art gallery. Almost twenty dances formed a shared stage environment, bringing new work together with productions already familiar to the audience. Graduating members experienced the evening as a significant boundary in their own involvement.

Zhavoronok: learning a choral voice

Zhavoronok Boys’ Choir was founded in April 1969 by Mindaugas Iono Ratskevichius. Academic choral singing requires particular attention to the shared sound: individual voices retain expression while becoming part of an ensemble. The tradition has continued through successive leaders.

Galina Alexandrovna Kosulnikova led the choir from 1989 to 2024. The current profile names Elena Oskarovna Zheltikova as its director.

Fifty-five years and a generational transition

For Zhavoronok’s 2024 anniversary, paper birds decorated the White Hall. Preparation for the concert had taken more than six months. Family continuity stands out in the report: former members bring their own sons to the choir, connecting its history with the histories of Bratsk families.

The anniversary evening celebrated graduates and marked Galina Kosulnikova’s retirement.

Molodost Bratska: movement across decades

The official profile of Molodost Bratska gives a precise founding date: 5 October 1981. Larisa Petrovna Krivtsova established the ensemble. It received its folk-collective title in 1986 and continued working across several choreographic directions.

In October 2026, the leadership listed Valeria Grigoryeva and choreographers Daria Prokopenko and Alina Chernykh. The ensemble combines folk dance, classical training and contemporary staging.

Returning to a major concert

On 10 April 2021, Molodost Bratska presented an anniversary programme. The centre’s report identifies it as the ensemble’s first major performance since the pandemic began. New participants and experienced dancers shared the stage, with folk and contemporary choreography appearing together.

Zharki: dance as a school

Zharki Dance Theatre-Studio dates its history to September 1985. Its leader is Tatyana Vasilyevna Moshkina. The official description brings together folk and classical dance, jazz, modern and other contemporary forms, indicating a range of expressive approaches.

Between the Lines: history through movement

In April 2025, Zharki presented Between the Lines, based on letters from Second World War participants and their families. More than 150 pupils took part in sixteen numbers linked by accounts of individual lives. The report gives the performers’ ages as four to eighteen.

A separate part of the concert honoured six graduating members completing years of training with the ensemble.

A gold diploma in Tomsk

In autumn 2026, Zharki’s main company represented Bratsk at the Vesna Svyashchennaya award in Tomsk. Twenty-two dancers travelled. According to the published report, the Bratsk ensemble received a gold diploma among twenty-five companies from the Siberian Federal District.

The programme included “Kazachiy plyas”, “Za okolitsey” and “Vo gornitse”. Participants also attended masterclasses and other ensembles’ performances.

Troubadour: children on a musical stage

Troubadour Children’s Musical Theatre was established in October 1992 by Konstantin Yefimovich Magidin. It received exemplary-collective status in 1993. The current official profile names Dmitry Yuryevich Romanov as its leader.

Thirty years celebrated with the Bremen musicians

For its thirtieth anniversary, Troubadour prepared a musical version of The Bremen Town Musicians. A February 2023 report shows work on the new production: familiar songs and the fairy-tale plot were adapted for a child cast. The premiere formed part of the anniversary celebration.

To Live… Wanting to Live…

In April 2025, Troubadour presented To Live… Wanting to Live… to school audiences. The production draws on documented accounts of wartime children and teenagers. Twenty-three young actors participated in that year’s first showing; the report names Dmitry Romanov as chief director.

Vasiliki: song and stage personality

The Vasiliki pop-vocal ensemble was founded by Olga Andreyevna Vasilik in 1999. Its current official profile names Natalya Alekseyevna Poliyenko as leader. The group’s pop-singing direction allows work on individual expression and shared ensemble sound.

In March 2021, the ensemble’s concert programme combined children’s songs, folk motifs and pop hits.

Lyubavushka: songs across generations

Lyubavushka Russian Song Ensemble specialises in folk singing. Its official profile dates the group to 2008 and names Yelena Nikolayevna Kravtsova as leader. Folk-collective status was awarded in 2014 and confirmed in 2024.

An announcement for the spring 2022 programme “Live and Sing, Russia!” mentioned participants as young as three alongside the soloists.

Etude: learning to look

Etude Art Studio opened in October 2023 under Nataliya Aleksandrovna Nerush. Its programme includes drawing, painting, composition and batik. This addition gives the centre another expressive language: images made by the participants themselves.

A House of a Thousand Keys

The centre marked its fortieth anniversary in 2022 with a major stage programme. The anniversary season was called A House of a Thousand Keys. Familiar companies revealed different sides: the Russian-song ensemble explored a contemporary format, while the boys’ choir tried a hip-hop composition.

Age does not close the way to the stage

In April 2025, Bratsk-ART hosted the gala of the Ne Stareyut Dushoy Veterany festival. Participants represented different parts of the city, including Sukhoy, Padun and the Right Bank. The season’s theme was the eightieth anniversary of Victory.

A city concert as a shared production

The published account of the 8 May 2022 concert describes a ninety-minute theatrical programme. A combined city choir, Zhavoronok, Zharki, Lyubavushka, Vasiliki and guest participants worked within one production, with performers gathering together for the finale.

When the square becomes the stage

In July 2025, Metallurgist’s Day extended onto the square outside the centre. A five-hour programme combined local performers, employee awards and appearances by Lyosha Svik, Olga Seryabkina, Slava and DJ Zolotov. The report estimated an audience exceeding 25,000.

The audience estimate refers to the outdoor celebration in the square outside the centre.

Robots, experiments and Oleg Novitsky

In September 2026, the centre hosted the tenth RUSAL Science Festival. Its space theme marked sixty-five years since the first human orbital flight. Participants encountered robots, manipulators, microelectronics and demonstrations of physics and chemistry.

Cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky was a guest. The report estimated attendance at about three thousand Bratsk residents.

The first of September beyond the school gates

The centre marked the start of the 2026 school year with The Secret of the First of September. The programme combined theatrical performance, songs, flash mobs, games and introductions to creative companies. Children attended with parents, turning a school-calendar date into a shared civic occasion.

The forty-fourth season

On 16 October 2026, Bratsk-ART opened its forty-fourth creative season. In the advance account, artistic director Svetlana Aleksandrova promised an unusual form: directors would appear as actors and stage situations would replace conventional presenters. A report published on 19 October confirmed that the opening had taken place.

From the building to the square and outdoor stage

The surrounding area forms part of Bratsk-ART’s everyday identity. The concert building stands alongside a public garden, walking routes and places for civic celebrations. In an architectural interview, Vladimir Pulyayev separately discusses the outdoor stage beside the centre and the Angara Cascades public space.

A programme on the façade

The outdoor LED screen is a separate technical resource. The operator publishes terms for displaying silent video clips. It is an external information surface facing the square and passing city life, distinct from the screen used inside the auditorium.

How to discover Bratsk-ART

A simple first step is to open the official programme and choose an event matching your interests: a concert, children’s production or programme by a local company. For classes, consult the specific group’s profile, which provides working information and participant documents.

The address is 28 Lenina Avenue, Central District. Check ticket-office hours before travelling, as they may differ from the centre’s general hours. Contact staff in advance if you require assistance.