recognised as the spiritual home of the Russian theater and dramatics. Nowadays the Volkov Theater has two stages and a combined amount of around 1000 seats for spectators. It is considered to be the most famous of the Russian provincial theaters.
Apart from the Volkov Theater, there are a number of other theatres in Yaroslavl, including the State Puppet Theater (founded in 1927), a children's and youth theater (Yaroslavl State Theater for Young Spectators, founded 1984), and the Yaroslavl Chamber Theater(founded 1999). In addition to these theaters, the city also has a philharmonic (founded 1937) and a permanent circus (founded 1963).
There are around ten movie theaters in the city, the oldest of which 'Rodina' was built during the Soviet era in 1959. This particular theatre, despite maintaining its Soviet-era exterior, has been comprehensively modernised and is now even able to show 3D films. The city also has a number of large, modern multiplex cinemas, chief amongst which are those of the Russian cinema chains Cinema-Star and Kinomax.
Uncommon for a provincial Russian city, Yaroslavl has a large municipal Planetarium. This was founded in 1948 and was situated, for a long time, in an old church. However, in April 2011, after two years of building works, the city's new 'Valentina Tereshkova' planetarium was opened to the public.
Global Policy Forum
President Dmitry Medvedev converses with Turkish president Abdullah G�l at the 2011 Yaroslavl Global Policy Forum
In recent years Yaroslavl have become well known for the high-level political discourse it has hosted under the auspices of the Yaroslavl Global Policy Forum. This event, organised by the Russian government, and with the backing of President Dmitry Medvedev, has been running since 2009 and represents one of the highest level political-diplomatic forums in the world today. It is the largest political science event organised in Russia, and is held on an annual
