The Foundation “Ulyanovsk – the Capital of Culture” was established in July 2012 on the initiative of Sergey Morozov, the Governor of the Ulyanovsk region.

Before that there was a special programme carried out by the Government of the Ulyanovsk region called “Ulyanovsk - the Capital of Culture” which promoted Ulyanovsk as a participant of the project “The Capital of Culture”.

The directorate of the Programme managed the innovational activities in the sphere of culture of the region, supported joint promising cultural projects including non-governmental ones, organized project and educational seminars, discussions of the most urgent issues concerning regional culture and its development perspectives. The 1st International Cultural Congress was held in Ulyanovsk with the immediate participation of the directorate and the managers of the Programme.

Then it became clear that to form a new cultural policy and modernize the cultural environment of the region it was necessary to attract foreign investments, cooperate with experts from Russia and other countries and create an attractive outward brand of the region. The Foundation was created thereby.

The Foundation “Ulyanovsk – the Capital of Culture”:

• holds the International Cultural Forum in the Ulyanovsk region annually;
• holds various events aimed at cultural, art and creative industries development and promoting the Ulyanovsk region with the help of culture on the regional, federal and international levels;
• initiates grant contests supporting and developing cultural initiatives in the sphere of modern culture;
• consults and gives information concerning culture and cultural policy of the region;
• holds seminars, open discussions and round tables.