Penza, 1 April 2013. PenzaNews. Preparations for the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov began in the Penza region.

As of March 29, 2013, the government the Penza region set up an organizing committee and approved the list of its members.

The committee is headed by the chairman of the government of the Penza region Yuri Krivov, and his deputy is the Head of regional Department of Culture and Archives Evgeny Shilov.

The main celebration of the 200th anniversary and activities connected with it will take place in 2014, among them are IX Book Festival “Open World of Libraries” with participation of the libraries of Russia named after M. Lermontov, the All-Russian Theatre Festival “Maskerad,” and a grand ceremony dedicated to the poet.