History

Burlington, Vermont, and the Russian city of Yaroslavl formed a sister city partnership in 1988. Since then, exchanges between the cities have included mayors, business people, firefighters, jazz musicians, youth orchestras, artists, high school students, medical students, nurses, librarians, architects, journalists, a theater troupe and hockey players, from the Yaroslavl Torpedo professional team in 1991 to the Yaroslavl Bears pond hockey team in 2020.

Yaroslavl Regional Non-Government Organization “Russian-American Association Friendship Society” was established on May 19, 2009 based on Burlington-Yaroslavl Sister Cities Friendship Society. This initiative was supported by the Yaroslavl Regional Government, the Yaroslavl City Hall, the Burlington-Yaroslavl Sister Cities Program in Burlington, the Embassy of the United States of America in Russia, prominent businessmen, scientists and artists of the Yaroslavl Region and United States of America.

Today more than 30 years of friendship between Burlington and Yaroslavl represent the history of cultural, humanitarian and educational projects that have been implemented through joint efforts both in the USA and in Yaroslavl. The Russian and American festival, Bridge Over the Ocean, is one of such projects. It has been regularly held in Yaroslavl for over 10 years.

The Bridge Over the Ocean festival is a statement event in Yaroslavl with a broad audience of participants. Every year the festival unites people living on different continents. It facilitates the exchange process, helps to build on the existing knowledge   and contributes to forming the sound basis for future cooperation.