Prima Nota

16/05/2026

Some problems are universal. 😂

Your boots are falling apart.
You complain dramatically.
The village women are absolutely unimpressed.

“Valenki” is a humorous traditional Russian folk song about one person endlessly complaining about their old worn-out felt winter boots… while everyone around them basically says:

“Maybe stitch them up and move on with your life?” 🪡

Here’s a small glimpse into our folk-inspired performance featuring live vocals, theatrical movement, and a little bit of old village humour from Prima Nota & Zabava Folk Dance SA. ✨

10/05/2026

🍂 FAMILY FUN DAY PICNIC – 17 MAY 🍂
Harry Wierda Reserve, Oakden
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Prima Nota is happy to support and join the upcoming Family Fun Day Picnic together with the Russian-Speaking Women’s Association in South Australia, BreastScreen SA, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF), Multicultural Communities Council of SA, and representatives of the Uzbek community.

This relaxed outdoor gathering is designed especially for women, their families, partners, children, and friends- creating a welcoming space for community connection, wellbeing, friendship, and quality time together in a warm multicultural environment. 🌿

✨ What to expect:
• Friendly picnic atmosphere
• Family-friendly activities and conversations
• A touch of Uzbek culture, dance, and delicious plov
• Community connection and support
• BreastScreen SA information and women’s health awareness resources
• Community wellbeing resources supported by ADF and MCCSA
• Outdoor sports and games- including tennis, basketball, table tennis, and more

A special thank you as well to Jakhon Madaminov for helping bring a touch of Uzbek culture to the day, and to Yuri Markov for helping create a warm community atmosphere with music and sound support. 🎶🍂

Please feel free to bring:
🥗 A plate of food to share
🪑 A picnic chair or blanket

And if you can’t bring anything- please still come. Nobody will be left hungry and everyone is welcome. ❤️

📍 Harry Wierda Reserve, Oakden
📅 Sunday, 17 May 2026
⏰ 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

We hope to see many familiar and new faces there! 🍁

08/05/2026

As we approach May 9 and Victory Day commemorations, which are still observed across some former Soviet countries- such as Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan-, we share the story of Anna Stepanovna Fedotenkova- a woman whose life was shaped by the hardships and endurance of the Second World War.

Born in central Soviet Ukraine, Anna Stepanovna experienced the realities of war from childhood. Before even reaching her teenage years, she was already carrying responsibilities far beyond her age- working during wartime and helping support local partisan efforts in the forests surrounding her village.

Now nearing the age of 96, Anna Stepanovna reflects not only on survival, but also on kindness, resilience, hospitality, and the values she believes should be passed on to future generations.

What makes this story especially powerful is not only the history itself, but the humanity behind it- the warmth with which she welcomed us, the clarity of her memories, and the dignity with which she speaks about both suffering and hope.

This video is shared in remembrance of all those whose lives were forever shaped by war- those who fought, those who endured, and those who carried entire communities through impossible times.

Lest We Forget.

—

Prima Nota Inc.
ANZAC Day Series 2026
Stories of Remembrance
Adelaide, South Australia

Shared as part of our ongoing work with Russian-speaking communities in South Australia.

05/05/2026

This Thursday, May 7, a candlelight vigil will be held in Adelaide CBD at Victoria Square in remembrance of Kumantjayi Little Baby.

🕯️ Thursday, May 7
🕯️ 6:30pm – 9:30pm
🕯️ Wear pink, bring a candle

At moments like this, communities across Australia pause together- to acknowledge loss, to stand in quiet solidarity, and to hold space for reflection.

For many, this is not only about one tragedy, but about something deeper that continues to affect families and communities across the country.

Prima Nota encourages those who feel called to attend to do so with respect and care.

For Kumanjayi Little Baby.

Vigils are taking place all over the country on Thursday.

🩷 Wear pink and light a candle. 🩷

Below is a list of vigils compiled online. If any are missing, please add them in the comments.

ALICE SPRINGS
Anzac Oval
Thurs 7th, 5:30pm

ADELAIDE
Victoria Square
Thurs 7th, 6:30pm–9:30pm

ALBANY
Alison Hartman Gardens
Wednesday, 5:45pm for 6pm start
Please bring battery-operated candles. No naked flames.

SYDNEY
Town Hall
Thurs 7th, 5:30pm arrival, formal proceedings start at 6:15pm

PERTH
Forrest Place
Thurs 7th, 4–6pm

KALGOORLIE
St Barbara Square
Thurs 7th at 4:30pm

SUNSHINE COAST
Cotton Tree
Thurs 7th, 4:30pm arrival for 5pm start
BYO rug or chair

MT CANOBOLAS (NEAR ORANGE)
Thurs at 6pm
BYO chair or rug, candle

CANBERRA
Aboriginal Tent Embassy
Thurs at 5:30pm

CANBERRA
The National Carillon
Thurs 7th, 5:30pm arrival for 6pm start
BYO chairs, rugs and candles

CARNARVON
Carnarvon Town Beach
Thurs at 6pm
There will be a sausage sizzle and water supplied.

LISMORE
Lismore Skate Park
Thurs 7th at 6pm

PORT AUGUSTA
Gladstone Square
Thurs 7th at 5:30pm
BYO chairs

PORT PIRIE
Port Pirie Memorial Park (at the rotunda)
Thurs 7th at 6pm

BROOME
Male Oval
Thurs 7th, 5:30pm–6pm
Aarnja is hosting

GERALDTON
Edith Cowan Square
Thurs 7th at 5:30pm

BALLINA
Ross Park
Thurs at 6:30pm

BALLINA
Shelly Beach (left side of the surf club)
Thurs 7th at 6pm

GOSFORD
Gosford Leagues Club Park
Thurs 7th, 5:30pm for 6pm start
BYO battery candles

26/04/2026

For Prima Nota, it was a great honour to take part in the march, representing the Russian-speaking community.

ANZAC Day is a day of remembrance, deep respect, and unity.

For our community, this day holds particular meaning. Among members of our Russian-speaking community are those who have served in the Australian armed forces, as well as those whose families lived through the horrors of war — both the First and Second World Wars in Europe and across the former Soviet Union. This is part of a shared memory passed down through generations.

This year, it was especially important for us that two representatives of our community were able to take part in the march.

With us was Lucy Bodnar — a veteran who served in the Australian armed forces, and a descendant of a family that endured the horrors of the Second World War in Ukraine.
We were also joined by Anna Fedotenkova, who, as a child and teenager, lived through the hardships of the Second World War in Ukraine.

It meant a great deal to us that they were able to participate again — for the first time in several years.

We would also like to sincerely thank two members of our community who supported our veterans throughout the march by assisting with their wheelchairs.

Our gratitude also goes to a member of the Pakistani community who joined us in a gesture of solidarity.

We are sincerely grateful to the ANZAC Day Committee South Australia for making this participation possible.

It was also a pleasure to meet and connect with members of the French and Serbian groups.

This day was a powerful reminder of how people of many nationalities can come together — in remembrance, in respect, and in the shared hope for peace.

Lest we forget.

Thank you to Australian Broadcasting Corporation for the footage. And thank you to Tamara Barrass for the footage and for the companionship.

26/04/2026

For Prima Nota, it was a great honour to represent the Russian-speaking community at the wreath-laying ceremony.

ANZAC Day is a day of remembrance and deep respect for all who served and sacrificed.

It is especially meaningful that this day brings together many different histories and backgrounds. Among those we remember are people with roots in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, who fought as allies alongside Australian forces as well as served in Australian forces.

The wreath was laid by a member of our community with Irish-Scottish heritage whose ancestor fought in WWI as a part of Canadian forces — wearing a kilt as a reflection of his cultural identity and respect for tradition.

For many of us, this is not just history, but a part of our family memory.

We remember.

Thank you to Australian Broadcasting Corporation for the footage.

26/04/2026

Stories of Remembrance — ANZAC Day Series 2026

In this piece, Aliona Kosloff and Brenton DeLurant explore a lesser-known chapter of ANZAC history — the stories of those often referred to as the “Russian ANZACs.”

The story begins with the Australian Army’s role in the First World War — from Gallipoli to the Western Front — and gradually opens into a broader historical perspective.

For many, a surprising connection emerges through the work of Russian writer Korney Chukovsky, who encountered Australian soldiers in England during the war. His reflections — shaped through conversations and encounters, including with figures such as Arthur Conan Doyle — captured a powerful impression of the ANZACs.

He described them as free-spirited, resilient, and defined not by rigid hierarchy, but by a sense of equality and camaraderie — an image that would resonate far beyond the battlefield and contribute to how Australia and its people were perceived in the Russian Empire.

Not every ANZAC was born in Australia.
More than 900 men born across the Russian Empire enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, serving alongside Australian soldiers at Gallipoli, on the Western Front, and beyond.

They came from many different backgrounds — Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, Poles, Finns, and others — migrants who had made Australia their home, and who chose to serve it in a time of war.

In the trenches, origin no longer mattered. What remained were shared experiences — endurance, loyalty, and survival.

This conversation offers a thoughtful introduction to that history — a reminder that the ANZAC story is also a story of migration, identity, and belonging.

Lest We Forget.

—

Prima Nota Inc.
ANZAC Day Series 2026
Stories of Remembrance
Adelaide, South Australia

Shared as part of our ongoing work with Russian-speaking communities in South Australia.

—

With sincere thanks to those who made this story possible:

Aliona Kosloff and Brenton DeLurant — for narration

Victoria Yugin (Prima Nota Managing Committee Member),
Russian-Speaking Women’s Association in South Australia,
and historian Elena Govor — for historical material and research support

24/04/2026

Stories of Remembrance — ANZAC Day Series 2026

This story is shared by Sofia Mikhaylovskaya, who reflects on the life of her great-grandfather — Alexander Guryevich Pankratov, Captain 1st Rank.

What begins as a story of wartime memory unfolds into something deeply personal — a portrait of a man remembered not only for his service, but for the role he played in shaping the generations that followed.

Through Sofia’s voice, we are reminded that history does not live only in archives, but in families — in childhood memories, in values passed down, and in the quiet ways the past continues to shape who we become.

We are sincerely grateful to Sofia for sharing this story with us.

Lest We Forget.

24/04/2026

Today, the Prima Nota team had the honour of attending a commemoration marking the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, held at the Migration Museum.

The evening was hosted by the Armenian Cultural Association of South Australia and led by its president, Elena Gasparyan.

It is difficult to put into words the depth of what we experienced.

Through deeply personal stories, we were invited to witness not only the historical tragedy, but also the enduring pain carried across generations- and, just as powerfully, the resilience, dignity, and strength of the Armenian people.

There was something profoundly moving in the warmth of the community- in their openness, sincerity, and the way memory is held collectively, with care and respect.

It was a true privilege to stand alongside the community during the moments of remembrance- the prayers, the silence, the wreath-laying. These are not just rituals; they are acts of memory, connection, and continuity.

As a multicultural organisation, we believe in the importance of listening, learning, and standing in solidarity through shared human experience.

Moments like these also remind us how important it is that histories of such significance continue to be acknowledged, remembered, and understood across societies.

We are deeply grateful for the invitation and for the opportunity to be present.

Memory matters.
And so does the courage to keep telling these stories.