Hugo Chávez Latin American Cultural Center

The Latin American Cultural Center in St. Petersburg was founded in 2012 on the basis of the Russia-Venezuela Friendship Society. After the death of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez , at a meeting on March 7, 2013, the Center was unanimously given the name of the deceased politician ^[1] . Venezuelan Ambassador to Russia Juan Vicente Paredes Torrealba held a solemn inauguration of the Center on October 24, 2013 ^[2] . The center co-founded the international solidarity movement with Venezuela at the first movement congress at the Embassy of Venezuela on December 8, 2013 ^[3] .

The Chávez Center supports left-wing movements in Latin America, focusing on countries like Venezuela and Cuba .

The Center organizes political and cultural events in Russia, publishes the Latin America Newsletter periodical, translates Latin-American speeches and speeches from Latin American leaders for embassies and various publications. In 2013, during his visit to Moscow, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro met with representatives of the Center. In 2014, delegates from the organization took part in the SPIEF , in 2015 at a meeting of the Russia-Venezuela intergovernmental commission. Every year, under the auspices of the Center, meetings are held with the Venezuelan ambassador to Russia ^[4] . In 2017, the organization published an open letter to the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, in which it sharply condemned his interference in the affairs of Venezuela ^[5] . The letter caused a wide resonance in Latin America and was published by all leading publications of Venezuela ^[6] .