seen on the scene
Outstanding Russian
Americans of the Year 2016
Written by Melissa Y. Herrera
Sophya Tabarovsky of Cross Cultural Network and
Kindness Without Limits Non Profit Organization held
their second annual Outstanding Russian Americans of
the Year on November 18th at the Hilton Post Oak.
The chairman of the event was Prince Piotr Gallizine
who is the CEO TMK IPSCO and Chairman of the
Russian American Chambers of Commerce Houston.
The distinguished honorees came from business, science
and culture. They were: Dan Russell, President and
CEO, US-Russia Business Council; Dr. Alex Prokhorov, MD, Ph.D. - Professor University of Texas and MD
Anderson Cancer Center; Rosita Kirkman - President
of the Houston Balalaika Orchestra Society. All of
them received beautiful Texas shaped awards from Cross
Cultural Network and Kindness Without Limits and a
certificate from Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Citizenship
22 iF Magazine | DECEMBER 2016
Month for their great contributions to society.
The entertainment was outstanding giving the attendees
a wonderful taste of Russian culture and the expertise
of Russian performers. The musical performances were
kicked off by two pre-teens, Eva Trachtman and Alex
Sviridochkins, who sang the national anthems of both
Russia and the United States. The Houston Balalaika
Orchestra Society entertained the crowd with beautiful
Russian music. Father and son team and International
Vocal Laureates from Moscow, Sasha and Alex Sviridochkins, performed several operatic and traditional
Russian pieces throughout the night including a birthday song for Father Lubomir of St. Vladimir Russian
Orthodox Church. Traditional folk dancing and singing added amazing color and fun with the accompaniment of an accordion by Kosa Folk Rock and Russian