The actor has many fans not only in Turkey but also around the world. During his visit to Russia, he admired the country, showered it with compliments, and even offered to participate in a Russian film project.
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The actor, who has had a huge fan base in Russia for many years, received great attention from the local media for his stage appearance – headlines flashed the phrase: “Sultan Suleiman arrived in Yekaterinburg”.
The official opening ceremony of the festival took place on September 13 at the Ekaterinburg-EXPO exhibition center. The event, held from September 11–17, is attended by as many as 10,000 young people from 191 countries, supported by about 2,000 volunteers. The festival’s goal is to foster dialogue among youth from different countries, share experiences, and strengthen international cooperation.
H.Ergenç appeared in the Middle East presentation segment
During the opening ceremony, various world regions were presented with special cultural performances. In the Middle East segment of the program, one of the main participants was H.Ergenç.
In his speech, he greeted the festival participants and conveyed an important message of unity and mutual respect. The Turkish actor emphasized that human strength comes from togetherness, so it is very important to protect each other, act together, and respect those around us.
His visit to the festival was not without hiccups. During the event, he began talking about “making Russian borscht in Turkey,” implying that it is a Russian dish. However, UNESCO officially recognized borscht as a Ukrainian dish some time ago.
According to Russian sources, H.Ergenç came to Yekaterinburg not to promote a specific film or series, but as a guest cultural and art star. The festival program also featured international celebrities such as the South Korean group “W24,” South African singer Lizwi, and famous Uruguayan actress and singer Natalia Oreiro.
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The “Sultan Suleiman” phenomenon again in Russian media
The news about the actor’s arrival in Russian media was almost exclusively linked to his iconic role in “The Magnificent Century.” Local portals, such as E1.ru, published reports with headlines: “The charming ‘Magnificent Century’ sultan arrived in Yekaterinburg,” while the portal URA.RU highlighted H. Ergenç and Natalia Oreiro’s participation as the main highlights of the event.
Some sources indicated that this was the actor’s first visit to Russia. Although it was expected that he would come to Moscow back in 2016 when the opening of the “Magnificent Century” exhibition was planned, the event was postponed due to the diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Russia at that time.
Huge success in Russia
Such great attention to H.Ergenç in Russia is due to the long-standing popularity of “The Magnificent Century.” The series began airing on the Russian channel “Domashniy” back in 2012 and has been repeatedly rerun since then.
In 2013 television market reviews, this series was recognized as one of the most successful projects in the channel’s history, achieving record ratings.
That is why H.Ergenç’s appearance at the festival was seen not only as a visit from a foreign guest but also as a long-awaited meeting with the “Sultan Suleiman” well known to Russian viewers.
In his home country Turkey, the actor has faced troubles – back in 2025, the Istanbul criminal court found him guilty of giving false testimony in a case related to the 2013 Gezi Park protests.
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