It then went from Moscow to Europe, passing through Paris, Warsaw, Berlin and Copenhagen.

Several hundred artists traveled for six months, giving over four hundred performances during their stopovers.

Many say the “Caravan of Peace” was ahead of its time, being more than just a bunch of traveling actors, but rather a large-scale, multi-national, independent, free-spirited, and cultural movement.

Charlie Chaplin once said about himself that he has always remained just one thing only – a clown – which placed him “on a far higher plane than any politician.”

“Yaga’s Fire” (Image from buchingersboot.com)

Polunin’s “Caravan for Peace”, however, has received support from all European governments as it managed to served as living proof that people of different nationalities, backgrounds and religions can not only co-exist, but can also work and live together, sharing their somewhat funny “clown perception” of the world with those around.

Polunin’s signature performances are akin to jigsaw patchwork puzzles, nothing is ever made up out of whole cloth. Funny, but not foolish; sad, but not bitter; touching, but not pitiful; open, but not vulgar.

Now, twenty years on, the next clown caravan is travelling from Paris to Moscow to entertain the new generation of Polunin’s fans at the open-air festival.

On September 3, musicians, dancers, clowns and artists of different genres and origins – from France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Russia – will get together for a weekend full of fun.

Among the highlights of the “Caravan for Peace” festival is a performance by the French “Buchinger’s Boot Marionettes” theater, which has won accolades from European theatre critics. Their new performance “Yaga’s Fire” has been described as “an animated fairy tale that delivers more than it tells.” And given the lead character of the performance is Yaga, an eerie witch character in Slavic folklore, the French performance promises to be anything but boring.

Valeria Paikova, RT