Brooklyn Nets to host "Night of Russian Culture" Sunday

Mikhail Prokhorov is unlikely to attend, but Alyonka Larionov of Barclays Center TV and a large number of his countrymen will be on hand Sunday when the Nets offer their second "Night of Russian Culture" and the first in Brooklyn, whose Russian population is greater than any other in the United States. Expect to hear the Russian language as trains on the B and Q lines arrive at Barclays from Brighton Beach.

What to expect? Larionov will introduce, in two languages, a series of Russian entertainers. Famed Russian concert violinist Alexander Markov will perform the national anthem before the game and again at halftime. Russian entertainer Oleg Kolomyets is slated to introduce the starting players, and Russian music will also be incorporated throughout the game.

Nets players Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez will appear in a video in which they sample fare from Manhattan restaurant The Russian Samovar. And surely there will be role for Irina Pavlova, president of Prokhorov's ONEXIM Sports and Entertainment USA, which holds his interest in the team and arena.

• How do you say 'Go Nets' in Russian? - Ali Elkin - Crain's New York Business