Russian Language Day

On 225th anniversary of Alexander Pushkin’s birth, the House of Peoples of Russia together with the Permanent Delegation of Russia to UNESCO organized a series of events to mark the Russian Language Day. On June 6, at UNESCO headquarters for the second time with the support of the delegations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan official opening ceremony and gala concert were held. The Permanent Representatives of the CIS countries emphasized in their speeches the importance of the Russian language for strong ties between the Commonwealth states. They mentioned that the Russian language is the language of common history, culture and development. Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe, Chairperson of the UNESCO Executive Board, marked the importance of celebrating language days at UNESCO and noted the significance of the Russian language, which is spoken by about 250 million people worldwide. The Head of the House of Peoples of Russia Anna Polezhaeva spoke at the event and noted the focus areas in terms of promotion of multilingualism in the Russian Federation. Roscosmos cosmonauts addressed the participants of the celebration with greetings from the International Space Station.

On June 7, a round table of the House of Peoples of Russia “Russian language – the basis of integration dialogue” was held in the format of a Paris-Moscow teleconference.
At the site of the Russian House of Science and Culture in Paris, representatives of the House of Peoples of Russia, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affaires, Rossotrudnichestvo and other experts communicated with the participants of the round table at the site of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation in Moscow.
Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Arina Yamkova conveyed greetings from the Head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Igor Barinov. Head of the House of Peoples of Russia Anna Polezhaeva spoke about projects in the field of multilingualism support.
The round table was moderated by the Head of the Department for support and development of languages of the peoples of Russia of the House of the Peoples of Russia Feride Aronia and the Director of the Resource Center in the Sphere of Ethnic Relations Eugenia Mikhaleva. The discussion was attended by the Acting Head of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Paris Svetlana Zhilina and representatives of leading universities in Russia, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, as well as the Russian National Cultural Association and foundations that promote the popularization and development of the Russian language in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

“Onegin” film screening was organised at the Russian House of Science and Culture by the House of the Peoples of Russia as well.

On June 4 the exhibition of the House of Peoples of Russia the “Russian civilisation” dedicated to the Year of family in the Russian Federation was opened at the Russian House of Science and Culture and will be available until July 8.