BERLIN, November 22. /TASS/. One of the hallmark events, the Russian Language Week, opened in Berlin’s Russian House on Tuesday despite complex geopolitical conditions and limited interaction with Russia, a TASS correspondent reports.
This year, the event is being attended not only by specialists from Russia and Germany but also by visitors from other European countries, including Albania, the UK, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, France and Finland.
Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev addressed the participants of the 13th forum which will run until November 25. "As [Russian] President [Vladimir Putin] says, this is much more than simply a language or a means of communication. It unites all peoples of Russia. It is the foundation of our national identity and our great heritage," he said.
That said, the envoy reiterated that 2023 has been declared the Year of Russian Language as the language of interethnic communication in the CIS. "It (the Russian language - TASS) is indeed such a great force that unites everyone in the post-Soviet space. And not only there," he stressed, adding that "in Europe and worldwide there are also many of those who know and respect the Russian language." According to him, in Germany, Russian is rather popular and not only in its eastern part. "And there is also the desire to learn it," the diplomat concluded.
In his turn, deputy head of the Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation Pavel Shevtsov, addressing the forum via a video link, noted that, despite all difficulties, the interest in the Russian language is not diminishing. "We are confident that after some time our relations with European states, first of all, in the humanitarian sphere, will be restored. The first to be restored will be precisely language programs, the interest in languages, the issues of education," he noted, specifying that the Russian language is of utmost significance. In his opinion, such events as the Russian Language Week are meant to "maintain the interest and intent of the professional community for active work during turbulent times."
The international component
Head of the Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation's mission in Germany and director of Berlin's Russian House Pavel Izvolsky noted the international component of the event, emphasizing that it unites representatives from 12 countries. Additionally, according to him, about 400 people will join them online during the week. Izvolsky noted that the Russian Language Week includes other events, such as a roundtable on Dostoevsky and a screening of a motion picture about Peter the Great and his German travels.
The Berlin Russian Language Week is organized by the Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation, Berlin’s Russian House, the International Institute for Occupational Safety and the Institute of Russian Language at RUDN University.