On 6 June, Wednesday, the award ceremony of the project "We will cherish you, the Russian language" took place in Nikitin library.
The date was not chosen by accident – two holidays are celebrated on 6 June: Pushkin's Day (dedicated to the birthday anniversary of the poet Alexandre Pushkin) and the Day of the Russian language. The event was organised by the members of the National Chamber under the aegis of the governor of the Voronezh region and the lecturers of the Faculty of Philology at VSU.
The atmosphere of the age of great poets prevailed in the lecture hall of the library. Just before the event, young musicians rehearsed their performances. The sounds of violin and piano created a special atmosphere for the ceremony.
Over 100 people, including foreigners, came to the event. It was a pleasure to know that people of various nationalities love, respect, and value the great Russian language, our literature, culture, and everything connected to it.
The VSU folk music group, Terem, opened the event. The hosts of the event informed the audience about the history of the event and told them about the project. Then award ceremony of the winners and the participants of the project started. They were congratulated by representatives of the Voronezh government, diasporas, the administration of the Voronezh State University, and international guests. Students and schoolchildren received certificates and prizes for "For personal contribution to the strengthening of civil unity, harmonisation of international relations in the Voronezh region, and active participation in the organisation of the educational project: "We will cherish you, the Russian language". Among the winners were students from the Faculties of Philology and History of Voronezh State University.
VSU Rector, Dmitry Endovitsky, gave a welcoming speech. "I congratulate everyone with this wonderful holiday and I hope that this holiday will become a tradition and every year we will meet in this intellectual centre, in this wonderful hall of the Nikitin library and will enjoy reading poems, learn to talk grammatically correct, and love the Russian language".
Among other participants of the event was the personal assistant of the governor of the Voronezh Region for international relation, Alexandre Timashov, who passed on the congratulations of the provisional governor of the Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev. "Over 173 nations are represented in the Voronezh region. And, of course, we all speak Russian. This language unites us and helps us communicate. It is very important that we have representatives from various countries in the audience today. The Russian language has been developing thanks to such people as Alexander Pushkin. Konstantin Paustovsky once said: "We were entrusted with a powerful, precise, rich, and magic language." Let's cherish it! My congratulations to you!"
The Head of the Department of the Russian Language at the Faculty of Philology, Ludmila Koltsova, also congratulated the audience with the holiday and thanked the participants of the project. She emphasised the significance of the Russian language as a means of uniting nations: "I believe that Pushkin's dream will come true one day: "The day when nations stop their discord and be united as a family!"
The awards were given to those who developed the idea and those who made it come true: lecturers of the Faculty of Philology at VSU. Alexander Timashov noted: "An incredible job has been done. We have come to the conclusion that this project must continue. We want to praise the work of the organisation committee".
After the award ceremony, the participants, including international students, recited poems by Pushkin and other famous Russian poets. It did not matter if some performers had accents or recited poems in their own language. There are no limits for those who appreciate Russian poetry.
A student from the Faculty of Philology, Marina Ulianova, recited her own poem "Live", which she dedicated to the Russian language and philology and described what real happiness is: "Happiness is to find your place. I found mine at the Faculty of Philology".
A group of international students from Voronezh State Agricultural University sang the song "Kalinka-malinka". Students from Voronezh State Medical Academy recited the poem "Beauty" in several languages.
Young musicians Sofia Muhomat and Yevgenia Popova played two pieces.
Vladimir Gusakov, Associate Professor from the Faculty of Philology, told the audience about new creative projects: an essay based contest dedicated to Chingiz Aitmatov and Ion Druţă, and a social advertising contest about the Russian language.
The event concluded with a performance by the music group of the Voronezh State Art Academy "Volya" directed by Galina Sysoyeva. The audience praised the performers with a long applause.
