On 6 June, a special event “We will preserve you, Russian speech...” was held in the main building of VSU. The meeting in the assembly hall was dedicated to the birthday of Alexander Pushkin. Since 2011, this date has the official status of a public holiday, the Day of the Russian Language.
The meeting was moderated by Zhanna Gracheva, Dean of the Faculty of Philology at VSU, who noted that Alexander Pushkin was “our friend in common”, who taught us to love our language, our culture, and our country.
VSU Rector Dmitry Endovitsky congratulated the guests and stressed that language was the soul of the nation, a cultural brace, and a tool for interethnic dialogue:
“Let’s love the Russian language, let’s be friends! Congratulations to everyone!”
Welcome speeches were made by Sergey Kazarov, Advisor of the Department of Social and Political Projects of the Regional Policy Department of the Government of the Voronezh Region, and Vladimir Ivanov, Head of the Voronezh House of Friendship.
Professor Lyudmila Koltsova read out a congratulatory message from Vladimir Tolstoy, Chair of the Presidential Council for Russian Language.
The event featured performances by students of the Faculty of Philosophy, pupils of Voronezh schools, participants and pupils of performance groups. Music and songs dedicated to the native language and culture were harmoniously alternated by reading poems of Russian classics, dance performances, playing musical instruments. During the evening, the hosts of the festival presented the participants with appreciation letters and gifts.
