“Russian language is so beautiful!”: a Russian calligraphy competition for foreigners took place in VVSU

The Institute for the Training of Foreign Citizens in colaboration with the university library, held a Russian calligraphy competition for students of the preparatory department who came to study in Russia in autumn 2023.

The lecturer told about the art of calligraphy, the ways the people used to write in the past and, of course, about the intricacies of the Russian language.

- Every country, especially China, has its own special calligraphy. We want to tell about Russian version. The students have just started learning Russian in September last year. The main task of the competition was to write in Russian “I remember a wonderful moment” (a line from a poem by A. Pushkin). After all, everyone knows Pushkin far beyond the boundaries of our national culture,” said Victoria Soleynik, head of the Institute for the Training of Foreign Citizens.

40 foreign students of the preparatory department from China, Laos, Chile, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, as well as several exchange students from China attended the competition. The students wrote down each letter carefully, saying to themselves “I remember a wonderful moment” and creating their own unique calligraphic Russian handwriting.

“I really liked the competition. I have just started learning Russian and today I wrote words that were new to me. You know, learning Russian and speaking it is difficult, but writing Russian is very easy. And Pushkin’s lines were very clear even to me. Perhaps this is where the greatness of his poetry is manifested,” shared Panisa Kettavong (Laos).

“I tried, but I could not make it as beautifully as the girls could. The process itself seemed very exciting. For a second I imagined that I was not writing, but drawing. The Russian language is, of course, very beautiful. And Alexander Sergeevich is a world genius,” said Alexandr Carrion (Chile).

There was a friendly atmosphere at the event. However the jury of the competition had to choose the best. They became:

1st place - Mohamed Sy (Senegal)

2nd place – Thilalinthone Somsanith (Laos)

3rd place – Mengyue Lyu (China)