June 6th is Russian Language Day – one that is quite important for our University.

A substantial number of foreign students come to Kazan every year specifically to trudge through the nearly impassable jungle that is Russian grammar.

Aleksey Bastrikov, Associate Professor at the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language, says that because of the recent political developments there have been less guests from the West, but students from China, South Korea, Syria, Iran, and some other countries continue to arrive in droves. Chinese nationals seem to be especially interested.

There are currently 39 undergraduates (36 from China) and 57 postgraduates (50 from China) studying Russian professionally. 4 PhD candidates are working on their dissertations. 164 foreigners have chosen various non-degree programs in Russian.

As Dr. Bastrikov says – and expectedly so – Russian grammar and phonetics pose a formidable challenge to almost anyone, no matter their ethnicity. Numerous prefixes and perfective/imperfective verbs are only two examples of this lot.

Summer schools are also in high demand. As Ilvira Galiulina, Associate Professor at the aforementioned department, told us, this year's summer school attracted students from Czechia, Iran, and the USA. There is also a double master diploma program with Beijing International Studies University.