Statue of Confucius gifted to Kazan Federal University by Consulate General of China in Kazan

Rector Ilshat Gafurov and Consul Wu Yingqin held an unveiling ceremony in the morning of 10th January.

2020 and 2021 were declared years of scientific, technological and innovation exchanges between Russia and China. Over 800 events are planned just for the year 2020. In this regard, today's ceremony was pretty symbolic.

“The cooperation between Russia and China is gaining momentum year after year, especially in  economics. The Republic of Tatarstan occupies a worthy place in the existing system of interaction, and Kazan Federal University makes a considerable contribution to this process. The Confucius Institute of KFU has been operating for more than 13 years, being one of the oldest in Russia. In addition, we cooperate with 39 universities of the PRC, implementing joint projects in various fields - from geology to oil and gas technologies, from information technology to medicine. More than 1,300 students from China are studying at the university, and more than 1,000 people are learning Chinese here. The coordinator of all relations with Chinese scientific and educational centers at KFU today is the Institute of International Relations,” said Rector Gafurov.

Needless to say, Kazan University is more than deserving of accepting the statue of the most famous Chinese thinker. The first department of Chinese language in Russia was opened here in 1837. Currently, KFU has many industrial partners in China, such as Haier, PetroChina, and Sinopec, and joint programs with such renowned institutions as Shenzhen University, Southwest Petroleum University, Beijing Union University, and Beijing International Studies University.

“Having traveled a long way, today this statue of Confucius has stopped at KFU, leaving another bright mark in Sino-Russian friendship. Confucius was a famous thinker and enlightener in ancient China who advocated the ideas of ​​humanism. For over 2,000 years, Confucianism has been our guide in interpersonal and international relations, in solving global problems. China has created Confucius Institutes around the world so that other countries can become better acquainted with Chinese culture and strengthen the friendship of peoples. At present, there are 19 Confucius Institutes and 4 Confucius Classes in Russia. After 13 years of tireless efforts, the Confucius Institute of KFU has become an important core for learning the Chinese language in Russia, having trained a large number of talents. The number of people learning Chinese here is constantly growing, and the quality of teaching is steadily improving. This has become KFU's brand by now. Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere gratitude on behalf of the Consulate General of China in Kazan to local educators and the Confucius Institute for their work,” shared Consul Wu Yingqin.

The statue will briefly reside in the History Museum to then be transported to the Institute of International Relations.

Source text: Alina Iskanderova

Photos: Nikita Tokhtasinov