INRTU Presents 'The Conqueror' Poetry Collection by Mongolian Poet J. Batbaatar at Russia-Mongolia Rectors Forum
Vice-Rector for International Affairs Stepan Bykov presented INRTU's joint project with Mongolian National University of Education (MNUE) – a bilingual Mongolian-Russian edition of poet Jamyansurengiin Batbaatar's collection "The Conqueror". The book launch occurred on July 4 during the “Teaching Russian in Mongolia and Mongolian in Russia” section at the first Forum of Rectors of Russian and Mongolian Universities in the Republic of Buryatia.
“This project is one of the results of a creative union and many years of cooperation between the Mongolian National University of Education and the Irkutsk National Research Technical University. Our goal was not so much an exact translation of the poetic texts from Mongolian, but rather their literary adaptation for the Russian-speaking reader,” stressed Stepan Bykov.
The poems of J. Batbaatar are widely known in Mongolia and beyond. The book includes five poems by the author, previously unpublished in Russia. The poems of the famous Mongolian poet, journalist, and scholar are imbued with passionate, tremulous love for an earthly woman, who has become the embodiment of his native land – Mongolia, its boundless steppes, snow-capped mountain peaks, blue skies with clumps of white clouds, and herds of steppe horses.
The book is intended for teachers of Russian language and literature, students of Russian philology at Mongolian humanities universities, people interested in the work of contemporary Mongolian authors, and a wide range of readers.
It should be noted that J. Batbaatar is the Rector of the Mongolian National University of Education, Vice-President of the United Union of Journalists of Mongolia. J. Batbaatar researches problems in the field of press freedom; he is the author of more than 30 scientific articles. He is also one of the most widely cited research scholars in the field of literary studies. His pen includes such significant works as “Poetry of the Newest Time, Features of its Poetics”, “May Notes”, “Literary Studies”, etc. He has extensive experience in the fields of mass media, literary studies, and educology.
The translator of the texts into Russian was the Vice-President of the Mongolian Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature, Professor of the Department of Russian Language at MNUE, graduate of Moscow State University, Sosorbam Erdenemaam.
S. Erdenemaam researches sociolinguistic problems in the functioning of the Russian language in Mongolia. He is the author of two Russian language textbooks for Mongolian secondary schools, as well as study guides and dictionaries for philology students.
The literary adaptation of the translation into poetic form was carried out by Larisa Leskova – a children's poet, member of The Russian Union of Journalists, and former director of the INRTU publishing house. She endeavored to preserve the originality, expressiveness, and emotional richness of the author's work in the Russian-language version.
"I am confident that this project will serve to open up new possibilities for cultural exchange between Mongolia and Russia and will broaden the familiarity of the wide Russian-speaking audience with the work of the Mongolian poet J. Batbaatar," stressed Stepan Bykov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of the university.The book was published by the INRTU publishing house. Participants of the section “Teaching Russian in Mongolia and Mongolian in Russia” received the poetry collection as a gift with the author's autograph.
Also, the Vice-Rector for International Affairs of INRTU shared the university's successful practices in promoting Russian as a foreign language for Mongolia. He spoke about organizing free professional development courses for Mongolian teachers of Russian within summer schools, internships, and short-term programs for Mongolian students of Russian philology. Language classes are always combined with cultural events and familiarization with Lake Baikal. Since 2022, about 100 Mongolian educators have trained in the format of training intensives at INRTU.
Background:
On July 4, in the Republic of Buryatia (Ulan-Ude),the first Forum of Rectors of Russian and Mongolian Universities took place, bringing together more than 150 representatives of the international educational community from 53 Russian and 13 Mongolian universities. Mongolia ranks among the top ten countries in terms of the number of state-funded places provided within the quota of the Government of the Russian Federation. The forum became an important platform for strengthening academic and scientific partnership between the two countries.
