“Siberia – Territory of Peace and Harmony” Festival: International Students Immerse in the Culture of the Peoples of Russia
The program of the Baikal School of BRICS creative event “Culture and customs of the peoples of Russia” was organized for the first time at INRTU on November 12. The event, during which international students presented creative performances, was held as part of the Festival “Siberia – Territory of Peace and Harmony”.
The organizers of the project are the Center for International Services headed by Assia Kontrimovich and the Department of the Baikal School of BRICS, which is headed by Alla Antonova.
The event was hosted by Li Yuhan, a second-year student of the Baikal School of BRICS, and Garba Ahmad Yakubu from Nigeria, a prospective aircraft engineer and head of the International Student Council.
The program was opened by the performance of international students who sang the song “Wedding Ring” in Russian. A presentation on Russian symbols was prepared by Onguene Anne Romeo and Tolitha Purba. They introduced the audience to the anthem, flag and the capital of Russia. The authors also noted that recognizable symbols of the country are the brown bear, balalaika, samovar, Russian troika and ushanka hat.
“Russia's most popular tree is considered to be birch. It was especially valuable in ancient Rus', when it was used for building houses, stoking stoves, making horse harnesses and birch bark manuscripts,” explains Tolitkha Purba.Students from Mongolia prepared a fascinating story about the main spring holiday – Maslenitsa. The week-long folk festivities symbolize the farewell to winter and the arrival of spring. The celebration is accompanied by dancing, eating Russian pancakes blini and burning a straw effigy.
International students are familiar with the name of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, whose 225th anniversary was celebrated this year on June 6. Students Mballa Mbesele Germain Solange and Tsage Suna Júnior introduced the audience to Pushkin's biography and read his poems.
Mbana Ngono Angeline, Yemga Alvin Blanche and Ahmed Awad Mohamed Adam gave an interactive tour of Baikal sights. They shared interesting facts about Baikal, footage and impressions of their trip to Listvyanka settlement and architectural and ethnographic museum “Taltsy”.
The program also included songs and performances by the folk club of the Russian song “Kalina”.
Summarizing the event, Alla Antonova noted that the international students prepared excellent performances in Russian:
“Most of the participants have been studying at the preparatory department for about two months. However, in such a short period of time they managed to improve their language skills significantly. This is a great merit of our teachers, who not only taught the students, but also organized thematic classes. The students visited the museum “Taltsy” and Listvyanka settlement, immersed themselves in the traditions of Russian tea drinking with all the essential attributes. Students of the preparatory department are prospective students of INRTU. Therefore, it is important to involve them in university events, to immerse them in the culture of our country and region.”Alla Antonova added that more than 600 students from China, Mongolia, Cameroon, Sudan, Nigeria and Indonesia are enrolled in the preparatory department.
