Scientific life. Congresses, conferences, and symposia

On November 25-26, 2005, the 2nd All-Russian Olympiad in Persian Language and Literature was held in Moscow at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Olympiad was initiated by the Center for the Dissemination of Persian Language and Literature under the Organization of Islamic Culture and Religious Relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For several years now, this center has been holding competitions among students of the Persian language in a number of countries around the world and invites the winners of competitions to study in Iran. The direct organizers of the Olympiad in Moscow were the Cultural Representation at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Russian Federation and the Department of Iranian Philology of the Institute of Asian and African Countries at the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The first similar Olympiad, held a year ago, aroused considerable interest both among students who took part in it, and among those who simply came to watch and "cheer" for their institute. Teachers of the Persian language also positively assessed this practice and spoke in favor of its regular implementation.

Work on the preparation of the 2nd Olympiad began well in advance. Information about the contest tasks and questionnaires for participants were sent to the universities where the Persian language is studied: they could be the best students of the 4th-5th courses. 16 universities announced their readiness to take part in the Olympiad. The number of people who wanted to test their knowledge turned out to be so large that they had to arrange a serious selection of contestants. Finally, 46 participants of the Olympiad were identified, 36 of them - mandatory and 10 - additional.

For the Olympiad, which was decided to be held in the leading center of Oriental studies in Russia - IV RAS, in addition to students of Moscow universities: ISAA, MSLU, RUDN University, MGIMO (U) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation-representatives of universities of St. Petersburg, Kazan, Astrakhan, Ufa, Yekaterinburg, Saratov, Makhachkala, Novosibirsk, Vladikavkaz were invited. Students from Kazakhstan and Lithuania expressed their desire to take part in the competition program. They were also given the opportunity to come to Moscow. Representatives of the Center for the Dissemination of the Persian Language arrived to participate in the jury. The commissions evaluating the works included leading teachers of Russian universities.

The Olympiad was held over two days. The opening ceremony was attended by the Deputy Director of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in . M. Alpatov, Director of the Cultural Representation at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imanipour, President of the Russian Society for Cultural Relations with Iran V. B. Ivanov . They emphasized that language is the most important means of communication, and a good knowledge of a foreign language helps to get to know the culture, customs and traditions of the people better,

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promotes mutual understanding between countries and the comprehensive development of relations between them.

On the first day, all the contestants were waiting for a very intense and rather complex program. They had to compete in such types of work as translation from Persian to Russian, reading and understanding the text, conversation on a given topic, listening, writing an essay, and a grammar test. Moreover, unlike the previous Olympiad, contestants had to complete all tasks without fail. The organization of all competitions, the method of scoring points and summing up the results were thought out in advance. The tasks were prepared jointly by the Russian and Iranian sides.

For greater objectivity, all participants of the Olympiad received their code number, under which their written works were checked. The results were immediately entered into special computer programs, which then determined the rating of participants. Oral contests were held in four commissions, each of which was attended by a representative from the Iranian side. The contestants were particularly interested in the dialog contest. The guys had to simulate the situation specified in the ticket and conduct a real dialogue with the Iranian. In addition to speaking skills, it was also necessary to show knowledge of the country's realities, as among the proposed topics were such as "Historical Monuments of Iran", "Tour of Tehran", "Russian-Iranian Relations". All of them passed this competition with dignity, and some of them, especially representatives of Astrakhan State University, impressed the jury with their fluency in colloquial vocabulary.

In the listening contest, participants were shown a fragment from a contemporary Iranian film, and test questions were created to understand it. The contestants coped with the task quite well, and the jury members had to choose the winner of this competition with great difficulty. Despite the fact that the written tasks and grammar tests were not easy, they were completed by all participants. Iranian teachers noted a fairly high level of knowledge of students.

The second day of the Olympiad was devoted to the literary program. Only interested parties took part in it. They had to pass a test of knowledge of both classical and modern Persian literature, show their ability to read and understand poetry. Auditions were also held in several commissions, and then the best participants were determined during the second round. The students demonstrated a good knowledge of classical Iranian poetry, the ability to feel the rhythm and correctly interpret the meaning of the poem. The first place was unanimously awarded to A. Salnikov, a student from Astrakhan, who impressed the jury not only with his knowledge, but also by reading his own poems in Persian.

Iran's Ambassador to the Russian Federation Gholam-Reza Ansari arrived at the Olympic Games summing-up ceremony . He expressed satisfaction with the growing interest in the Persian language and culture of Iran in Russia, noted the great importance paid to the development of Russian-Iranian relations in Iran, and expressed hope that the participants of the Olympiad will contribute to the development of bilateral contacts. The Ambassador congratulated the winners and all participants of the Olympiad. According to the results of all competitions, the 1st place was taken by the 5th-year student of MGLU Sergey Brovkin, the 2nd place was shared by the 4th-year representatives of Astrakhan State University Ruslan Murtazaev and Ruslan Ilmambetov, the 3rd place was taken by the 4th - year student of Dagestan State University Javgarat Ismailova. They were awarded not only diplomas of the winners, but also a free trip to Iran to study at the courses of Persian language and literature. A. Salnikov, who became the prize-winner of the literary competition, was awarded a special prize - a bronze bust of Firdousi and a study tour of Iran. The results of the team competition were also summed up. The 1st place in the competition of universities was taken by representatives of MGIMO, whose students scored the highest average score.

All participants of the Olympiad expressed their gratitude to the organizers in both Persian and Russian. During these two days, they were able not only to show and test their knowledge, but also to get acquainted with colleagues, communicate with well-known Iranian scientists, teachers of other universities. The jury members also noted the undoubted benefits of holding such Olympiads as an important incentive to improve the language. Proposals were put forward to organize preliminary qualifying rounds for universities and cities next year, and only then to hold the All-Russian Olympiad, as the number of applicants for participation increases, and the choice of participants increases.

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it seems to be a very difficult task. The Iranian side expressed its intention to hold the International Olympiad in Tehran, where the winners of regional competitions will be invited.

It should be noted that the cultural representation at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Moscow carries out significant work to promote the Persian language and Iranian literature and provides great assistance to students. He has established permanent links with the main departments of Iranian languages that teach at Russian universities. On their basis, during the winter holidays, advanced language courses are conducted by the best teachers of Moscow universities and specialists coming from Iran. Students from different cities of Russia are invited to attend these classes. Leading Russian Iranian scholars give lectures on the literature, history, and economy of Iran. Within the framework of the courses, master classes are also organized for teachers. This practice can be considered as a certain stage of preparation for the Olympiad.

During the summer and winter holidays, the best students are invited to Tehran for a month-long advanced training course conducted by the Center for the Dissemination of Persian Language and Literature. This not only increases students ' knowledge and conversational skills, but also provides an opportunity to get to know the country, which gives a great incentive for further study. Educational materials and dictionaries are sent from Iran to Russian universities, and special rooms of Iranian studies are equipped. This shows the great attention that the country's leadership pays to the promotion of the Persian language and Iranian culture. Such a policy finds mutual understanding and support among Russian Iranists, who, for their part, are making efforts to familiarize Russians with all aspects of life in Iran, with which our country has maintained ties for many centuries.

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