The team of international students of Polytechnic University won silver at the World Championship in the Russian language

The final of the World Championship in Russian as a foreign language was held in Moscow. A team of second-year students from the Graduate School of Media Communications and Public Relations at the Eurasia Express Humanitarian Institute of St. Petersburg State University, consisting of Maximilian Terentyev, Anastasia Choki and Rakhmatulla Babajanov, won the second place in the European division.

Over 4,500 people from 66 countries aged 16-22 participated in the qualifying rounds. After six distance stages, the ten strongest teams qualified for the intramural finals in Moscow. The final program included discussion games, case studies, and assignments for language competence and intercultural understanding.

Eurasia Express is an international team: students from Latvia and Turkmenistan are represented in the team. The participants showed a high level of proficiency in the Russian language, the ability to defend their positions in a reasoned manner and work as a team in conditions of serious intellectual competition, losing to only one national team in the European division.

The name ‘Eurasia Express’ reflects the idea that Russia, where we study, unites different cultures and nationalities, explained Maximilian Terentyev, the captain of the team, a second—year student of the department of Advertising and Public Relations.

The final competitions were held in the format of an intense face-to-face discussion game. Eurasia Express became one of the winners, losing to only one team in the European division.

Although we took the second place, it’s a victory for us! The Russian language brought people from different countries together and gave them a chance to share their experiences. I am grateful to the organizers for the opportunity to participate in this event, for new acquaintances, for the opportunity to see the New Year’s capital, and, of course, next year we are going to compete for the main prize again, said Rakhmatulla Babajanov.

Anna Rymoshevskaya, a mentor and teacher at the Higher School of Economics, commented: The students showed not only language skills, but also a mature team strategy. The trip to Moscow became an important professional and cultural experience for the guys — they will return with new knowledge, contacts and motivation for further work.

In addition to the competitions, the organizers prepared an extensive excursion program — participants visited the historical center of Moscow, museums and memorial complexes, including the museum project ‘Memory Road’, which further expanded their understanding of Russian history and culture.

We were particularly impressed by the Memory Road museum complex, which surrounds the main Temple of the Russian Armed Forces in Patriot Park. The gallery tells the detailed story of each day of the Great Patriotic War, creating the most authentic atmosphere of the events of 1941-1945. For foreign students, this is an opportunity to learn more about the most fateful war in the history of Russia, Anna Rymoshevskaya shared her impressions.