On May 16, a bright celebration took place in the university courtyard of Altai State University – the inter-university festival of national cultures. A good tradition once again brought together students and guests, uniting representatives of various countries and peoples.
In his opening remarks, Roman Raikin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs Development at Altai State University, highlighted that the university is home to more than 2,000 international students from over 50 countries. He emphasized that the student community forms a large and friendly multinational family.
“Our university has been hosting the Festival of National Cultures annually for more than ten years. This tradition stems from our university’s focus on cooperation with Central Asian countries, and many of our students represent these countries. Traditionally, the festival was held in March to coincide with Navruz, the national holiday of Turkic peoples. In the past two years, however, it has marked the beginning of the week dedicated to celebrating the university’s anniversary. We always invite the leaders of national cultural autonomies and students from all universities in Barnaul to participate,” said Roman Raikin.
The festival participants were greeted by representatives of national cultural organizations of Altai Krai from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. They expressed their gratitude to the university for hosting a bright interethnic holiday and supporting cultural traditions. This year’s concert program impressed with its diversity. Students dressed in national costumes performed dances, songs and poems, demonstrating the spiritual wealth of Armenia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, China, Congo, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and, of course, Russia.
Mikhail Domukhovsky, Head of the International Affairs Department of Altai State University, presented letters of gratitude and prizes to the participants.
"This year, our festival received support from other universities, including the Altai State Institute of Culture, the Altai State Medical University, and the Altai State Pedagogical University. For the first time, students from Afghanistan and the newly formed Union of Armenians, a national cultural association, participated from our university. They took part in the concert program and prepared their national dishes for tasting. The events are always organized and held in a lively and engaging manner, as the students themselves take the initiative: they propose performances and create the concert program. Also, this year we welcomed new partners – Alfa-Bank and the Altai Cossacks," noted Mikhail Domukhovsky.
The highlight of the festival was the tasting of national dishes, where guests had the opportunity to taste Afghan, Tajik, and Uzbek pilaf, Armenian baklava and basturma, as well as traditional Russian pies. The festive atmosphere was further enriched by an exhibition of exotic animals presented by Alexander Filatov, student from the Institute of Biology, and team-building games organized by the student sports club.
Alfa-Bank held a lottery, presenting the winners with souvenirs with its symbols and debit cards. The festival ended with Cossack games and national dances.
"In the future, we plan to attract all the leading universities of Barnaul and make a real city national festival of cultures with an expanded program," shared Mikhail Domukhovsky.