UN Headquarters in Geneva hosted an Online Marathon to mark Russian Language Day

On June 6, 2023, an online marathon dedicated to the Russian Language Day was held at the UN Headquarters in Geneva. This year the holiday was dedicated to the Russian language in the history of Moscow and was called “Moscow! How much is in this sound ... ".

The event is held annually on the birthday of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.

The main goal of the marathon is to support and develop multilingualism and cultural diversity.

Elmira Shcherbakova, Deputy Head of the General Secretariat of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, held a kind of "excursion" to the best theaters and museums in Moscow, including: A.S. Pushkin Theater; Mossovet Theatre; Theater "Helikon-Opera"; V. Mayakovsky Theatre; Moscow Children's Variety Theatre; House-Museum of A.I. Herzen; State Museum of A.S. Pushkin. In the marathon included the performances of excerpts from: “Moscow. Full Circle”, “Fruits of Enlightenment”, as well as the Cantata “Moscow” by P.I. Tchaikovsky.

The participants of the telethon this year were: Gennady Gatilov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Office in Geneva; Tatyana Valovaya, Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva; Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation; Sergei Lebedev, Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States; Sergei Cheremin, Minister of the Government of Moscow, Head of the Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations of the City of Moscow; Evgeny Primakov, Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo); Andrey Belyaninov, Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly; Dmitry Bertman, Artistic Director of the Helikon-Opera Theatre; Evgeny Marchelli, Artistic Director of the Mossovet Theater.

In addition, foreign students of MGIMO joined the marathon. They read excerpts from their favorite works by great Russian poets and writers about Moscow, and also read Vladimir Borisov's poem " You can't count the cities" in the very heart of the capital, in Zaryadye Park.

The online marathon was broadcast on UN platforms, in all branches of Rossotrudnichestvo, on the information resources of the Moscow Government and MGIMO. In two days, the broadcast was watched by more than three thousand viewers.