Great, mighty and native: how the National Centre RUSSIA preserves and develops the Russian language

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6 June is the birthday of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and Russian Language Day, which was established by the UN in 2010, and has become a celebration for everyone who speaks, writes and thinks in Russian. This is another reason to remember that at all times language has served not only as a means of communication, but also as the basis of national identity, the foundation of culture and one of the main tools connecting generations.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world speak Russian. Most importantly, however, it is the language in which the greatest literary legacy was created, landmark scientific research was conducted and meanings that defined entire centuries were formulated. Our main task today is not only to preserve its richness, diversity and depth, but also to make it attractive to those accustomed to clip thinking and short messages on social media.

The National Centre RUSSIA approaches this task systematically. Exactly one year ago, it hosted a meeting of the Council for the Implementation of State Policy on Support for the Russian Language and the Languages of the Peoples of Russia. Following the meeting, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, approved a list of instructions, one of which was to create interactive cultural and educational spaces at the National Centre RUSSIA to popularise and promote the Russian language. The cooperation between the National Centre RUSSIA and the Council for the Implementation of State Policy on Support for the Russian Language and the Languages of the Peoples of Russia will also become part of the work to create new state textbooks.

The interactive exposition "The Great and Mighty Russian Language" is currently operating in the space. With the help of audio effects, micro-quests and other modern technologies, visitors can immerse themselves in the history of the language: learn about its rules and exceptions, "blow the dust off" forgotten words, play with phraseological expressions on a kaleidoscope, choose a linguistic "dress code" and even place stress marks using a xylophone. The exposition is interesting and useful for everyone, from schoolchildren to professional philologists, and even attracts the attention of foreign guests, especially students who are only beginning to master Russian speech.

Meanwhile, the exposition "The Unique Russian Language" has opened at the branch of the National Centre RUSSIA in the Primorye Territory. It offers pleasant linguistic discoveries and focuses attention on the diversity of the Russian language in its regional dimension.

A special role in popularising the Russian language belongs to the tour guides of the National Centre RUSSIA: those who tell guests every day about exposition exhibits, history, science, culture and the traditions of all regions of the country. They do this not only competently, but also with love and respect for the word, becoming storytellers, mentors and guardians of the language at the same time.

Russian Language Day is an excellent reason to visit the exposition spaces of the National Centre RUSSIA, test your literacy, learn something new about literary language and the words we use every day. It is also a reason to remember the legacy of Alexander Pushkin, whose birthday this significant celebration is timed to coincide with. After all, as another Russian classic, Alexander Kuprin, wrote, "language is the history of a people". May this history continue happily in our descendants.