The German-Russian Year of Language and Literature

“A pity, actually, that we have to stop.” As far as Rüdiger Bolz, director of the Goethe-Institut in Moscow, is concerned, the Year of German Language and Literature 2014/2015 in Russia could go into overtime. Some 240 events and competitions during the year attracted more than 70,000 visitors and participants. Bolz sees this as a proof that “cultural relations form a strong foundation, especially in times of political crisis”.

Germany presented itself in Russia with more than 200 scientists, scholars, writers and artists. In addition to the Goethe-Institut, the German embassy and Consulates General, the German Academic Exchange Service, the Central Agency for Schools Abroad and representatives of German foundations in Russia took part in organizing events. One of the highlights of the year was the inaugural event near Red Square to which more than 18,000 mainly young people thronged. The continued interest in German as a foreign language was demonstrated by the 1,600 German teachers from nearly 280 locations in Russia who came together in Moscow for the German Teachers Conference in November.

Thomas Mann exhibition in Moscow

The conclusion of the language and literature year will be marked by the opening of an exhibition in Moscow on Thomas Mann on the occasion of the 140^th anniversary of his birth. A year earlier, the birthday anniversary of the Russian national poet Alexander Pushkin marked the beginning of the so-called “cross year”, for Russia too presented in Germany itself with a year of language and literary events. Among the highlights for the Russians were the road show “Russia on the Road”, which travelled through six German cities, appearances at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Week of the Russian Language in Berlin and the Russian Cultural Festival in Freiburg.

Conclusion of the German-Russian Year of Language and Literature 2014/15, 3 June 2015 in Moscow

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