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Zvamaida Murwira-Senior Reporter

More than 200 people have registered to learn the Russian language, a project aimed at providing Zimbabwean citizens an opportunity to lean the country’s culture as the two countries seek to deepen cooperation. 

The programme, which started last month, includes individuals, representatives of various organisations and State bodies and is being run through St Petersburg State University and the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. 

Zimbabweans are already learning Chinese language through the Confucius Institute at University of Zimbabwe as Harare and Beijing seek to give impetus to the close bilateral relations which date back to the liberation struggle. 

Both Russia and China are part of Zimbabwe’s broader policy to Look East in the wake of efforts by Western capitals to isolate Harare. 

In a statement yesterday, the Embassy of Russia in Zimbabwe said the programme was the first Russian language course opened by a Russian higher education institution in Zimbabwe for the last 30 years. 

“The “Open Russian Language Educational Centre in Zimbabwe” is a project of great opportunities. 

It gives the citizens of Zimbabwe a great chance to learn the Russian language as well as get acquainted with the Russian culture and peculiarities of life in this country. 

“The courses are completely free and are reverently guided by the experienced teachers of one of the top universities,” reads the statement from Russian embassy. 

“The language courses at St Petersburg State University do not just allow students to learn one of the most difficult and beautiful languages in the world, but also have specific advantages. Students who join the project get a whole range of generous opportunities and are really immersed in the world of the Russian language.” 

The Russian embassy noted that the introduction of its language among Zimbabweans has brought excitement. 

“For this reason, the project caused great excitement among the inhabitants of the country. As a result, currently the courses are attended by more than 200 people. 

“Course participants are individuals, representatives of various organisations and state bodies. 

They are all united by a genuine interest in Russia and the Russian language,” said the embassy. 

Chronicling some of the advantages, the embassy noted that teachers used effective methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language through developing a friendly atmosphere in groups both in and out of class. 

“Secondly, students get free access to unique resources and a lot of textbooks, useful for studying Russian language and Russian culture. 

In addition, at the end of the course participants will receive a certificate of mastering the online course and will be allowed to take an exam in Russian as a foreign language at the Language Testing Centre at St Petersburg University. If they pass the exam, students will receive a certificate of international standard A1 level in Russian,” said the embassy. It was also noted that participants will in future be able to get an education in the Russian Federation. 

“Earlier there were more than 15 000 quotas that allowed foreigners to study in our country for free, and now there are even more. 

Moreover, the university has its own quota, so we are very pleased to welcome young people to study.