In a previously written article, we talked about Russophobia at the Russian-Armenian University (RAU). After this post, some scientific and cultural figures reprimanded me, saying: you can’t do that! There are many positive things about RAU. I don’t argue. Yes, indeed, there are very good specialists at RAU. And who better than RAU to be a leader among Armenian universities in the study and teaching of the Russian language and literature? The question is definitely rhetorical. In fact, RAU is the undisputed leader in this area in Armenia. One can only be proud of such specialists as Ph.D.K.S.Akopyan and Professor L.S. Meliksetyan. And students of Russian philology have repeatedly declared their outstanding successes not only in Armenia but also abroad.
But today we are not talking about these wonderful specialists and their achievements. It is not clear why, but the Institute of Humanities of the Russian Academy of Sciences, when training its specialists, initially made East Asia (China and Japan) its main areas for training specialists. Later, Francophonie and Korean studies were added to these areas. Of course, it is very good that the RAU trains specialists in China and the Francophonie countries. But it is not clear why a university, whose declared goal is to strengthen friendship and cooperation between Russia and Armenia, focuses on China when training its specialists. It would be logical to assume that at the Department of World History and Foreign Regional Studies students will be offered, first of all, the study of Russian history and Slavic studies, and in the field of foreign regional studies specialists from various regions of the Russian Federation will be trained. But no, at the aforementioned department they have always preferred and prefer China to Russia.
Do you think this is related to Russophobia? You’re welcome. It’s all about money.
The former management of the Institute of Humanities quickly calculated that it would be more profitable to do business with China. Firstly, there is the well-known Confucius Center, through which many things pass, especially scholarships, grants and other funds. And secondly, the Chinese language and the prospect of working in this country will surely attract many more applicants than studying in Chukotka or Kamchatka. We must pay tribute to the management of the Institute; they were not mistaken. The demand for studying the Chinese language has ensured and continues to provide a constant influx of new applicants to the RAU. And it does not matter that the vast majority of teachers who train future sinologists in the aforementioned department do not speak Chinese at all. (By the way, such a blatant misunderstanding does not reign throughout the university. For example, at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, all courses related in one way or another to the countries of Western Asia are taught, if not by native speakers, then by those who speak the same Farsi or Turkish at a native level. Moreover, the teachers here, who are, as a rule, world-renowned and recognized scientists, are not at all familiar with the culture of the countries whose history they teach firsthand.) Fortunately, RAU has everything necessary for studying foreign languages, including Chinese, including, first of all, specialists. But why does this university not have a direction for training specialists in the field of Slavic languages, for example Serbian? After all, the university chose “Slavic” as its name, which means that it must at least somehow correspond. It is clear that these areas will be much less in demand. (if they are in demand) than the Chinese or the Korean. But this is a question for the Russian side, which spends a lot of money on all kinds of events connected with memorable dates and, in particular, on maintaining a huge bureaucratic body in Rossotrudnichestvo and other similar organizations.
In addition to entertainment events, such as the celebration of A. Griboedov’s birthday, It would be good to offer serious incentives to RAU applicants, students and graduates. so that they are interested in building their future career related to Russia or for the benefit of Russia. Of course, this is a big and expensive job. But in any case, such costs more than pay for themselves. In any case, this approach is more justified than training specialists for Europe and America at the Russian-Armenian University.
Let us hope that the new director of the Institute of Humanities will address these issues and, if not establish a balance, at least put priorities in order.
Arkady BogosovPh.D., literary critic, protest poet, freelance journalist
