On May 20, an official opening ceremony marked the start of the international fellowship program InteRussia for foreign specialists in philology and the Russian language, held in collaboration with the Noôdome community. This year’s participants are young experts from 24 countries, representing academic institutions from Algeria, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Leonid Drachevsky, Executive Director of the Gorchakov Fund, welcomed the participants, noting that InteRussia began as an fellowship program for political science professionals but has since expanded into new professional fields, including Russian studies.
“A curious thing: the fellows arrive as strangers, but after four weeks, they become one big family. This phenomenon is real. It’s especially evident among Russian language specialists — because they all speak the same language,” Drachevsky emphasized.
He added that the 2025 application campaign for Russian studies saw record-breaking interest, with 17 applicants per place. “We see that global interest in the Russian language remains strong — and it’s not just academic interest, but a real desire to be part of the Russian-speaking and cultural space,” he said.
Following him, Nikita Gusev, Rector of the Pushkin Institute, highlighted the increasing professional level of the participants and the geographic diversity of the program: “Over the years, the Pushkin Institute has trained 88 Russian specialists from 32 countries. This year, the competition was truly high, and the geography was record-breaking: almost all continents are represented — Africa, Europe, Latin America, East Asia, the CIS. We're especially pleased to welcome new countries: this year, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria are participating for the first time. We're very glad to have you with us.”
Dimitrios Fotiadis, a teacher of Russian language and literature at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and a participant of the second InteRussia cohort, shared his impressions: “The phenomenon of InteRussia is that it's not just education, but a true cultural space that you immerse yourself in for a month. It’s a unique atmosphere where each participant grows and is enriched.”
Among the speakers at the opening were representatives from India — Kiran Singh Verma, Associate Professor at the Centre for Russian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Sonu Saini, Senior Lecturer at the same center and a graduate of the first InteRussia cohort. They emphasized the program’s significance in fostering professional and personal interaction among participants from different countries.
Following the official part, a lecture titled “Moscow: A City in History” was held at the Noôdome amphitheater for Russian studies specialists and community members. The lecture featured two speakers: historian Olga Gref and Anna Trapkova, Director of the Museum of Moscow. Olga Gref presented an overview of the key stages in the development of the Russian capital from the 12th century to the present day, highlighting major historical milestones that shaped the city’s cultural identity. Anna Trapkova added a modern perspective on Moscow’s architectural and sociocultural development and spoke about the current projects and exhibitions of the Museum of Moscow that offer new insights into the city’s historical legacy and dynamic present.
The InteRussia program in Russian studies has been running since 2022 and is implemented by the Mezhdunarodniki Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation in cooperation with the Gorchakov Fund, the Pushkin Institute, and Rossotrudnichestvo with grant support from the Presidential Grants Foundation. In 2025, the fellowship covers three areas: linguistics, literature, and Russian as a foreign language.