The House of Russian Abroad named after A. Solzhenitsyn donated a collection of books and copies of letters by M. Chagall to Vitebsk State University.
11/04/20120 views
On April 11, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The House of Russian Abroad named after A. Solzhenitsyn has donated a collection of books and copies of letters by Marc Chagall to the Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov, a BELTA correspondent reports.
The collection includes 300 titles published in 2010-2011 across various fields: history, religion, art, literary studies, philosophy, Russian language learning materials, and works by contemporary popular authors such as Pilevich, Rubina, Ulitskaya, etc.
At the solemn book donation ceremony, Vladimir Ugarov, Deputy Director of the House of Russian Abroad named after A. Solzhenitsyn, expressed his hope that this selection would be of interest to both students and faculty. "It is important that all this literature is not the glossy material that floods the bookshelves of Russia. We have tried to bring serious works by Russian scholars, writers, and literary critics, which are not often found in bookstores and libraries," he emphasized.
Another unexpected gift to the Vitebsk university from the House of Russian Abroad is copies of two letters from Marc Chagall addressed to another equally famous theatre artist, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky. The originals are kept in the archive of the House of Russian Abroad. "We received these letters from the descendants of Russian emigrants currently living in Frankfurt am Main. There was a large archive there, including these two virtually unknown letters. Their copies are of certain interest to researchers," added Vladimir Ugarov.
Regarding the book assistance program of the House of Russian Abroad, Vladimir Ugarov noted that it is quite extensive. Over 150 exhibitions have been held with book donations in 46 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Latin America. "We are trying to develop our contacts with Belarus. In particular, the House of Russian Abroad has already donated books to the National Library in Minsk, universities in Mogilev and Gomel, and now in Vitebsk, with a planned donation to Grodno in June," he said.
The Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Representation in Belarus - the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Minsk, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Belarus, Viktor Malashenko, emphasized that Rossotrudnichestvo maintains close contacts with the House of Russian Abroad. "In almost two years of operation, we have managed to donate about 2,000 copies of books. Now, during our visit to Vitebsk University, we discussed plans for further cooperation with this higher education institution. In particular, there is an intention to open a Centre for Russian Studies on its basis, and there are plans for other areas as well," he said, stressing that this work is carried out to strengthen cultural and humanitarian ties between Belarusian and Russian educational and cultural institutions. -0-
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