The United Nations(UN)’s Russian Language Day is annually observed across the globe on June 6th to create awareness about the history, culture and development of the Russian language. The day also aims to celebrate cultural diversity and multilingualism.
- The day also marks the birth anniversary of the great Russian poet, playwright, and novelist, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (A.S. Pushkin) (1799 – 1837), the founder of modern Russian literature.
- Every year, Russia celebrates June 6th as “Pushkin Day”.
Background:
i.In 2010, on the eve of International Mother Language Day celebrated annually on 21st February at the initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Department of Public Information (now Department of Global Communications) announced the launch of “Language Days at the United Nations”.
- UN Languages Days aim to raise awareness of the history, culture and development of each of the 6 official UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, among the staff of the Organization.
- UN Russian Language day is a part of UN Languages Days.
Events 2023:
As a part of the celebration of the UN Russian Language Day on 6th June 2023, UN entities organised a series of virtual events in New York, Geneva and Vienna, including a poetry reading, a literature recital, theatrical performances and discussions about the Russian language.
Significance of Russian:
i.Russian is the official language of the Russian Federation, the largest country in the world.
ii.Russian is also known as the “International Language of Space” and astronauts need to learn the language on the International Space Station(ISS).
- English and Russian are the official languages of ISS.
iii.With around 258 million Russian speakers, it is the 8th most spoken language in the world.
Other UN Language Days:
- French Language Day – 20 March
- Chinese Language Day – 20 April
- English Language Day – 23 April
- Spanish Language Day – 23 April
- Arabic Language Day – 18 December
