DUSHANBE, June 10, Asia-Plus  -- The Russkiy Mir (Russian World) National Foundation has started implementation of project for creating a network of Russian centers that are aimed at preserving and popularizing Russian and language and Russian culture in other countries.  

An official ceremony of opening of the first Russian center of the Russkiy Mir in Tajikistan was held at Tajik Institute of Foreign Languages in Dushanbe on June 10.

The ceremony was attended by Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ramazan Abdulatipov, Russkiy Mir’s Board Executive Director Vyacheslav Nikonov as well as senior representatives of the Tajik Government, chancellors of a number of Tajik universities, and media.

Speaking at the center-opening ceremony, Mr. Nikonov noted that the center in Dushanbe is the second of a series of Russian centers to be opened in other countries.  According to him, the first Russian center was opened in Yerevan, Armenia.   

“We have opened the center in Dushanbe on the eve of Russia’s Day and following the informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg, on the sidelines of which a bilateral meeting of the new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon was held; the meeting has paved the way for new dynamically developing relations,” Nikonov said noting that the presidents had reached an agreement on expansion of bilateral cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan and exchange of official visits.  “Tajikistan is becoming an important center of cooperation both within the CIS and other integration organizations and associations, and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) summit and the forum of the CIS intelligentsia will be held here in the near future,” the Russkiy Mir executive director said. 

According to him, the Russian center is a resource center and program for creating Russian centers includes providing them with libraries (more than 1,000 items, including encyclopedias, reference books, fictions, textbooks, etc), and collection of multimedia products (movies, audio-books, educational supplies). 

By Russian president’s decree of June 2007 the Russkiy Mir National Foundation was established.  The Foundation is supposed to become a Russian analogue of such well-known institutions as the British Council and the Alliance franchise.  Known Russian political scientist and pubic figure Vyacheslav Nikonov was appointed to head the Foundation.  It was the firs time in the history of Russia that a non-commercial organization has been set up by a presidential decree and co-founded by two ministries at once - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education.