«As a material of literature, the Slavic-Russian language has undeniable superiority over all European ones: its fate was extremely happy. In the 11th century, the ancient Greek language suddenly revealed to him its lexicon, a treasury of harmony, granted him the laws of its deliberate grammar, its beautiful turns, the majestic flow of speech; in a word, adopted him, thus saving him from the slow improvements of time. In itself, it is already sonorous and expressive; from time to time it will borrow flexibility and correctness. The common dialect had to be separated from the book dialect; but subsequently they became closer, and this is the element given to us to communicate our thoughts» — A.S. Pushkin.
Russian Language Day, like the days of other official languages of the United Nations, appeared on the international calendar in 2010, when the UN Department of Public Relations proposed establishing holidays dedicated to the six official languages of the organization as part of a program to support and develop multilingualism and cultural diversity. The corresponding decision was made on the eve of International Mother Language Day, celebrated annually on February 21 at the initiative of UNESCO.
Multilingualism, which is an important factor in harmonious communication between peoples, is of particular importance for the UN. By promoting tolerance, it also ensures the effective and greater participation of all in the Organization's work process. Therefore, according to the UN, it is necessary to preserve and promote multilingualism through various measures in the interests of sharing and communication.
To celebrate Russian Language Day, the date June 6 was set. This is the birthday of Alexander Pushkin, the great writer, poet, playwright. In addition, Pushkin is considered the creator of the modern literary Russian language. It makes no sense to list the works of Alexander Sergeevich — they are familiar to any person living in Russia or speaking Russian.
Russian language — is one of the largest languages in the world, is the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, the most widely spoken European language in the geographical sense and, in terms of the total number of speakers, ranks in the top ten world languages. In terms of use on the Internet, Russian is in second place. It is one of the most translated languages in the world.
According to the latest data, 146 million citizens of the Russian Federation speak Russian and another 127 million speak Russian as a second language.
In addition to the Russian Federation, Russian is the official language of some CIS countries, as well as Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It also remains the language of informal communication in the countries of the former USSR. It is interesting that the spoken Russian language is required to be studied by all cosmonauts who will work on the International Space Station.
On Russian Language Day, various events are held in the UN General Assembly building. In particular, these are concerts of Slavic folk music, competitions for knowledge of the Russian language and literature, exhibitions of works of art, lectures, film screenings and express lessons.
Infographics – poster «Russian Language Day»