International students introduced to the cultures of the peoples of Russia

International students got acquainted with the specifics of Russian folk costumes, as well as with folk songs and dances performed by the university creative teams – the Otrada folk music ensemble and the Maridance ballet.

The event participants presented the types of Russian folk women's headdresses and their purpose. Anastasia Strzhalkovskaya, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Russian Language, Professional Speech and Intercultural Communication of the Institute of International Relations and Intercultural Communication, the curator of Uzbekistan Student Community, conducted a master-class on how to tie a Russian headscarf and demonstrated different ways of wearing it. She explained why a married woman could not go out without a headdress and had to hide her hair under it.

Kirill Travkin, a Master student of the Institute of Intercultural Communication and International Relations, talked on the Slavic gods and introduced the guests to the pagan culture of the ancient Slavs.

The event ended with a tea party during which the students were able to share their impressions of what they had seen and heard.

Omar Razk, a student of Medical Institute from Egypt said that he had been struck by the fact that the ancestors of the modern Russian people believed in many gods, and it opened for him new sides of Russian history and culture.

Zhang Yongkang, a student from China, noted that a traditional folk costume had been a part of the cultural wealth of any ethnic group.