Unlocking Culture Through Language: Russian House in Niger Offers Free Russian Courses
17:43 11.12.2024 (Updated: 18:31 11.12.2024)
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In mid-November, Kirill Bogomolov, Deputy Head of Russian humanitarian cooperation agency Rossotrudnichestvo, announced that Russia plans to provide 4,816 government-funded spots for African students in 2025.
A total of 70 Nigeriens, both children and adults, are learning Russian at the Russian House in Niamey, Ahmed Bello, the head of the Russian House, told Sputnik Africa.
"The gateway to a culture is, first and foremost, its language," he underscored.
▶️ "The gateway to a culture is, first and foremost, its language": the Russian House in Niger offers a free Russian language course pic.twitter.com/uIS6B71OzD
— Sputnik Africa (@sputnik_africa) December 11, 2024
Sputnik Africa also interviewed a student to gain insight into what inspired him to tackle this challenging language.
"I chose to come here to the Russian House to learn Russian and to be able to continue my higher education in Russia. [...] What motivated me is that, for instance, my parents got their higher education in Russia [...]," Seydou Harakoye, a doctor and student of the Russian language course, shared his experience.
In June, Russian Deputy Minister of Education Denis Gribov reported to Russian media about a significant surge in demand for Russian language learning across African nations in recent years. He added that currently 37,000 students from Africa are enrolled in Russian universities, with an additional 200 attending colleges. Overall, there are approximately 30 centers dedicated to Russian language studies throughout African countries.
