05.04.2025
On April 4, 2025, a delegation from the Yunus Emre Institute – the Turkish Cultural Center in Moscow – visited RSUH and discussed the main tracks for cooperation in areas such as academic exchange, joint research and publications, academic and educational events, and more.
“It is necessary to move away from the concept of cultural centers as places where only foreign languages are studied. These institutions must play a more active role in developing cultural ties between states. We, as a Cultural Center of Turkey, do not seek to promote only our own culture. We work in other countries in order to get to know their culture as well. And if the people living in those countries wish to learn more about our culture, we are happy to help them with that,” noted the Head of the Turkish delegation and Director of the Yunus Emre Institute Aliy Abdurrahman.
He also emphasized that Turkish cultural centers were present in 65 countries around the world, but that Turkey shared a great many common interests with Russia in the field of humanities, and therefore it was extremely important to make greater efforts to build a joint academic infrastructure.
Acting Vice-Rector for International Cooperation Vera Zabotkina noted that the University had become the foundational institution for liberal arts education in Russia. During the discussion, the Turkish delegation proposed that RSUH sign cooperation agreements with Istanbul and Ankara Universities, actively collaborating with the Yunus Emre Institute, which in turn is ready to provide full support in establishing contacts with these universities. It was also noted that Istanbul University was the first in Turkey to introduce courses in Russian language and literature. In addition, both RSUH and Istanbul University have museum complexes. In particular, Istanbul University oversees 12 museums, one of which houses one of the largest collections of ancient manuscripts in the world.
The participants agreed that cooperation with the Yunus Emre Institute could take place in areas such as academic collaboration, development of joint educational programs, implementation of joint research and publishing projects, as well as organizing conferences on Turkology. Special attention during the discussion was given to the summer school of Turkish language in Turkey, where students of RSUH will be able to study disciplines such as art history and archaeology.
In 2025, this has already been the second expanded meeting with representatives of the Yunus Emre Institute as part of the dialogue on cooperation. Earlier, the delegations met at RSUH and discussed potential directions for development. The Yunus Emre Foundation is a public entity established in 2007 with the goal of promoting familiarity with Turkey, specifically its history, culture, art, and language, and strengthening friendship between Turkey and other countries through the expansion of cultural ties.
