M. NASR AL-GIBALI

Candidate of Philological Sciences

King Saud University, KSA

Ain Shams University, Egypt

Key words: Russian-Saudi relations, University named after him. King Saud, Day of Russian Culture, Russian Language and Culture

In March 2015, the Russian Language Department of the Department of Modern Languages of the Translation Faculty at King Saud University hosted the Day of Russian Culture. This event was organized for the second time, and the first one was held in 2013.

The idea came three years ago, when interest in Russia and its culture in Saudi Arabia began to grow. Students increasingly asked us, the teachers of the department, about Russia, life in this country, Russian literature, art, and cinema... And we decided to periodically arrange these special "days" for students, where they can get to know Russia better. Also, the main thing for us was to invite everyone who is interested in this huge country and its multinational culture to such events.

All students of our department prepared for the holiday with great interest and enthusiasm. Many of them collected various materials about Russia in libraries.

The program of the Day included photo exhibitions - "Cities of Russia", "Cosmonautics", "Sports", "Russian Cuisine", etc., as well as an exhibition of souvenirs made in the Russian folk style. Some of the photos were handed over by the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Saudi Arabia. Shelves with souvenirs were decorated with matryoshka dolls of various sizes - a traditional symbol of Russia, wooden dishes with paintings, ceramic dishes, such as a glass with the image of the Russian coat of arms - a double-headed eagle.

All the participants of the event were very surprised by the student Abdul Ilah, who brought several attributes of the Russian military uniform-a cap and a greatcoat. He bought them in a souvenir shop in Moscow during his internship at the Pushkin State Institute of the Russian Language. Students and teachers were happy to take turns putting on their uniforms and taking photos.

As part of the Day of Russian Culture, teachers, students and guests, including the Dean of the Faculty of Translation, the head of the Department of Modern Languages, two deputy deans and teachers from other departments, were shown a popular science film in Arabic about St. Petersburg and the beautiful suburbs of Northern Palmyra*: Peterhof, Strelna, Pavlovsk, Gatchina, Tsarskoye Selo, as well as other Russian cities. Many of the guests learned about the most beautiful examples of Russian architecture for the first time. I was particularly interested in the city of Kazan, as it is home to a considerable number of Islamic attractions and mosques.

After watching the film, an exciting quiz "We know and love Russia" began. It was prepared by the organizers of the Day of Culture-teachers of the Russian Language Department, and the participants were Arab students of Russian studies from different courses. They came together in three teams, and each student was assigned a specific section, be it literature, art, architecture, history, etc.

* In Russian literature, since the mid-18th century, St. Petersburg has been figuratively called "Northern Palmyra" in honor of the ancient city of Palmyra on the territory of modern Syria (author's note).

at the end of the quiz, the winners were awarded with valuable gifts (pens, books about Russia, Russian-Arabic / Arabic-Russian educational dictionaries), and all participants were awarded with souvenirs. The award ceremony was conducted by the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Dr. Abdurrahman Al-Mansour.

After difficult competitive battles, all those present were offered Russian cuisine dishes-pancakes, pies and pancakes with fish, caviar, sour cream, jam and other fillings. The organizers called this part of the program "Maslenitsa treats", since the event at our university coincided with the Russian national holiday - Maslenitsa.

The guests enjoyed the Russian treats. Arabic cuisine also has similar dough dishes. Many people began to compare the taste of these dishes. Guests, students and teachers enjoyed a delicious meal and talked about Russia to Russian music playing in the hall...

So ended the Day of Russian Culture at our university. The participants, leaving the hall, expressed their emotions and shared their impressions with us. As, for example, Abdul Iadah Amri: "This event is an annual celebration for us students. We are waiting for it and preparing for it. We try to show the culture of Russia to our friends, classmates and colleagues in other departments. I hope that the Day of Russian Culture will be organized regularly, and every time it gets better and better."

Our new colleague from Russia, a teacher of Russian as a foreign language (RKI), Vasily Kiselyov, also shared his impressions: "During my long-term teaching career (I have been working as a teacher of RCT since 1984), I have observed the work of various departments - both with established traditions and very young ones. If we talk about the Department of Modern Languages of the Faculty of Translation of the University named after V. I. Abramovich. In my opinion, there is a good teaching staff here, which has quite a lot of experience in teaching foreign languages, and teaching methods that are constantly being improved."

Summing up, I would like to say that the Day of Russian Culture at the University of St. Petersburg. The King of Saud Festival has become one of the meetings that impress and will be remembered for a long time - and, above all, thanks to its special, friendly atmosphere and the sincere impulse of the large team that worked on organizing the event. The wish of the participants of the Day of Russian Culture was one - to hold such a holiday of knowledge and spiritual enjoyment every year!

In conclusion, as the author of this short essay, I would like to point out that prior to my business trip to Saudi Arabia in 2005, I worked as a lecturer at the University of Saudi Arabia. King Saud, I had to work with Arab students in Russia (during my language internship in Moscow in the early 2000s).

However, having worked at this university in the Russian Language Department for the past ten years (this year I am returning to my native Russian language department at Ain Shams University in Egypt), I can say with confidence that, despite the lack of a language environment as such, the conditions here are excellent, both for students and students. and for teachers. As they say, just work and learn! This applies to well-equipped teaching and language rooms with modern technology, special additional courses and various programs (including internships in Russia) for students.