On October 26-27 the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States (IPA CIS) hosted the international conference "Russian Language – the Basis of Integration Dialogue in the CIS Region".
The National Library of Russia was one of its organizers. On the initiative of the NLR the exhibition "What do Famous People Read?" and the Round Table "Russian Language - the Language of Interethnic Communication " have been included in the program.
The exhibition consisted of two parts. "What famous people read" is more than 30 opinions about Russian literature by representatives of different countries, as well as photos of theatrical productions in Russian, which were shown in the CIS and beyond. Art, culture, sports, and political figures were asked to briefly answer the question "What is the meaning of reading in your life?" and tell about their favorite books by Russian writers and poets. The results, which can be seen at the exhibition, show that Russian literature is taken very seriously, it is loved not only in Russia, but also in the CIS countries. The exhibition opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the CIS IPA Council Dolzhikov A.P., Advisor to the Director General of the National Library of Russia Likhomanov A.V., Director of the theater - festival "Baltic House" S.G. Shub.
At the Plenary session the report of the Director General of the NLR V.G. Gronskii "The project of the National Library of Russia "What Famous People Read" was presented by the Head of the Department of International and Organizational Activities K.B. Morozova.
On the same day the round table "Russian language - the language of interethnic communication" took place in the National Library of Russia. The event is included in the action plan for the Year of Russian as a Language of Interethnic Communication in the CIS in 2023, approved by the decision of the Council of Heads of Governments of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The round table was attended by representatives of 6 CIS member states: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Scientists, diplomats, librarians, teachers discussed the role of Russian language and literature in the rapprochement of cultures, strengthening mutual understanding between people living in the CIS countries. It was also emphasized that fiction, scientific and educational literature in Russian is in great demand in the CIS countries, and various events are held for schoolchildren and students promoting the Russian language and culture.