The program has been offered by the Department of post-Soviet Foreign Countries of the Institute of post-Soviet and inter-Regional Studies jointly with the Russian-Turkish Center since 2017.
The advantages of the program lie in the comprehensive study of the role of Turkey in the system of modern international relations in the Eurasian space, including interaction with Russia and post-Soviet countries. Students are provided with an in-depth study of the history and culture of Turkey, and are also taught the main sociocultural processes taking place in the neighboring states.
One of the key factors of professional competitiveness in the modern world is knowledge of foreign languages. Our students study English, Turkish and Azerbaijani. Given the role of Turkey in international processes, the economic importance of the country and its tourism potential, specialists who speak Turkish have a definite competitive advantage in the labor market.
The knowledge of the Azerbaijani language gives students an opportunity to further expand their horizons and acquire additional competencies; the lexical and grammatical proximity of Azerbaijani and Turkish is an additional advantage in learning the Azerbaijani language.
In addition, knowledge of these two languages allows students to understand other Turkic languages, including both the state languages of other countries of the former Soviet Union (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen) and the languages of the peoples living in the Russian Federation (Tatar, Bashkir and other).
The program involves an active participation of students in academic events held at the RSUH. The Institute of post-Soviet and inter-Regional Studies holds an annual conference “Student Eurasian Readings”. It has become traditional to hold the Day of Turkish Culture at RSUH. Students are actively involved in the preparation of this event and take part in a concert dedicated to Turkish culture and language. In addition, students have the opportunity to participate in events held outside RSUH. For instance, our students won prizes at the 3rd All-Russian Competition in the Turkish language and Culture, which was held in April 2019 at Kazan Federal University. In September 2019, seven sophomores of our program took part in the conference “The 3rd Congress of Young Orientalists of Russia and the CIS Countries”, held in Ufa.
Another advantage of our program is the versatility of the knowledge received by the students. They receive basic knowledge in humanitaies, as well as acquire research skills and experience in public speaking. This allows them to realize the acquired competencies and skills in various fields of professional activity.
Thorough the knowledge of foreign languages, deep understanding of the specifics of the processes taking place in Turkey and the post-Soviet states allows the students to become experts in the field of international relations.
The program is unique in the system of higher education in Russia. It provides students with opportunities for professional development and prepares them to continue with M.A. and Ph.D. studies.
