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21.07.2618:56
Culture
Director General of M. I. Rudomino All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature, Marina Zakharenko: “Without understanding of another’s culture, it is impossible to build dialogue and long-term partnerships”
In an exclusive interview with TV BRICS, the expert spoke about the role of libraries in strengthening international cooperation
Marina Zakharenko is Director General of the M. I. Rudomino All-Russian State Library of Foreign Literature. She graduated from the Altai State Institute of Culture with a degree in library science and bibliography. In 2012, she was awarded a Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences degree from Moscow State University of Culture and Arts.
She is the author of over 230 academic papers. From 2013 to 2025, she headed the Youth Section of the Russian Library Association.
This year, BRICS is celebrating its twentieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, the TV BRICS International Media Network and the M. I. Rudomino All-Russian StateLibrary of Foreign Literature have organised a series of events. These are dedicated to the group’s achievements and prospects for further development. Marina Pavlovna, in your view, how has the role of culture in strengthening international dialogue changed over the years?
The M. I. Rudomino Library of Foreign Literature has always been a steadfast bridge between cultures, a centre for intercultural communication. Indeed, representatives of different cultures, languages and civilisations gather within the library’s walls.
As for attitudes towards culture, in my view, we have seen recently – and indeed over the past 20 years – that attitudes towards culture have changed very significantly for the better. More attention is now being paid to the cultural dimension of interaction. At last, people are realising that without an understanding of another’s culture, it is impossible to build dialogue and long-term partnerships. We can sense this.
Culture is a language that everyone understands.
Everyone understands it. Even when conducting negotiations, you need to understand the other person’s mindset. For example, in Russia, you can sit down at the table, reach an agreement, shake hands, and the next day the deal will be done. But in African countries, you must first build trust, share more than one cup of tea, get to know all their close friends and family, and earn their trust; only then will they build long-term partnerships with you.
This, too, is culture; it is the mindset of another people. We highlight this through various events organised at the library.
The Library for Foreign Literature is currently actively developing partnerships with cultural and knowledge centres in the BRICS countries: India, Indonesia, and China. What are the key topics in this dialogue today?
As part of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of BRICS, in addition to organising various general cultural events, we also held a special meeting to discuss our library cooperation. And the recurring theme throughout this meeting was precisely the need to understand our own interests and those of our partners.
How should we build cooperation with the national libraries and cultural centres of those countries? Without an understanding of everyone’s interests – both ours and theirs – it is impossible to establish a dialogue, and it is very difficult to identify any common, unifying projects or themes.
Firstly, it is important to respect each other’s culture. We must also share information about one another; that is how we will find common ground. Here is the first theme, which might seem obvious at first glance, but which we arrived at: every country is thinking about how to preserve its heritage.
In this case, as a library, we preserve our printed heritage. This means that the restoration of paper books is vital. This is a common theme that unites us all. For example, last October, the Library of Foreign Literature organised a professional development programme.
We brought together nearly 40 people from libraries across Russia’s regions and took them to China to learn about paper conservation and restoration techniques.
In China, the methods and technology are completely different. Our colleagues returned inspired and surprised: “It’s neither good nor bad; it’s just different.” We need to familiarise ourselves with this too.
Colleagues from these countries also come to visit us, sharing their experience and learning about our methods and technologies.
Which countries do they come from?
We’ve had colleagues from India, China, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. Exchanging experiences is absolutely vital. We need to talk about and showcase our own work and learn about others’. That’s very important.
Since 2024, the BRICS+ Information and Cultural Media Centre has been operating within the library, hosting seminars, film screenings and presentations of educational projects. To what extent do the centre’s activities contribute to the development of cooperation between the BRICS+ member states?
Yes, indeed; this autumn will mark two years since the BRICS+ Information and Cultural Media Centre was established in partnership with TV BRICS on the library’s premises. It is a hub for a wide variety of topics and event formats.
Throughout the year, no fewer than 70 events of various formats take place: lectures, expert meetings, round-table discussions, exhibitions and major festivals. The number of visitors runs into the thousands. That speaks volumes.
There is a very wide range of topics and speakers. TV BRICS’s technology enables us to broaden our scope and invite fascinating speakers from other countries.
Judging by the feedback, I can say that the response has been very positive, and the prospects for our collaboration are quite clear.
Educational video conferences are held at the media centre. One of them, organised for students from India, was devoted to the portrayal of winter in the works of Russian writers and poets. How do young people abroad respond to learning Russian these days?
Interest in the Russian language has grown. We can see this from all our external communications and from all the information we receive.
We launched an initiative to set up a project called the Russian Club of the Library for Foreign Literature, and in just one year it has brought together representatives from more than forty countries. Today, there are already over three hundred members.
The meetings vary greatly – both in format and in subject matter. We take participants to other venues: we organise excursions for them, invite them to take part in various competitions, and introduce them to our culture, traditions and symbols.
Thirteen per cent of our readers are foreign nationals, and naturally they also borrow literature in Russian.
Learning languages is, of course, very popular at the Library – and not just Russian. Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish are taught at the library, and there are language clubs based there. Which languages are in greatest demand today? What do you put this down to?
The library was founded in 1921, and as early as 1926 the first foreign language courses were launched. These courses led to the establishment of the first institute of foreign languages, which is now known as Moscow State Linguistic University.
In 2018, the Rudomino Academy was established – a specialised division dedicated to language programmes.
In addition, we have 34 language clubs. Two of them are bilingual. Several new languages have emerged that are attracting a great deal of interest. These are Chinese, Arabic, and Indonesian.
For example, we teach Chinese at various levels. Initially, the teaching is led by one of our own specialists, who learnt the language themselves and now teaches it. However, a native Chinese speaker also joins the programme at the next stage to lead more informal discussions and conversations to consolidate what has been learnt at that level. This is a two-stage approach. Plus, there are lectures in the languages and meetings with native speakers. We offer all of that as well. That’s why learning languages in this way is far more effective than self-study.
This year alone, within the library’s walls, we’ve discussed the structure of African myths, contemporary Chinese music, and figures well-known in various regions. When organising such events, do you usually cater to a discerning audience, or do you aim to attract new people to learning about these countries?
The programme of cultural events at the Library of Foreign Literature is very extensive. The audience is extremely diverse. Sixty-eight per cent of our visitors are young people: university staff and students from a wide range of disciplines, not just languages. These are, of course, young people who are already in work.
But, of course, there is also a discerning audience – those who come for challenging literature in the original language as well as for various kinds of lectures.
For example, on 4 July, the Library of Foreign Literature hosted a major festival called “Chamomile Saturday”, which we named in honour of the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity.
We showcased traditions surrounding celebrations, weddings and family dinners. The wedding theme in particular attracted a lot of attention. There was a large turnout.
There was a session dedicated to Kalmyk weddings. The hall was packed, and the audience was very diverse – which actually came as something of a surprise to us.
We presented the bridal ritual from India. The place was absolutely packed. Our colleagues told us that there was enormous interest: everyone wanted to understand the significance of the various elements in the ladies’ attire.
We’ll soon be holding a festival of Latin American countries, and we’ll definitely be staging a show of national costumes, which always generates tremendous interest.
And after events like these, I’m sure new participants become regulars.
Of course. Festivals are probably the most well-attended events, because they’re always interesting, vibrant, colourful and varied. A single festival features a variety of formats: academic events such as lectures, meetings with authors, fashion shows, music and film screenings. That’s why they cater to different interests and audiences and always attract large numbers of participants.
For example, last year the African Countries Festival drew over 3,000 visitors.
Marina Pavlovna, given that the Library of Foreign Literature currently holds millions of publications in more than 150 languages from around the world, could it bring together the cultural and knowledge centres of the BRICS nations to promote joint efforts to preserve the traditions and cultures of the BRICS peoples?
Each country can contribute something of its own. And anyone visiting this digital platform can see how family values are viewed in different countries. The theme can be unified, but each country still has its own very distinct characteristics.
Therefore, in my view, it is unrealistic and unnecessary to unify and create something in common. We must each represent ourselves and respect one another.
Every country has a completely unique identity. This is all the more true of the BRICS countries: they are very strong, self-sufficient and distinctive nations.
The rapid development of technology is one of the most important items on the BRICS agenda. What opportunities does the active implementation of innovations open up for libraries?
In my view, a library should reflect people’s expectations of what they see in any other public space, or indeed in the wider world around them. Technology is present, to a greater or lesser extent, everywhere. A library must possess all these capabilities.
We have 154 languages represented here. You can’t imagine having 154 staff members who would be fluent in all of them, can you? Of course not. Artificial intelligence certainly helps us with processing the literature, because it’s impossible to cover the entire process using human intelligence alone. That’s normal, but it’s hidden from the reader: all this cataloguing and organisation.
What matters to the reader is that they can access the catalogue and quickly find everything they need, whether by keyword or by author. And in that sense, artificial intelligence certainly helps us.
Marina Pavlovna, this year the library is celebrating its 105th anniversary. What is the main message, laid down by the founder Margarita Rudomino, that the library continues to uphold today?
MargaritaRudomino’smain tenet can, in my view, be put as follows: “The library should not merely be a repository of books in foreign languages but a vibrant centre of intercultural communication.”
Language is the key to understanding the world, which is why the aim was to study languages in order to better understand the world around us, around Russia. We strive to this day to follow these principles.
For example, we are a library of foreign literature, but we are also a library community. Very recently, on 3 July, we marked another birthday of Margarita Rudomino. She is the same age as the century itself – she turned 126.
We gathered to discuss her contribution: using language as a gateway to understanding world cultures.
For instance, Margarita Rudomino was the first person in the Soviet Union to secure the participation of a delegation of Soviet librarians in an international conference. We are continuing this work today: bringing colleagues together and taking groups of library staff to libraries abroad. MargaritaRudominoleft us a rich legacy, and we are, of course, striving to maintain the spirit of the Library of Foreign Literature and uphold its traditions. To be an open window onto the wider world.
Watch the full version of the interview here.
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