Russianspeaking Literature in the Works of Foreign Researchers. Why Is It Worth Talking about Russophonia? A Meeting with Dr. Nina Friess.

On September 18, 2026, the Department of Russian Philology and World Literature hosted an open lecture by Dr Nina Friess, a German scholar and researcher at the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin.

The lecture, entitled “Russianspeaking Literature in International Scholarship: Why Should We Talk about Russophonia?”, focused on approaches to Russian-language literature in international research and the concept of Russophonia. The lecture was followed by a discussion in which faculty members and students of the Department actively participated.

The event was organised by Dr Yuriy Serebriansky, specialist at the Department of Russian Philology and World Literature, together with third-year undergraduate students of the Russian Philology programme.

Dr Nina Friess is a researcher at the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin. She is also a co-founder of Russophone Voices, a project that explores contemporary trends in Russian-language literature worldwide and brings together authors, researchers, and readers.

Dr Friess’s visit was of particular significance to our university, as contemporary culture in Kazakhstan is among her research interests.