On the Day of the Russian Language, June 6, international citizens from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, Iran, Indonesia, Zambia and other countries - students of the Pre-University Training Department of the Institute of International Cooperation of Penza State University - went on an excursion to the museum-reserve "Tarkhany ".

They went on a tour of the manor house, the people's hut, the house of the key keeper, visited the Arsenyev-Lermontov family necropolis with a chapel, where the ashes of not only Mikhail Lermontov, but also of his entire family are buried. The guests also visited the village church of Michael the Archangel.

On the stage of the "Green Theatre", which is located on the territory of the museum-reserve, the visitors performed the poet's poems. Poladov Dovlet from Turkmenistan read an excerpt from the poem "Borodino", Namalongo Ezekil from Zambia recited the poem "Sail".

“Pre-university training of international students occupies a special place in the educational process. Its goal is to prepare international citizens for studying in the Russian educational environment. Much attention is paid to the study of Russian as a foreign language and specialized disciplines in Russian. An important role is given to extracurricular activities aimed at getting acquainted with the national customs, traditions, life of Russia, assistance in adapting international citizens to a new linguistic and cultural environment. A trip to Tarkhany, which has already become traditional, allows the young people not only to get to know Russian culture better, but also helps them adapt to life in Russia,” commented Gleb Sintsov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs.

The participants of the trip came to Tarkhany for the first time. According to them, the Penza region never ceases to amaze with its beauty and grandeur.

“I really liked this place, because it is completely different from the feeling that the city evokes. There are no tall buildings here, only endless greenery that you can look at for a long time. It was my first time in a Russian-style museum: the carpets, frescoes, tables, chairs and crockery were new to me. All this is completely different from the style of decorating Chinese houses,” shared one of the students of the Pre-University Training Department from China, Liu Junchen.

He hopes that such trips will continue in the future:
“After the excursion we had free time and we had a great time. Students and teachers took pictures, sang together, read Lermontov's poems together. For me, visiting the museum was very new and interesting. I was able to see the beauty of nature up close, look at things in the Russian style and learn a lot about the life of the great Russian poet. I hope there will be more interesting events like this in the future.”

The visitors were amazed and delighted not only by Russian nature, but also by household items. Essid Sarah from Tunisia was very surprised that the word "sunduk" (chest) sounds the same in Russian and in her native language. Besides, it means the same thing.

“I liked the design of the estate. We saw a large bright lawn, many trees and a clear river. Lermontov's house is very beautiful, it was very interesting for me to hear the story of how the great poet lived,” Alshbul Rawaa from Jordan shared his impressions.