Two victories at once were brought by students of the Institute of International Cooperation from the festival "Russian Student Spring": this is the first time in the history of the Institute, the University and the region. Among the students who defended the honor of the Penza region and Penza State University are Saakanush Muradyan from Armenia and the vocal ensemble of the Institute of International Cooperation: Abhiraj Shedge, Shlok Kshirsagar, Ketul Patel, Tejas Darji, Tej Patil (supervised by Maria Melnikova).

The participants of the Festival presented at least 1500 competitive works in 54 nominations in 10 directions to be evaluated by the expert council. The expert council included more than 80 jury members, authoritative figures of art and culture of the Russian Federation. PSU international students fought for the victory in the vocal direction.

The All-Russian Festival "Russian Student Spring" is the largest student creative festival in Russia. This is the flagship project of the Programme for the Support and Development of Student Creativity "Russian Student Spring". The festival was held in Perm from May 26 to June 1, 2023 as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Perm and the birthday of the Russian Youth Union and became one of the most massive youth competition events in Russia for university students.

The large-scale Opening Ceremony of the Festival took place on May 26 on the esplanade in front of the Perm Academic Theater. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a greeting to the participants, organizers and guests of the XXXI All-Russian Festival “Russian Student Spring”: “It is gratifying that this festival is hosted by Perm, which is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year. I am sure that each of you will find something to your liking, demonstrate their talents in choreography and acting, music and journalism, and in other categories. And most importantly, you can significantly expand your social circle, feel a part of a large, friendly student family. And, of course, in the Year of the Teacher and Mentor, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the leaders of the teams and youth delegations who support their students and help them achieve their goals. I wish you bright, unforgettable impressions and spring mood.”

On May 28, students of the Institute of International Cooperation took the stage to demonstrate their talents to a professional expert council, which included: Slava Kiladze, vocal coach, musician, expert of the Academy of Sound; Viktor Abramov, world beatbox champion, 8-time Russian beatbox champion, winner of Vakhtang, a prestigious music award, CEO of VK Records; Elena Tsoy, soloist of Oleg Lundstrem’s Ensemble of Soloists, teacher of pop-jazz vocals at Dunayevsky Music School, member of the Union of Phoniators of Russia; Nadezhda Krygina, singer, artist of the RAAVA MUSIC MONA music label, Soviet and Russian singer, performer of Russian folk songs, People's Artist of the Russian Federation; Svetlana Krinitskaya, Honored Artist of Russia, leading soloist of the Moscow Operetta Theater, Professor of the Department of Academic Singing at Moscow State University, Associate Professor of the Department of Academic Singing of Moscow State Institute of Cinematography.

Saakanush Muradyan sang the song “Girl on fire”: “It is unusual for me: I am used to performing lyrical compositions. But this year I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new. The song is different from my previous ones in meaning as well. It tells about a girl who is not stopped by life's difficulties and upheavals. She takes responsibility and creates her own path to succeed!”

The vocal ensemble of the Institute of International Cooperation presented the composition “Vande Mataram” to the jury: “The song, which became the national song of India, was written in Sanskrit and is translated into Russian as “I praise you, Motherland”. This song was not chosen by chance - since it was our debut in the student spring, we thought that there is nothing better than our national song, as it will reflect our culture and our identity. We passed every note, every phrase through ourselves, so the composition turned out to be not only beautiful vocally, but also emotional.” The award ceremony took place on May 31 on the esplanade in front of the Perm Academic Theatre. According to the results of competitive viewings, PSU international students were recognized as one of the best in Russia. In the category "Pop singing. Small compositions” the vocal ensemble of the Institute of International Cooperation became a second-degree laureate. “This was our first experience of participating in the Russian Student Spring, and in the Student Spring in general. We want to express our gratitude to our teacher Maria Melnikova, who inspired us, took care of us and was not just a leader, but a friend. And special thanks to the Chevalier Group and personally to Dr. Yuvraaj Solanki for supporting us!”, students from India shared their impressions.

In the nomination "Pop singing. Solo” the title of a third-degree laureate was given to Saakanush Muradyan: “I could not believe that I was noticed among so many incredibly talented young people! This is one of our first major victories. And there are many more to come! There were tears in my eyes, but they were tears of happiness!”

We congratulate the students of the Institute of International Cooperation on their victory and wish them to reach new heights!