Between Verses and Continents: BelSU Celebrates Lusophone Writing at Friendship Centre

The gathering attracted international students from across Belgorod National Research University (BelSU), as well as learners tuning in from Russian language classes that BelSU has established at Agostinho Neto University in Angola and Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. Faculty members working on a Russian Ministry of Education and Science project to promote Russian language and culture in African countries were also present.

Opening the evening, Nikolai Tsybulya, Vice-Rector and Director of the Department of International Cooperation, highlighted the deep ties the university has cultivated with Lusophone countries.

“We have 68 students from Portuguese-speaking countries and partnership agreements with three universities in Angola, Brazil, and Mozambique. This naturally gives us reason to focus on Portuguese language and literature. I wish everyone a rewarding evening of reading and discussing Portuguese-language fiction," Tsybulya said.

The salon coincided with Portuguese Language and Culture Day, a celebration established by UNESCO in 2019 and observed worldwide since 2020. Domingos de Oliveira Manuel Cadete, Head of the Student Section at the Angolan Embassy in Russia, offered warm congratulations.

“Our countries share a long-standing friendship. It is wonderful that BelSU not only promotes Russian in Angola by opening a class in Luanda but also devotes such attention to the Portuguese language within its own walls,” he remarked.

Cunha Ana Jandira Parreira Da then delivered a bilingual message from His Excellency Augusto da Silva Cunha, Angola's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia. The Angolan Embassy further enriched the occasion by donating a collection of books by Angolan authors – in both Portuguese and Russian – to the university’s Nikolay Strakhov Library.

The evening was steered by two moderators: Olga Lyutova, Director of the International Information Center and Associate Professor, and Rafael Ribeiro Sanches, a Brazilian specialist in Portuguese language and literature at the same centre. Together, they guided the audience toward two literary milestones approaching in 2026: the 45th anniversary of the Russian publication of Agostinho Neto’s poetry collection Sacred Hope, and the 70th anniversary of João Guimarães Rosa’s modernist novel The Devil to Pay in the Backlands.

The programme unfolded through readings from the canons of Portuguese, Angolan, and Brazilian literature. Then the floor opened to emerging voices. Students Kilonda Fernando Félix Costa and Francisco Zagi, alongside Rafael Ribeiro Sanches himself, shared original poetry and prose, lending the salon an intimate, creative atmosphere.