20 November 2024... Students of the Linguistics and Translation Department at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tula State University will undoubtedly remember this day for a long time.

The students met with the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Artistic Director of the Moscow Musical Theatre, member of the Foundation Board of GITIS (Russian Institute of Theatre Arts), Doctor of Art History, Professor of the History of Foreign Theatre Department of GITIS, laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art, one of the founders of the TV channel “Culture”, host of the TV programmes “Cultural Revival” and “Shelter of Comedians”, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation from 2000 to 2004 – Mikhail Shvidkoy.

And it all started with the initiative of a caring and enthusiastic teacher of our university.

For several years the Linguistic and Country Studies Lecture Hall has been successfully operating at the Department of Linguistics and Translation. It is headed by candidate of philological sciences Sergey Aleksandrovich Pukhanov. It was he who invited Mikhail Yefimovich to visit the students of TulSU.

- Once I had an opportunity to hear Mikhail Shvydkoy's interview in the programme ‘My Hero’. That's when I learned that his master's thesis and doctoral dissertation were devoted to English theatre. This, of course, also impressed me, - Sergey Alexandrovich shares. - And two years ago, my students and I visited the State Institute of Art History. The lecture ‘Shakespeare - a man of theatre’ was read to our guys there by Alexey Vadimovich Bartoshevich, a leading researcher of the State Institute of Art History, Doctor of Art History, Professor, Head of the Department of History of Foreign Theatre at GITIS. During the conversation he mentioned Mikhail Yefimovich Shvydkoy, who was also a professor of the Department of History of Foreign Theatre at GITIS. That's when the idea was born to organise a creative meeting between Mikhail Yefimovich and our students.

Sergey Alexandrovich had already thoroughly taken up the organisational issues. At first, he thought of holding the meeting in Moscow, but luck came his way.

The final stage of the XXIII All-Russian Television Competition “TEFI-Region 2024” was taking place in Tula. Mikhail Shvydkoy took part in it as the President of the Academy of Russian Television. Although he had a very busy schedule, he found time to meet with the students of TulSU. 

- It was a wonderful hour and a half of dialogue with a bright, charismatic and yet very simple man. Mikhail Yefimovich has an amazing sense of humour! - says Sergey Alexandrovich. - He is a veritable treasure trove of knowledge and worldly wisdom! He is deeply immersed in literature, both foreign and domestic, theatre studies, and is well aware of other areas of culture. 

Mikhail Yefimovich Shvydkoy told the students why he was interested in English literature and English theatre, how he wrote his first articles, told them about his hobbies, spoke in detail about the traditions of English and American theatre. All the participants of the meeting noted the special warmth with which the guest spoke about his teachers and mentors.

Mikhail Yefimovich managed to make the students feel at ease. They asked him questions with pleasure. They were interested in his opinion on the importance of learning foreign languages, turning to Oriental languages and Oriental culture in the light of current events in the world. Together they discussed the peculiarities of translator training. 

Mikhail Yefimovich made the students understand that the art of translation is dynamic. It is constantly evolving, moving forward, responding to the spirit of the time and the translation of Shakespeare, which was made at the end of the 18th century, of course, is already outdated. In general, all subsequent translations are different from the previous ones. Shakespeare's works, according to Shvydkoy, will be translated forever. This is due to the fact that life does not stand still, and creativity must respond to all these changes. The most interesting thing is that, apart from England, Shakespeare is better known and his plays are staged more often in Russia.

Mikhail Yefimovich advised the students to constantly improve their professional skills, read a lot, and strive to be enthusiastic and searching people. Studying languages, he emphasised, is necessary not only to read foreign authors' works in the original, but also to communicate and successfully build your career trajectory. Language is a separate cultural world, and one should try to comprehend it.

Within the framework of the Linguo-country Studies lecture, students of the Linguistics and Translation Department together with Sergey Aleksandrovich Pukhanov once watched the play ‘Theatre’ by Somerset Maugham at the Yevgeniy Vakhtangov Theatre and the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde at the Mossovet Theatre. Everyone had a lot of impressions at that time!

That is why during the meeting the students asked Mikhail Yefimovich to recommend theatre productions based on the works of foreign authors. The guest promised to send the students his recommendations and invited them to visit him at the Moscow Musical Theatre.

- So new bright impressions are waiting for us ahead! - Sergey Aleksandrovich Pukhanov is confident about this.

Tatyana Krikunkova

Photos by Mikhail Gindin