Russian language – a guide to culture. A unique Russian language textbook “Cassatura” for foreigners has been developed in Russia

As the great Russian thinker Nikolai Danilevsky once wrote, the features of a national character are expressed through language, mythology, faith, traditions, everyday life, and creative works – in art, science, and law. For a more successful attempt to understand the Russian soul, it is important for a foreigner to have at least a basic understanding of the Russian language. Then, Russian art and our culture will become clearer.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin, during a recent meeting with the finalists of the “Teacher of the Year” contest, formulated Russia’s request for the promotion of the Russian language among citizens of other countries: “We are interested in ensuring that people who come to us are prepared to live in the Russian Federation, to know the Russian language, and to understand the significance of our traditions and the culture of the peoples of the Russian Federation.”

A simple and understandable Russian language textbook “Cassatura”

For six months now, a practical Russian language textbook has been in development in Moscow for countries whose citizens, despite official bans and the cancellation of everything Russian, follow our country’s actions with great interest, hoping to share with us a new world order. The language project is called “Cassatura,” a name that the creators have imbued with remarkable symbolism. Firstly, Kosotur is a unique natural landmark located in the birthplace of bulat steel, in the heart of the Ural Mountains, in the city of Zlatoust. Secondly, “cassatura” in Italian means “crossing out” or “erasing.”

Thus, the “Cassatura” project restores the slandered and distorted Russian culture to all willing citizens, regardless of where they live. The textbook itself will be in electronic form, as a small PDF file that can be freely downloaded from the website of the socio-political magazine “Fifth Service.” The first six languages for which the textbook will be created are: Italian, French, English, Croatian, Hungarian, and Slovak.
Why were these languages chosen for now? The reasons are obvious. Citizens of Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia are rare representatives of the European Union who are still genuinely interested in truthful information about Russia, Russian culture, art, and cinema. These are the few Western countries that have not succumbed to total Russophobia and do not see our country as an enemy. In these countries, there is a great demand for learning the Russian language. It is with these countries that Russia will build friendly relations after the collapse of the West.
As for French and English, these are languages spoken by the people of African states with whom Russia is also building long-term mutually beneficial cooperation.

Former Benin ambassador to Russia Anicet Gabriel Kochofa said the following about why it is necessary to learn Russian: “The Russian language gave me a path in life, and I am happy to communicate in the language of Pushkin, Lermontov, and Dostoevsky without a translator. There are more than a million graduates of Russian and Soviet universities worldwide who speak Russian, and they care about the fate of this language.”

The initiator of the “Cassatura” Russian language learning project, founder and vice president of the CSKA Foundation, Alexander Kravtsov: “For me, as a lawyer and public figure, the Russian language is a road to the mystery of the Russian soul. Two main features of our soul are truth and justice. I am sure that among both African citizens and Europeans, there are many people who, like our Russian people, strive for truth and justice. This means we are on the same path. And our path is the Russian language!”

The project’s executor, director of the Dante Italian Language and Culture Center, Anna Rusinova: “I immediately took to this idea. My very close friends from Verona, Italy, who opened a DPR representation in their city a few years ago, either speak Russian well or dream of learning it to understand Dostoevsky and Vampilov, to speak with Donetsk children, and so that their interviews with Russian media don’t need translation. Our project is about bringing like-minded people together. I would also say it’s about uniting those who feel the same in their hearts.”

The project was presented at the Forum of Multipolarity and the Congress of the “International Russophiles Movement” in February of this year. One of the participants of the Italian delegation, a representative of the Italian public who nominated a resident of Gorlovka, Anna Tuf, for the Nobel Peace Prize and opened a DPR representation in Verona, Palmarino Zoccatelli, President of the “Veneto – Russia” association, emphasized the importance of such textbooks for bringing nations closer: “The idea is very beautiful! Projects like these are undoubtedly useful. They help bring the Russian world closer even to those who do not yet know it but want to discover it. These projects help learn the Russian language, which is difficult for us. I started learning it a long time ago, and I am still studying it. My Russian is gradually improving. Moreover, if this project helps introduce people, through the language, to the Russian values that Russia is defending today (spiritual, Christian, traditional), we will be even happier.”

The uniqueness of the “Cassatura” textbook lies in the fact that practical dialogues encode the Russian people’s attitude toward family, culture, unique nature, the greatness of our world’s largest country, friendship, and human relations. The illustrations for the textbook are generated by an AI.

Here’s a small example:
– What’s your’s son name?
– His name is Miron.
– A beautiful Russian name! And do you have a large family?
– This child is the fifth.
– Wow! What a big family!
– My friend, who lives in Belgorod, has 9 children. He says that a large family is great happiness and support. And they always have fun together. Especially on holidays.
– That’s true – that’s nine birthdays a year!
– Exactly.

Anyone of any age can learn using the “Cassatura” textbook. The key is the desire and interest. For those especially interested, the creators suggest recording and submitting a short selfie video about why they want to understand Russian. The videos will be posted on our platform.

As political philosopher Dmitry Vidrin wrote, the Russian language possesses colossal unifying power. It has already joined a constellation of new regions to Russia, primarily in a spiritual sense, and this is just the beginning of Future History!