University delegation visits Mongolia – Kazan Federal University

The team was headed by First Vice-Rector Dmitry Tayursky on 28 – 29 July.

A cooperationg agreement was signed with Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Among the employees present at the meeting alongside Academy President Duger Regdel were representatives of MAS’s Institute of Physics and Technology, Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Institute of History and Ethnology, Institute of International Research, and others. Director of KFU’s Institute of International Relations Ramil Khayrutdinov and Director of the Institute of Archeology (Tatarstan Academy of Sciences) Ayrat Sitdikov spoke about their new projects.

Vice-Rector Tayursky also visited the National University of Mongolia and met with Executive Vice-President Baatarbileg Nachin. Talks were held about academic mobility, publications, and Mongolian language studies at KFU – the latter are revived this year after a very long absence. Dr Tayursky invited the Mongolian colleagues to partake in KFU’s Kovalevsky Readings (an Asian and African studies conference) in 2023 and the University’s 220th anniversary celebrations in 2024. Humanities and social sciences collaborations were discussed with with Dean of NUM’s School of Science and Arts Zauabaatar Dalai.

The delegation then proceeded to Russia’s embassy in Ulaanbaatar and talked to Acting Attaché for Culture and Education Tatiana Siatchikhina and Head of Rossotrudnichestvo in Mongolia Valeria Kilpiakova. The sides touched on educational expos and student recruitment in Mongolia. Interested young people and local academics attended the meeting.

Finally, the Kazanites stopped at the Ministry of Education and Science and met with Lkhangvyn Tsedevsuren, who is in charge of international projects and Mongolian language promotion in the world. As a result, everyone agreed that a specialized center for Mongolian studies should be established at KFU.

Mr Khayrutdinov and Mr Sitdikov then proceeded to Bulgan Aimag (province), where a Tatarstani expedition works on archeological studies of Biy Balyk settlement, a northern capital of Uygur Khaganate in 7th – 8th centuries. The unique project, initiated by the Republic of Tatarstan as part of ethnic studies of Tatar people in 2018, was put on hiatus during the COVID pandemic but can now be continued.

Notably, this year marks the 190th anniversary of Mongolian studies in Russia, first introduced by Imperial Kazan University during Nikolai Lobachevsky‘s rectorship.