The 21st East Slavic Culture Day has successfully concluded. The event took place on April 22 at the University of Zielona Góra (UZ). As the organizers emphasize, this is a cyclical event that has successfully integrated the academic community for years while promoting the university within the broader public sphere. The event is open to anyone interested in East Slavic culture, attracting UZ students and faculty members, as well as high school students. This year, the university once again welcomed a group of pupils from the partnered Bolesław Prus High School No. 1 in Żary.
The event was officially opened by Assoc. Prof. Joanna Zawodniak, Director of the UZ Institute of Modern Languages, and Nel Bielniak, PhD, advisor to the UZ Student Research Circle of Russian Studies.
The opening was followed by a series of lectures. The first presentation, prepared by Russian Philology student Tomasz Mielczarek, focused on folk methods of weather forecasting, exploring short- and long-term predictions based on the observation of the sky, plants, and animal behavior. The next highlight of the program was a musical journey titled "In the Rhythm of the East Slavic Soul." Second-year Applied Linguistics students—Małgorzata Piotrowska, Bartłomiej Patelka, Mateusz Zdun, Jakub Adamek, and Małgorzata Bobrownik—performed a repertoire ranging from calm, classical pieces to the latest high-energy tracks. Their ensemble featured accordions, guitar, melodica, and percussion.
Another notable presentation was delivered by Marta Kędziora, a Russian Philology student. In her talk, titled "Between the Meme and Reality: How the World Sees Slavs and Why It Is Wrong," she discussed common stereotypes widespread in cinema and on the internet, their origins, and their impact on the perception of Slavic people. Following this presentation, the audience enjoyed another musical segment: a lecture by Mateusz Zdun, who introduced the profile and achievements of Lev Termen—a physicist, cellist, and inventor. The speaker focused specifically on the touchless theremin (termenvox), one of the world's first electronic musical instruments. The final speech was given by Małgorzata Bobrownik, whose presentation, "Russian Ballet in a Nutshell: The Art That Conquered the World," introduced the audience to the history of ballet from the 17th century to the first half of the 20th century.
This year's edition of the event concluded with a practical creative workshop. Participants had the opportunity to test their manual skills by crafting crepe paper flowers under the guidance of instructor Aida Aławerdian, an Applied Linguistics student.
The 21st East Slavic Culture Day at the University of Zielona Góra was organized by the UZ Student Research Circle of Russian Studies along with students of Russian Philology and Applied Linguistics.
