Representatives of the Chuvash diaspora met with students of KBSU
October 6, 2022, as part of the Year of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Russia at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H. M. Berbekov launched a large-scale project “It is easy to love all mankind, loving your neighbor is a challenge”, which is dedicated to getting to know the culture and traditions of the peoples inhabiting Kabardino-Balkaria. According to Svetlana Tyubeeva, a specialist of the Center for Balkar Culture of the KBSU, these lines from a poem by Kaisyn Kuliev best express the idea that formed the basis of the project:
«We will invite representatives of various diasporas living on the territory of the KBR, as well as foreign students, to talk about their people , traditions and customs. Because friendship with people of different nationalities gives us the necessary knowledge and invaluable experience, contributes to the emergence of a sense of respect for all people without exception. And benevolence and love for others make our life happy and exciting».
The first to visit the Center of Balkar Culture named after. K.S. Otarov KBSU, where internationalist students gathered in spirit, were representatives of the national cultural Chuvash center «Narspi»: its leader, public figure, retired lieutenant colonel Alena Chernova, head of the Chuvash diaspora Marina Ustinova, representative of the public movement «Hope of Russia» Lilia Kudaeva. The organizer and ideological inspirer Alena Chernova told about the history of the creation of the national-cultural Chuvash center in the KBR:
«The idea to unite the Chuvash living in Kabardino-Balkaria occurred to me, an ethnic Chuvash, during the last population census. At the Cultural Fund of the KBR named after V.H. Vorokov, 12 national cultural centers are already operating, uniting residents of the republic of different nationalities. I started looking for compatriots among the inhabitants of the republic and immediately found several people. We held an organizational meeting at which we decided to create the Narspi NCC, this is the name of the heroine of the Chuvash epic. By the way, according to the latest population census, 63 Chuvash live in Kabardino-Balkaria. And there are 1.5 million of us in the world».
Alena Chernova told the students about the history of the Chuvash people, customs, state symbols. Even today, her family honors Chuvash traditions, cooks traditional dishes, and keeps a national costume with embroidery.
«In the Chuvash language, each ornament means something. On napkins, headdresses — embroidery. This rune can be read: on traditional old dresses, you can find out by embroidery what kind, where a girl is from, rich or poor, her social status», — said Alena Chernova.
Marina Ustinova thanked the KBSU students for their interest in the culture of the Chuvash people.
«Now it is not easy for everyone, so we must respect and appreciate representatives of any nationality», — said the head of the Chuvash diaspora. At the end of the meeting, Lilia Kudaeva read her own poem written for the 100th anniversary of our multinational Kabardino-Balkaria, which is called “Kabardino-Balkaria — my native land”. The students thanked the guests for an interesting and informative dialogue.