Exchange and cooperation in translation and publishing of literature and history books between VNU-USSH and partners from the Russian Federation

Attending the meeting were Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Thanh Truong, Vice Principal, leaders of the Department of Cooperation and Development, Scientific Research Management, Head of the Faculty of Literature and many lecturers and students of the Faculty of Literature.
In his opening speech, Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Thanh Truong sent his warmest welcome to the Russian Writers Delegation for taking the time to visit the school, introduce and donate valuable literary works to the school library. This is truly a scientific activity, a precious opportunity for lecturers and students of the Faculty of Literature, especially the Department of Foreign Literature, to meet and talk with great authors of Russian literature. Vice President Dao Thanh Truong shared: The University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Faculty of Literature have a long history of formation and development, training many great writers, culturalists and politicians for the country. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the current Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Son, were students of the Faculty of Literature. In the training and research programs of the Faculty, we always have a special affection for Russia, Russian culture and literature. Currently, many lecturers and research experts of the University have studied in Russia. Over the years, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has had friendly, open and effective cooperation with many universities, educational institutions and research institutes of the Russian Federation. The visit of Russian writers today makes that relationship even more connected and closer.

Mr. Evgeny Reznichenko, Head of the Russian Federation Writers' Delegation, expressed his gratitude for the warm and friendly reception from the School's Board of Directors and expressed his admiration for visiting the School's Tradition Room. “We are very impressed with the long-standing historical tradition and the achievements you have made over the past 80 years, affirming your position as a training and research center on social sciences and humanities, not only the leading center in Vietnam but also highly prestigious in the region and internationally. The Faculty of Literature of the University has a long-standing tradition and has its own department of foreign literature research, including Russian literature, which makes us very happy. The task of the Translation Institute is to support the translation of Russian literature into the languages ​​of other countries. For this purpose, the Institute provides funding for foreign publishing. Therefore, we hope that through this meeting, we will not only introduce valuable books of Russian literature but also the two sides can carry out many cooperations in the fields of translation, publication, and publishing for students and lecturers of the University” – Mr. Evgeniy Reznichenko emphasized.
     
Within the framework of the meeting, the two authors, Mr. Afanasy Mamedov and Ms. Anna Esparsa, introduced to a large number of lecturers and students of the School two literary works: the novel“Steamship Babylon”and book“Secrets and Heroes of the Century. Unpublished Paris Archives”. Afanasy Mamedov is a writer, journalist, literary critic, member of the Moscow Writers' Union and the Russian PEN Center. He is the author of many famous books in Russia: the novels "Khazar Wind" (Khazarskiy Veter), "The Scarred Lady" (Frau Shram), "Roman Nobility: Novel Number One Hundred". The book "Steamer Babylon" (Parokhod Babelon) written in 2021 and in 2022 was shortlisted for the National Literary Award "Big Book". The novel "Steamer Babylon" is based on the true story of his own family, with memoirs recorded by family members living in Russia in the 1920s. Based on real historical details, he combined them with literary elements to make historical stories more attractive and closer to readers, especially young readers.
Anna Esparsa — a doctor of history and cultural studies. Graduated from the Faculty of History of Moscow State University, Anna Esparsa is the editor-in-chief and co-author of television documentary projects with Eduard Radzinsky, a historical consultant and author of ideas for major festivals and exhibitions in Moscow and internationally; author of many documentary projects and major historical books. During the meeting with lecturers and students of VNU-USSH, author Anna Esparsa shared an interesting story about the process of her access to the KOIIIKO family archives and the idea of ​​creating the book “Secrets and Heroes of the Century. Unpublished Parisian archives”. The first emotion was surprise at the precious archive of a family (who lived in Soviet Russia in the years after the October Revolution, then emigrated to France) but contained a lot of information about the history of a country and a people. That has inspired the author to want to publish so that he can introduce that valuable document to the Russian public and the world public. The book is truly like a precious historical documentary film so that the current young generation can understand more about Russia before World War II.

Speaking at the meeting, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Xuan Thach expressed his deep gratitude to the culturalists, historical researchers, and great Russian literary authors who visited and brought invaluable gifts to the Faculty of Literature and the University, which are cultural and literary gifts. These books will be valuable documents for Vietnamese readers, especially young readers, to have more valuable sources of information to better understand Russia in many historical periods. Head of the Faculty of Literature Pham Xuan Thach hopes that, not only stopping at introducing books, in the coming time, the Russian Federation Translation Institute and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will have more activities related to translation, supporting the publication of new literary works of Vietnam and the Russian Federation so that the public can better understand the history, culture, and literature of the two countries in contemporary and modern times.
Also during the meeting, delegates from both sides enthusiastically exchanged experiences in conveying true historical stories to the public in the most accessible way, especially to young audiences. Ms. Anna Esparsa, with her experience as a historical researcher but having participated in many major Russian film and publishing projects, shared: there should be forms such as dramatization, cinema, literary composition, etc. to convey historical content and stories in addition to the traditional way of writing history.  
Writer Afanasy Mamedov also shared more about how to combine the fictional nature of literature and the historical core to create literary works that are both authentic and still very vivid and attractive. Dr. of history Anna Esparza said that the work of writing “Secrets and Heroes of the Century. Unpublished Paris Archives” brought her to Vietnam, a place she really loves. Discussing the importance of historical memory, Anna gave the audience advice: “You need to be curious about life and realize that history is both memory, today and the future.”
At the end of the meeting, on behalf of the School Board, Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Thanh Truong once again thanked the Russian writers for visiting and donating books to the School, and for having very useful exchanges about Russian history and literature. In the coming time, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities hopes to continue receiving the attention and cooperation of the Translation Institute, the Moscow Writers' Association, as well as individual writers and researchers from the Russian Federation in training activities, student and lecturer exchanges, translation, and publishing.