Organizing the celebration of Nowruz, springtime New Year’s festivities, has already become a good tradition at South Ural State University. Thanks to this event, we can become more closely acquainted with the ethnic groups of the SUSU students and staff members.
This holiday is celebrated by the Turkic and Persian peoples around the world on the spring equinox day. It symbolizes the awakening of nature, purification of the human soul, and building of good friendship. During this holiday, people let go of any grudges held, show kindness to each other and spend time with their families.
“On behalf of the Governor and the Government of the Chelyabinsk Region, I am happy to congratulate you on this wonderful holiday! Nowruz is a unique holiday that symbolizes the triumph of all the good over the challenges that we face,” addressed the audience Dmitrii Semenov, Head of the Public Relations Department at the Government of the Chelyabinsk Region. “The year of 2026 is the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. More than 190 peoples live in Russia, and we are all united by our traditional values. We are patriots and we love our Motherland and our families. We are all united by our centuries-long history, that has brought all our peoples together. And it feels especially good that namely SUSU, which is a true sanctuary of sciences and a pride of the South Ural region, to a great extent reminds some sort of the world in miniature, as it has gathered representatives of various nationalities.”
This event became a kind of a journey to visit representatives of our friendly ethnic groups. Through the traditions and rites, guests were introduced to the specific features of various cultures.
“Today, we are celebrating a holiday that is traditionally associated with spring, rejuvenation, something uplifting and nice. And I cherish the fact that in our multi-ethnic Russia, where more than 190 peoples live, we can always find a place for celebrations that are very important for these peoples. We especially estimate the fact that there are many students of our university, who make our culture richer and at the same time share our common values,” stressed Anastasiia Lapo, Vice-Rector for Student and Social Affairs.
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The festivities concert brought together representatives not only of SUSU, but also of other universities of Chelyabinsk, as well as members of creative teams. Each performance (song or dance) became a story about some authentic culture.
“It feels good that our university not only acts as a venue for hosting the Nowruz festivities, but has also gathered many friends of SUSU today. Our university has become home for students from 57 countries from around the world,” shared Liudmila Lapina, Head of the International Office.
Nowruz festivities at SUSU once again proved that the respect towards traditions and being open to dialogue help build friendly relations and strengthen the unity of peoples.
“Representatives of 152 nationalities and ethnic groups live in the Chelyabinsk Region today. This is also thanks to those students, who come to study at our universities from more than 60 countries from around the world. They create this international atmosphere and make our culture richer,” noted Khanakhmed Giulov, Chairman of the regional subdivision of the “Assembly of the Peoples of Russia” All-Russian Public-State Organization.
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Guests of the event could learn more about the cultures of the Turkic and Persian peoples in different aspects. The immersion became possible not only through dancing, singing and rites, but also through tasting the dishes of ethnic cuisines.