The Almanac of Contemporary Russian prose’ has recently been published in Turkey in the Turkish language. The long-term educational project initiated by St Petersburg University has already introduced the works of famous and new writers to the Chinese audience. It will soon be available for Iranian readers as well.

The Almanac consists of three main parts and presents an overview of Russian literature in the 2000s and 2010s. The first part – ‘Prose of Contemporary Russian Writers’ – includes works by Eugene Vodolazkin, Mikhail Elizarov, Alexander Snegirev, Pavel Krusanov, Vadim Leventhal and other famous authors. The second part – ‘The Prose of Young Writers’ – mostly features stories by already well-known, promising and established writers: Boris Miachin, Anton Ratnikov and Aleksandr Dorokhov. The third part – ‘Criticism and Essays’ – introduces current trends in Russian prose to foreign audiences. The final part provides brief information about the authors and translators.

The Almanac pursues the noble and enlightening mission of introducing to Turkish readers the most interesting trends in contemporary Russian prose in the best traditions of classical Russian literature.
Rector of St Petersburg University Nikolay Kropachev

‘The Almanac has been compiled by the leading Russian writers and literary critics, who are well known far beyond Russia,’ noted the Rector of St Petersburg University Nikolay Kropachev in the preface to the publication. ‘I truly hope that our cooperation with the Republic of Turkey and TOBB University of Economics and Technology, the renowned centre for training highly qualified specialists, will be lasting and fruitful and the number of readers of the Almanac and fans of Russian prose will increase.’

‘The Almanac of contemporary Russian prose’ has been published earlier in Chinese, and its translation into Persian is currently underway.

Director of the Nabokov Museum, Associate Professor of St Petersburg University, writer Andrei Astvatsaturov, together with the Director of the Centre for Contemporary Turkish Studies , Associate Professor of St Petersburg University Apollinariia Avrutina took part in the compilation. Professor Avrutina thinks that cultural projects, such as the Almanac, play an increasingly important role in relations between Russia and Turkey. ‘Over 6 million Russian tourists visit Turkey every year, which means that the demand for the Russian language is growing annually. Besides, there are currently more than a million Russian-Turkish families in Turkey, where people speak both languages and are familiar with both Turkish and Russian culture,’ said Apollinariia Avrutina. ‘The compulsory curriculum in Turkish secondary schools includes Russian classical literature; and all pupils know the works of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Chekhov very well. Modern Russian literature is translated regularly, but not all authors are currently represented. The Turkish reader expresses a deep interest in modern Russia. That is why I am sure that any Russian-Turkish educational project has a promising future".

The translation of the Almanac is a result of joint efforts between TOBB University of Economics and Technology and the Çeviribilim Publishing House of Istanbul.