Yerevan, 6 June 2011 – Today students, university professors, authorities, diplomats and journalists learned about the use of the Russian Language at the UN during the first ever observation of the Russian Language Day at the UN. The event was organized by the UN Department of Public Information (UN DPI) jointly with the Embassy of the Russian Federation, RosSotrudnichestvo and the NGO “Young Translators Union”. The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Armenia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, spoke about the use of the Russian language in the UN, Russian traditions and culture, and opportunities to study Russian in Armenia. UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Dafina Gercheva said: “Marking this day, United Nations together with its partners promotes cultural diversity and equal status of the six official languages of the world body. I hope that the celebrations will further expand the influence of Russian as a UN official language and more people will learn about its contribution to multilingualism at the UN.” "The Russian language was designated as one of the official languages of the United Nations from its very beginning. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world," said Kiyo Akasaka, Under Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information and Coordinator for Multilingualism at the UN. Ambassadors of the Embassies of the Republic of Belarus and Republic of Kazakhstan, representatives of RosSotrudnichestvo in Armenia as well as of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia were present at the Russian Language Day Celebration. Russian Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 6 June, the birthday of famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Students read poems written by this renowned Russian poet, made presentations on history and usages of the Russian language at the UN and performed Russian dances. In 2010, the United Nations Department of Public Information in New York has announced the launch of “Language Days at the United Nations”, a new initiative which seeks to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity. The UNDPI Yerevan Office marks all official languages of the UN throughout 2011. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish are the six official languages of the United Nations.

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