
Students and teachers from various departments visited and enjoyed the photography exhibition. At the discussion programme, Dr Binoy Barman delivered the welcome speech and Alexander P. Demin, head of the Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Dhaka shared some ideas and experiences about the significance of the event.
Ekhakova Irina, senior professor, Tula State Teachers Training University, Russia gave a significant and informative speech about the great painter and poet Mikhail Lermontov. After the speech, a number of his students recited some poems of the legendary poet at the venue. Some poems were translated in Bengali, which was recited by a number of students and guests.
The speakers asserted that Lermontov was a Russian romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest figure in Russian Romanticism. His influence on later Russian literature is still felt in modern times, not only through his poetry, but also through his prose, which founded the tradition of the Russian psychological novel.
Lermontov had started to write some poetry while in school, taking Pushkin for his inspiration. Then in 1837 Pushkin died in a duel. Lermontov was shattered and penned "Smert' Poeta" (Death of a Poet) in which he vowed that Russia must take vengeance on Pushkin's assassin--something which the government refused to do. Lermontov also challenged the imperial court for complicity in Pushkin's death. The poem brought Lermontov fame as it was copied and passed from hand to hand through the small circles of enlightened Russia of the 1830s.
At the programme, an enthusiastic presentation on Russian language was conducted by Cherenkova Belita, senior professor of Tula State Teachers Training University, Russia. She emphasised on the foreign language learning in a short term process through the internet. Professor Dr. Md. Fokhray Hossain, director of International Affairs, DIU delivered his speech at the concluding day of the programme.