The current status and development prospects of Confucius institutes in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine

LI Menglong, SUN Yue. The Current Status and development prospects of Confucius Institutes in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine // Вестник Бурятского государственного университета. Гуманитарные исследования Внутренней Азии. 2020. Вып. 2. С. 25‒36.

Confucius Institutes are non-profit educational institutions jointly established by China and foreign countries. The purpose of establishing Confucius Institutes around the world is to adapt to the needs of people from all over the world for Chinese language learning, to enhance the understanding of Chinese language and culture among people all over the world, to know each other, to respect each other, to learn from each other, to strengthen each other and to strengthen China and China in cultural communication and exchanges. Education and cultural exchanges and cooperation in various countries of the world, developing friendly relations between China and foreign countries, promoting the development of multiculturalism in the world, and building a harmonious world. Confucius institutes around the world carry out Chinese language teaching and exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, and other fields. The services provided include: teaching Chinese; training Chinese teachers, providing Chinese teaching resources; conducting Chinese exams and Chinese teacher qualification certification; providing information on Chinese education and culture; and conducting Chinese and foreign language and cultural exchange activities. Confucius institutes around the world have made full use of their advantages to carrying out a large number of colorful teaching and cultural activities, and have gradually formed their distinctive modes of running schools, becoming an important place for countries to learn Chinese language and culture and understand contemporary China, which has been warmly welcomed by local communities.

With the continuous improvement of China's international status and the increasingly close international exchanges, the demand for Chinese language teaching in various countries in the world is growing rapidly. "Chinese fever" has transcended the language domain and has become a "global phenomenon" integrating economy and culture. It is to cater for the trend of "Chinese language craze" in the world, and at the same time, relying on teachers selected by Chinese universities and Hanban to actively provide all kinds of required teaching resources, Confucius institutes have entered a rapid development stage since they were launched in 2004.

• 1    current situation of Confucius institutes in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine

  Hanban has set up 541 Confucius Institutes and 1,170 Confucius classrooms in 162 countries and regions around the world 1 . In 2006, the Confucius Institute at The Far East National University was formally established, becoming the first Confucius Institute in Russia to operate officially 2 . In Russia, Belarus and Ukarine, there are now 31 Confucius Institutes and 7 Confucius Classrooms:

Confucius Institutes	Chinese Institutions	Founding time
Confucius Institute at Saint-Petersburg State University	Capital Normal University	2006/11/10
Confucius Institute at Far Eastern National University	Heilongjiang University	2006/12/21
Confucius Institute at Irkutsk State University	Liaoning University	2006/12/22
Confucius Institute at Russian State University for the Humanities	University of International Business and Economics	2006/12/26
Confucius Institute at Novosibirsk State University of Technology	Dalian University of Foreign Languages	2007/04/08
Confucius Institute at Kazan State University	Hunan Normal University	2007/04/24
Confucius Institute at Blagoveshchensk National Pedagogical University	Heihe University	2007/05/15
Confucius Institute at Buryat State University	Changchun University of Science and technology	2007/07/06
Confucius Institute at Moscow State University	Beijing University	2007/09/06
Confucius Institute at The Kalmyk State University	Inner Mongolia University	2007/11/22

Confucius Institute at Ural Federal University	Guangdong University of Foreign Studies	2007/12/28
Confucius Institute at Tomsk State University	Shenyang Ligong University	2007/11/29
Confucius Institute at Novosibirsk State University	Xinjiang University	2008/07/18
Confucius Institute at Moscow State Linguistic University	Beijing Foreign Studies University	2010/03/23
Confucius Institute at Ryazan State University	Changchun University	2010/03/23
Confucius Institute at Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University	Sichuan Foreign Studies University	2010/05/05
Confucius Institute at Volgograd State Pedagogical University	Tianjin Foreign Studies University	2010/06/22
Confucius Institute at Amur State University of Humanities and Pedagogy	Harbin Normal University	2010/10/23
Confucius Institute at Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University of V.P. Astafyev	Inner Mongolia Normal University	2019/04/02
Republican Confucius Institute of Sinology at Belarusian State University	Dalian University of Technology	2006/07/05
Confucius Institute at Minsk State Linguistic University	Southeast University	2011/9/19
Science and Technology Confucius Institute at Belarusian National Technical University	Northeastern University	2013/12/06
Confucius Institute at Francisk Skorina Gomel State University	Nanjing University of Science and Technology	2017/03/02
Confucius Institute at Brest State named after A.S. Pushkin University	Anhui University	2019/05/24
Confucius Institute at Belarusian State University of Physical Culture	Lingnan Normal University	2019/12/10
Confucius Institute at Luhansk National Pedagogical University	Zhejiang Normal University	2006/10/20
Confucius Institute at South Uranian National Pedagogical University	Harbin        Engineering University	2011/09/28
Confucius Institute at National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv	Jilin University	2007/11/22
Confucius Institute at Kharkiv State University	Anhui University	2008/05/16
Confucius Institute at Kiev State Linguistic University	Tianjin Foreign Studies University	2013/05/20
Confucius Institute at Vinnytsia National Technical University	Lan Zhou Universitu of Technology	2019/10/24

Confucius Classrooms	Chinese Institutions	Founding time
Confucius Classroom at Novosibirsk State University	Xinjiang University	2008/09
Radio Confucius Classroom at RSVPU	China Radio International	2007/03/23
Confucius Classroom at Moscow 1948 Middle School	Shanghai Foreign Language School	2010/11/26
Confucius Classroom at Perm No.2 Gymnasia	Qingdao No.2 Middle School	2014/03/31
Secondary School No.44 Vitebsk	Beijing No.80 High School	2018/04/20
Confucius Classroom at Za-porizhazhya National University, Ukraine	Anhui Normal University	2017/08/29
Confucius Classroom at Ukrainian National Tckaikovsky Academy of Music	Central Conservatory of Music	2019/06/10

The established Confucius institutes and classrooms cover all the regions of the Russian federation. Although they share the same purpose and mission as Confucius institutes in other parts of the world, the specific situations and problems faced by Russian Confucius institutes in the construction and development are different from those in other countries and regions 1 .

Compared with other European countries, the development of Confucius institutes has obvious particularity in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Among them, the most obvious difference is: in Russia, although the Chinese language education is developing rapidly, it is still far from forming a climate. In other western European countries, for example, there are 29 Confucius Institutes and 148 Confucius Classrooms in the UK alone. There are a large number of Chinese and overseas Chinese in the UK. Chinese language education has gone through a lot of ups and downs. During the political "honeymoon" period between China and the Soviet Union in the 1950s, sino-soviet relations were unprecedented friendly and the two countries had many exchanges. A large number of Chinese students went to study in the Soviet Union, and most of them returned home after completing their studies, becoming an important force in the national construction of new China. A few Chinese who stayed in the Soviet Union due to their marriage and marriage relationship later due to the bad relations between China and the Soviet Union, most of their next-generation were completely Russian, only a few people could understand or speak some Chinese, but almost all could not read and write Chinese characters; A large number of Chinese came to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but most of them mainly for business and money, and have no plans to live in Russia for long. Therefore, the Confucius institutes in Russia can hardly rely on the power of Chinese groups and organizations, and Chinese teaching is not like other countries with a large number of students from overseas Chinese. In recent years, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and China have achieved fruitful cooperation in the field of education. According to the statistics of the national department of higher education and youth policy of the ministry of science and education of the Russian Federation, the total number of students from both sides has been increasing year by year, reaching nearly 85,000. More than 35,000 Chinese students are studying in Russia.

In 2017, a total of 3,166 Chinese students studying in Russia were enrolled in government-funded overseas study programs (excluding self-funded students), including 1,568 language students and 548 doctoral students. So far in 2018, a total of 1,508 Chinese students have studied in Russia in various state-sponsored programs (excluding self-funded students), including 557 language students and 428 doctoral students 1 . In the 2016–2017 academic year, 16,371 Chinese students studied in Russian universities for undergraduate and master's degrees. Compared with other big European countries, Confucius institutes are lacking such potential and huge driving force in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. However, the construction and development of Confucius institutes also have their advantages in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

In recent years, the number of Chinese learners has steadily increased in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. These learners fall into two broad categories.

One is students who study through high schools, universities, and several schools for overseas Chinese. According to statistics from the ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation, about 5,000 Russians studied Chinese in Russia in 1997, and 17,000 in 2007. In 2015, 58 universities and graduate schools have Chinese language courses, and more than 150 universities have Chinese language courses in the second foreign language 2 . In October 2015, Russia's first in the national unified examination (Е Г Э) option to add Chinese foreign language exam course examination, 16 from Russia the main body of some 3000 middle school students in grade eight to eleven in the unified state examination of foreign language exam course selection in the Chinese exam. At the beginning of 2016, the ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation officially announced that from 2016, the unified national examination of Russia will officially include Chinese as a foreign language examination subject in regions where Chinese learning is popular (such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and some regions in the far east). The number of people learning Chinese reached 56,000 in 2017. According to statistics, 39% of Chinese learners study in universities. Besides, 31 percent of students study in primary and secondary schools, 25 percent in language classes, and 5 percent in Confucius institutes in China. In the 2018–2019, 289 students from 43 regions of China and Russia registered for the first Russian national unified examination of Chinese subjects. Chinese is the fifth foreign language subject to be tested in Russian secondary schools, after English, German, French, and Spanish 3 .

The other type of learner is business people who have already taken part in work, mainly through folk Chinese schools, Chinese training classes of some universities, and TV and radio learning. In recent years, new forms of online learning have been added.

These learners have a wide range of motivations for learning Chinese. There are two main reasons for this.

First, academic needs. In recent years, Sino-Russian bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields have been developing steadily. Young people have more opportunities to contact each other and learn from each other. The maintenance and deepening of friendly relations between the two countries are very popular in many Russian universities. The choice of foreign languages has become more and more popular among Russian college students. At the same time, due to the continuous cooperation between the Russian Ministry of Education and the Chinese Ministry of Education in the field of public exchanges, and the increasing exchanges between universities in the two countries, it is easier for Russian students who choose to study in China to choose the best according to their requirements and the situation of the school board.

Second, professional needs, including employment considerations and career development needs. Since China's reform and opening up in 1978, China's GDP has maintained rapid development. With the continuous enhancement of its comprehensive national strength and the in-depth development of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, especially the "The People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation" signed by the two heads of state in 2014. As mentioned in the Joint Statement on the New Stage of Comprehensive Strategic Collaboration Partnership, the establishment of a comprehensive energy cooperation partnership between China and Russia will further deepen the cooperation in the oil field; improve the efficiency of cooperation in high-tech fields, and carry out the peaceful use of nuclear energy, civil aviation, and aerospace basic technologies. Cooperation in research, space-to-Earth observation, satellite navigation, deep space exploration, and manned spaceflight; optimization of bilateral trade structure, an increase of mutual investment, expansion of Sino-Russian local currency direct settlement scale, and other large-scale cooperation projects, China is Russia The largest trading partner, Russia is China's ninth-largest trading partner, and all kinds of products made in China can be seen in Moscow's shopping malls. The ever-developing trade exchanges between China and Russia will require more and more talents who understand Chinese language and culture and can bridge the economic exchanges between China and Russia. Then, as an important business language, Chinese is bound to bring more employment opportunities and business opportunities to learners, and its practical value and potential value will naturally increase. Many college students choose Chinese, which is to take into account that the Chinese are helpful for employment. Chinese and Chinese have become popular choices among large companies with opportunities for staff to learn foreign languages and even study abroad.

• 2    the challenges of the Russian Confucius Institute

• 2.1    Confucius Institute is regarded as a cultural invasion of China.

• 2.2    Lack of Chinese language teachers in local universities in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine

• 2.3    Russia's strict control of textbooks

• 2.4    Chinese education is facing a huge dilemma when it reaches the middle school stage

  Since September 2007, the Confucius Institute of The National University of New Sibolia has opened 6 Chinese teaching centers in Novakuzhnesk, Barnaul, Kemerovo, and Novosibirsk, to change the situation that Chinese teaching is disconnected from reality. However, under the restriction of the current education laws and regulations of Russia, the Chinese teaching has not been included in the teaching syllabus of primary and secondary schools, resulting in the complete Chinese teaching system from primary to senior level has not been formed, which makes the Confucius Institute unable to find an appropriate position in the chain of primary, middle and high Chinese teaching and play its due role [2]. In 2019, the Chinese became the fifth foreign language subject in the Russian national secondary school after English, German, French, and Spanish. Compared with other foreign language subjects, the proportion of Chinese in Russian secondary education is very weak, facing a series of problems and difficulties. Russian middle school Chinese teachers are in short supply, but the major universities in Russia have not yet developed a unified teacher training program for this position and a Chinese language teaching syllabus for secondary schools.

In recent years, the Confucius Institute has flourished, and the attention and recognition of the society have become higher and higher in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. However, with the expansion of scale and the deepening of contact with the society, the Confucius Institute will inevitably face some problems and challenges in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In a sense, they are "growing pains" and the Confucius Institute in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine needs to be further developed. Although the voice of individual doubts does not affect the overall situation, it does attract our attention.

Chinese teaching and international promotion have always been a good thing for cross-cultural communication. However, with the rapid development of contemporary China in the economic field, China has become the second-largest economy in the world. The extreme views of the "China threat theory" are also common. In the foreign media newspapers, in the context of today's need to build a harmonious world, the promotion of Chinese also needs to maintain appropriate scales, otherwise, it is easy to be mistaken for cultural expansion or aggression.

The Russian high-level officials have noticed the rapid development of the Confucius Institute in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In 2012, the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Humanities Cooperation Agency proposed the principle of reciprocity, that is, the number of Confucius Institutes held by the Hanban in Russia and the Russian Center of the Russian World Foundation 1 in China should be the same. (Russian World Foundation has established a Russian language center at Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shaanxi Normal University, Jilin University, Dalian Foreign Languages College, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Macau University, Shanghai International Studies University, and many other Chinese universities). In 2010, the Russian Conservatory of Yakutsk was closed by the Federal Security Agency. The Russian security department suspected that china has other purposes such as stimulating the penetration of Chinese ideology and economic expansion in Russia and threatening Russia's national security by setting Confucius institute in Yakutsk, where it is close to the polar circle. (Yakutsk is the coldest city in the world, with an average temperature of minus 34 degrees Celsius in winter) [1]. In July 2012, the Russian Federal Prosecutor’s Office inspected Confucius Institutes at seven universities at the same time and put forward rectification opinions on the qualifications of teachers sent by China, the specific scope of cultural activities, and the contents of cooperation agreements signed by Chinese and Russian partner universities. In 2015, the Procuratorate of Blagoveshchensk, Russia, called the Confucius Institute at the National Normal University of Blagoveshchensk. It was not registered as a non-profit organization and did not have a legal basis for hiring foreign teachers to engage in teaching activities. Therefore, the procuratorate applied to the court to stop all activities of the Confucius Institute in China 2 .

Among the nearly two hundred Russian universities offering Chinese courses, the vast majority of colleges and universities open Chinese as a second foreign language. The reason for this is mainly because there are not enough Chinese teachers in colleges and universities. Therefore, it is especially important to increase the training and training of Russian native Chinese teachers. Teachers play a leading role in the process of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The quality and level of teaching are directly related to the quality of teaching and the success or failure of the teaching process.

Scientifically applicable textbooks are the key to Chinese language promotion. In recent years, Hanban has invested a lot of manpower and resources in the preparation of Chinese textbooks such as New starting point Chinese, new target Chinese as a foreign language. However, the Russian Federation's education authorities have strict regulations on the use of school textbooks. So far, the Russian-sponsored textbooks have been still in the process of approval.

• 3    Countermeasures for the development of the Confucius Institute in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine

  • 3.1 Confucius Institute in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine needs to increase trust and dispel doubts

• 3.2 Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian native Chinese teachers should be actively trained

• 3.3 The Chinese textbook of Hanban should be promoted to enter the textbook list of the Russian Federation Ministry of Education and Science

• 3.4 The Systematization of Chinese Teaching should be expanded

  On September 27, 2013, the first Chinese Bridge All-Russian Middle School Chinese Contest was held in Moscow. The competition attracted nearly 100 middle school students from all over Russia. The winners after the competition won the undergraduate scholarships from Hanban and the short-term training in China according to the different places. After the annual All-Russian Chinese Student Contest, this event has produced great social benefits and influence in Russia. Compared with adults, if middle school students who are in adolescence can get support from the Chinese government scholarship for a short period. They will get a deeper experience in Chinese culture, be more profoundly aware of the profoundness of Chinese culture, and help them choose the professions and occupations related to China in the future. This will be more conducive to friendly exchanges between Chinese and Russian youth. At the same time, the small partners who choose to learn Chinese have the opportunity to obtain scholarships to go to China, which will have a huge guiding and demonstrative role for other children of the same age.

Each year, the Faculty of the Confucius Institute Headquarters will send an expert group to hold a training meeting to provide a comprehensive and detailed explanation of the local Chinese language teachers in the Chinese comprehensive course teaching method (including language teaching, grammar teaching, vocabulary teaching, teaching case preparation, etc.), practical class teaching, and Chinese cultural communication class teaching (Chinese dance, song, handicraft production, etc.). In addition to training Chinese teachers, the expert group will also visit Confucius Institutes at several universities to provide more Russian native Chinese teachers with more knowledge in teaching methods in the form of open classes. At the same time, the Confucius Institute Headquarters also provided support to textbooks and teachers through the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in Russia on Russian universities that need to offer Chinese and Chinese culture. They also actively assisted Russian Chinese teachers to study in China and assisted the outstanding Russian doctors to apply for the Confucius Institute Chinese International Education Scholarship to go to China for further study. The Federation of Chinese Language Teachers of the Commonwealth of the Independent States and the SCO was established during the International Conference on Chinese Language Teaching Law of the Commonwealth of the Independent States and the SCO in Moscow in April 2012. Besides, regular Chinese training is held for Russian teachers in the form of expert lectures, teacher discussions, and demonstration classes, so that Russian Chinese teachers can deepen their understanding of Chinese language and Chinese culture, and help them improve their Chinese literacy and teaching level [4].

Some Confucius Institutes in Russia have cooperated with local Russian teachers to actively encourage them to apply for the preparation of Chinese textbooks for the Russian education authorities, and provide them with supporting human and material support. The Chinese textbooks co-written in this way are not only more in line with the needs of Russian students to learn Chinese, but also can be guaranteed to be reviewed and approved by the Russian education authorities after publication, so that they can be promoted and used later. In the process of compiling Chinese textbooks, the Department of Oriental Studies of the famous Moscow School of Economics in Russia has received great support from the Chinese side in various aspects and has been selected by many Russian universities.

At the same time, according to the current situation of many Chinese primary and secondary schools wishing to open Chinese language points, many Confucius Institutes in Russia have signed cooperation agreements with middle schools with excellent cooperation intentions through local visits to high schools in the surrounding areas to jointly organize Chinese language classes; teachers from Confucius Institutes In terms of assistance, the secondary school is responsible for the form of enrollment and focuses on the radiation to primary and secondary schools.

• 4    Conclusion

China and Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are adjacent to each other, especially between Northeast China and the Russian Federation's the Far East and Siberia. And the transportation is very convenient. The Confucius Institute should also recognize and make full use of the geographical advantages, give play to the educational and cultural resources of both universities, and at the same time realize the function of the Confucius Institute to serve the university has become a subject of long-term efforts and constant thinking. Among the 18 Confucius Institutes in the Russian Federation, 8 of them are located in the northeastern part of China. In the future, Confucius Institute should make use of geographical advantages, integrate social resources, make full use of geographical advantages, and introduce the rich cultural resources of the two countries to achieve good results with less investment in projects and high social benefits.

From 2012 onwards, in the distribution of Chinese government scholarships, it is the first time to the Moscow State University, the St. Petersburg State University, and the Russian People's Friendship University, as well as several other key universities, which are among the top three comprehensive universities in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. On the one hand, it encourages more outstanding Russian students to study for degrees in China, and on the other hand, actively promotes the Chinese government scholarships to the universities and colleges to promote the independent enrollment programs of colleges and universities, and expand the channels for Russian students to study in China.

The characteristics, disciplinary advantages, and development potential of Confucius Institutes College should be made full use of and continuously tapped. The Confucius Institute should not only promote Chinese teaching, but also develop two-way communication and cooperation among other disciplines, and combine the advantages of Russian universities in science and engineering disciplines to explore the cross-integration of humanities and social sciences and science and engineering disciplines. While making full use of the resources of the university, the Confucius Institute also actively plays the role of serving the university, enabling both institutions to achieve a win-win goal in the career of the Confucius Institute. The Confucius Institute actively helps domestic universities and universities to establish extensive scientific research links with Russian universities, make full use of the scientific research advantages and leading scientific and technological achievements of the two countries to bridge the gap between enterprises, effectively promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrialization of schools, and help scientific research institutions to transfer technology. It also provides information on the business, tourism, and education for all sectors of society and students, and builds a favorable platform for cooperation between domestic brother universities and Russian universities.

For the Confucius Institute in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, strengthening cooperation with Russian civil forces and local governments should be a focus of future work. Through the bridge of the Confucius Institute, more Russians will know China and understand China. The Confucius Institute is in the middle. An indispensable part of Russian humanities cooperation. When the Confucius Institutes around the world are recognized, accepted, and eventually integrated into the local society to form a benign and sustainable development, and truly play a role in communication and exchanges between China and Russia, the two peoples will be able to Further mutual understanding and continuous enhancement of mutual understanding, mutual trust, and friendship between the Chinese and Russian people, especially young people, has fostered more and more powers of knowing China, fraternity and pro-China. After more than a decade of development, the Confucius Institute played a positive role in promoting overseas Chinese teaching and understanding the Chinese people in China. International Chinese language promotion has achieved certain results in Russia. However, with the deepening of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation and the expansion of Sino-Russian trade, the status and role of Chinese in the Russian education system are increasing. The functions of the Confucius Institute can no longer meet the growing local language and cultural needs. At the same time, the development of new media poses new challenges to the Confucius Institute's teaching model, cultural communication methods, and media public capabilities. Although many challenges are facing the Confucius Institute at this stage, as long as these problems are resolved and a virtuous circle is formed, the Confucius Institute will be able to make greater contributions to the exchanges between China and Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.