Exactly 20 years ago, in March 2004, at the initiative of the first Governor of Astrakhan Region in modern history, Anatoly Guzhvin, the Department of Oriental Languages of Astrakhan State University was established. Associate Professor Alexander Mukhin, a prominent Russian philologist in the study of Persian language, was appointed its head. He was invited to work at ASU from Uzbekistan, where he was a sought-after specialist who worked in publishing houses and radio companies broadcasting in Persian, as well as a translator for international companies.
Alexander Mukhin created Astrakhan Persian language teaching School from scratch, which has become one of the strongest in Russia.
In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, trade, economic and humanitarian ties between the Astrakhan Region and the northern provinces of the Islamic Republic of Iran began to actively develop. It is precisely because of these objective realities that it became necessary to start training specialists who are fluent in Persian.
"When I was appointed head of the Department of Oriental Languages, there was not a single book in Persian in the university library, not a single specialist in this field. The Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Astrakhan provided great assistance," said the veteran teacher.
He recalled how from the very first days native speakers and teachers of Gilan University began to be involved in the educational process. It has become a tradition to invite specialists from Lomonosov Moscow State University, RUDN, other universities in Russia and abroad to read a number of special disciplines.
Thanks to Alexander Mukhin, our university has established close partnerships with the Iranian universities of Gilan and Mazandaran. As part of the agreement between ASU and Gilan University, an exchange of students and teachers is being carried out.
Astrakhan students and schoolchildren studying the Persian language show good results at the All-Russian Olympiads in the Persian language, which are held annually at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Students and teachers of the Department of Oriental Languages of ASU also take an active part in organizing and conducting evenings of acquaintance with Persian literature and culture of Iran, which are held jointly with the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Astrakhan.
"In some Russian universities, they tried to develop the teaching of Persian and other Oriental languages, but they did not succeed as in Astrakhan," Alexander Mukhin noted. – A big plus is the geopolitical position of our region, the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor.
The outstanding teacher has educated a whole galaxy of highly qualified specialists who still work in the Russian Foreign Ministry and other federal agencies that have their representative offices in Iran, large Russian companies and corporations cooperating with Iranian partners.
Recently, Alexander Mukhin met with students, graduates, and teachers of the Department of Oriental Languages of the Astrakhan V. N. Tatischev State University at the site of the Trading House of Iran in Astrakhan. In a warm, friendly atmosphere, words of gratitude were addressed to Alexander Alexandrovich for his conscientious work and merits in training first-class translators.
The teacher and mentor were congratulated on their well-deserved rest by the staff of the Representative Office of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Astrakhan, the leadership of the Ministry of External Relations of Astrakhan region. For his vast experience and professionalism, Alexander Mukhin was awarded a Letter of Thanks from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, regional and departmental awards. Video greetings from university graduates were sent to the hero of the occasion from different parts of Russia and abroad.
"It was a great honor for me to present Alexander Alexandrovich Mukhin with certificates of honor from the Governor of the Astrakhan Region and our Ministry for the successes achieved in many years of conscientious work," said Vladimir Golovkov, Minister of External Relations of Astrakhan Region. "He made a huge contribution to the development of cooperation between the Astrakhan region and the Islamic Republic of Iran."