A collage featuring AI-generated image of Pushkin and a young woman in a library
Pushkin's vocabulary, as reflected in his poems and prose, is a rich and diverse tapestry of language elements.
Photo:Left: AI-generated portrait of Alexander Pushkin (prompt by Artem Pashchenko). Right: Young woman with a stack of books in library. Adobe Stock/diignat

As a conduit of the spoken and written word, the Slavic Russian language has an indisputable superiority over all European languages: its fate was extremely happy. In the XI century, the ancient Greek language suddenly opened to it its vocabulary, the treasury of harmony, gave it the laws of its considered grammar, its beautiful turns, the majestic flow of speech; in a word, adopted it, thus sparing it from the slow improvements of time. Already sound and expressive in itself, from then on it acquired flexibility and correctness. The common people's lexicon had to be separated from the literature; but later they came closer together, and this is the element given to us for communicating our thoughts.

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin

Celebrating the Russian language at the United Nations

Russian Language Day at the United Nations is celebrated on 6 June — the birthdate of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet, as well as the founder of modern Russian literature.

Russian Language Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the UN's Department of Global Communications, establishing language days for each of the Organization's six official languages. The purpose of the UN's language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity, and to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.

Under the initiative, UN duty stations around the world celebrate six separate days, each dedicated to one of the Organization's six official languages. With the goal of increasing awareness and respect for the history, culture and achievements of each of the six working languages among the UN community, Language Days at the UN aim to entertain, as well as to inform.

Six Language Days:

 

20 March
French

20 April
Chinese

23 April
English

23 April
Spanish

6 June
Russian

18 December
Arabic

Multilingualism is a Core Value of the United Nations - UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Multilingualism and the United Nations - One world, many languages

Multilingualism and the UN

An essential factor in harmonious communication among peoples, multilingualism is of particular importance to the United Nations. By promoting tolerance, multilingualism ensures effective and increased participation of all in the Organization’s work, as well as greater effectiveness, better outcomes and more involvement.

The balance among the six official languages has been an ongoing concern of the Secretary-General. From 1946 to the present, numerous activities have been undertaken to promote the use of the official languages, and to ensure that the United Nations, its goals and actions, are understood by the widest possible public.

In its resolution of 6 December 1999 (A/RES/54/64), the General Assembly invited the appointment of a senior Secretariat official to serve as coordinator of questions relating to multilingualism.

UN Strategic Framework on Multilingualism

illustrated cover of the United Nations Strategic Framework on Multilingualism

Strategic Framework [pdf]:
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | Spanish

Multilingualism at the UN: Why it matters

multilingualism at the United Nations publication cover

Related observances

Resources

 

 

A verbatim reporter at work

UN language staff come from all over the globe and make up a uniquely diverse multilingual community. What unites them is the pursuit of excellence in their respective areas, the excitement of being at the forefront of international affairs and the desire to contribute to the realization of the purposes of the United Nations, as outlined in the Charter, by facilitating communication and decision-making. They include Production editors, Editors, Interpreters, Translators, Verbatim Reporters, Editorial and Desktop Publishing Assistants, and Language Reference Assistants. Visit our YouTube channel and our careers page.

Gender-inclusive language

Given the key role that language plays in shaping cultural and social attitudes, using gender-inclusive language is a powerful way to promote gender equality and eradicate gender bias. Being inclusive from a gender language perspective means speaking and writing in a way that does not discriminate against a particular sex, social gender or gender identity, and does not perpetuate gender stereotypes. These Guidelines include recommendations and materials, created to help United Nations staff use gender-inclusive language in any type of communication — oral or written, formal or informal — and are a useful starting point for anyone.

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.