DUSHANBE, April 7, Asia-Plus  -- Maxim Meyer, the program director for CIS, Russkiy Mir (Russian World) Foundation, is arriving in Tajikistan tomorrow to conduct consultations with Tajik officials on opening the Russkiy Mir’s centers in Tajikistan, Asia-Plus has learned from the Russian Embassy in Dushanbe.  

During his stay in Dushanbe, Mr. Meyer is scheduled to hold talks with administrations of Russian-Tajik Slavonic University (RTSU), Tajik State University of Languages, Tajik Teachers’ Training University as well as the Institute of Economy within the Academy of Sciences.  

In June 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing the Russkiy Mir Foundation, for the purpose of promoting the Russian language, as Russia''s national heritage and a significant aspect of Russian and world culture, and supporting Russian language teaching programs abroad.

The Foundation is a joint project of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Science and supported by both public and private funds. The Russkiy Mir Foundation is headed by Vyacheslav Nikonov, Dean of History and Political Science at the International University in Moscow.  The Foundation’s Board of Trustees consists of prominent Russian academics, cultural figures, and distinguished civil servants, and is chaired by Lyudmila Verbitskaya, Rector of St. Petersburg State University and Chair of the International Association of Russian Language and Literature Teachers (MAPRYAL).