The 14th annual Undergraduate Olympiada of Spoken Russian took place on Saturday, February 22 at Bowling Green State University. Sixteen students from four colleges and universities in Ohio competed in seven different levels.

The competition consisted of three sections: a poem recitation, an oral interview, and a presentation based on a topic that was chosen by each student. In addition to putting their Russian skills to the test, the competition gave the students a chance to meet and network with other Russian language learners in the state of Ohio. Congratulations to this year's winners and to all of the students who participated!

We would also like to thank everyone who came together to make this year's event a success: Dr. Timothy Pogacar, Dr. Elena Liskova, Ali Hasnov and Alexander Rodkin from Bowling Green State University; Quinn Cline-Cook, Adam Johnson, Aleksandra Shubina, Mykyta Tyshchenko and Michelle Verbitskaya from The Ohio State University; and Dr. Ellen Vayner from Kent State University and Dr. Zach Rewinski from The College of Wooster.

Details about the 2026 Russian Undergraduate Olympiada will be announced in the autumn of 2025.

2025 Russian Undergraduate Olympiada Results

Level 1

• 1st Place: Aditya Sahani (Kent State U.)
• 2nd Place: Tate Baughman (Bowling Green State U.)
• 3rd Place: Logan Jarema (Ohio State U.)

Level 2

• 1st Place: Mehdia Sadat (The College of Wooster)
• 2nd Place: Alice Genkin (Ohio State U.)
• 3rd Place: Gabriela LaPlant (Bowling Green State U.)
• Honorable Mention: Robyn Miller (Bowling Green State U.)

Level 3

• 1st Place: Walker Wood (The College of Wooster)

Level 4

• 1st Place: Andreja Ruzic (Ohio State U.)
• 2nd Place: Madison Mindish (Ohio State U.)

Level 5

• 1st Place: Sophie Papp (Ohio State U.) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Summer 2024)
• 2nd Place: Sophie Boelk (Ohio State U.) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2024-25)

Heritage Speakers 

Level 2

• 1st Place: Mariya Moiseytseva (Ohio State U.)

Level 4

• 1st Place: Barbara Shauchuk (Ohio State U.)
• 2nd Place: D. Y. (Ohio State U.) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2024-25)
• 3rd Place: William Slabodkin (Ohio State U.) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2024-25)

This event is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies.