Olympiada of Spoken Russian

Undergraduate Olympiada of Spoken Russian

In partnership with other Ohio colleges and universities, the Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (CSEEES) helps to organize the Undergraduate Russian Language Olympiada. This competition is an opportunity for Russian language students from all over Ohio to practice and show off their Russian speaking skills. The one-day event is usually held in winter at a participating college's campus. Students compete with each other in three rounds of competition: an oral interview, poem recital, and topic presentation.

The 2026 Olympiada will take place at Kenyon College and more details will be released in autumn 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)

Competition Format

Oral Interview

The student is interviewed by a panel of two judges based on a list of sample questions. Topics and skills are based on ACTFL speaking proficiency guidelines.

See Preparation Materials and Samples section for examples.

Poem Recital

Each student recites a poem in Russian that they have chosen and prepared in advance.  The selected poem can either be an original Russian poem or translation of a non-Russian poem.  Poems must be at least 8 lines long for first-year Russian students and at least ten lines long for second- to fourth-year students.  Students are graded on pronunciation and fluidity of speech.    

Topic Presentation (bilety)

Tickets that specify a particular topic are presented to students face-down.  Students are able to draw two tickets and then choose one of the topics on which to present.  Topics and skills are based ACTFL proficiency guidelines for speaking.  Judges then ask students follow-up questions. 

See Preparation Materials and Samples section for examples.

Preparation Materials and Samples

The following is a list of sample oral questions and presentation topics for which participating students should review and prepare.