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.

2024 Olympiada

Together the faculty and staff at the Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies at The Ohio State University and the College of Wooster condemn the Russian war in Ukraine. As administrators and educators who have family, friends, and professional connections in Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., and beyond we remain appalled by the continued aggression. We grieve for the victims of the ongoing violence and stand with all those in Ukraine and those beyond who oppose this war. In accordance with our mission - to educate Ohio students, faculty, and staff about the cultures, languages, and countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia - we will devote part of the 2024 Olympiada to education about the status of the Russian language in Ukraine.

Information on the 2025 Olympiada of Spoken Russian will be available in spring 2025. Check back later for more details!

2024 Olympiada Results

Level 1

• 1st Place: Mehdia Sadat (The College of Wooster)
• 2nd Place: Felipe Jarran Acosta (The College of Wooster)
• 3rd Place: Alice Genkin (The Ohio State University)

Level 2

• 1st Place: Walker Wood (The College of Wooster)
• 2nd Place: Ardan Carlisle (Bowling Green State University)
• 3rd Place: Quinn Cline-Cook (The Ohio State University)

Level 3

• 1st Place: Sophie Papp (The Ohio State University: CSEEES Intern, Academic Year 2023-24)
• 2nd Place: Sophie Boelk (The Ohio State University: CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2023-24)
• 3rd Place: Nina Anderson (The College of Wooster)

Level 4

• 1st Place: Aimma Farooqui (The Ohio State University: CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2023-24)

Level 5

• 1st Place: John Paul Oberst (University of Cincinnati)
• 2nd Place: Joshua Silver (The Ohio State University: CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Summer 2023)

Heritage Speakers 

Level 2

• 1st Place: Nikolai Ewing (The Ohio State University)

Level 3

• 1st Place: Denis Yasyrev (The Ohio State University)

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.