'Want Students To Study It': Russian Minister Pushes For Hindi In Universities

Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Mogilevsky has pushed for Hindi to be studied at university level in Russian Universities. 

In an interview to news agency TASS, he explained that India is the world's most populous country today and more Indians are choosing to express themselves in Hindi in their daily lives than English, "We want more of our students to study Hindi", he said.

Namaste, 🇷🇺! Hindi Hits The Books In Russian Unis As Student Embrace Language

Opportunities to study the language at university level will be massively expanded, according to Deputy Minister Konstantin Mogilevsky.

“We want more of our students to study Hindi. India is the… pic.twitter.com/jEcxFvKjD4

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 6, 2025

Mogilevsky also said that young people who want to study Hindi have more opportunities now than before. He listed universities teaching Hindi in Moscow and said, "In Moscow alone, there is MGIMO, RSUH, the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, and the Moscow State Linguistic University. The number of students enrolled in Hindi is increasing, and the number of groups is two to three times larger."

Moreover, Hindi learning is not limited to Moscow but opportunities are also growing across Russia including at St. Petersburg State and Kazan Federal universities.

This comes in the backdrop of the Trump administration doubling India's tariffs to 50 per cent on August 27, to punish it for buying Russian oil and fuelling the Ukraine war. New Delhi, in 2022, had become a major importer of Russian crude at the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

India is strengthening its ties with US adversaries such as China, Russia and North Korea. At a summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be seen holding hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In August, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had termed ties with Russia as "steadiest" among relationships built in the world after the Second World War. He said, "We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War."

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also make an official visit to India in December as confirmed by the Kremlin.