Staff profile

Born in the Far East of the Soviet Union, I graduated from Kaliningrad State University (which is in the far west of Russia) having received a degree with distinction in philology and qualifications of a teacher of English.

Having moved to Kostroma (one of the cities of the “Golden Ring” of Russia), I worked in the Historical and Architectural museum-reserve as a senior researcher and later as head of the department of museum pedagogy. I also taught English at the Kostroma State Pedagogical Institute, worked as an interpreter with delegations from Durham (UK) and Durham (North Carolina, USA) and accompanied delegations of the Kostroma City Council and Kostroma diocese on their visits to England.

After moving to Durham I worked as a freelance interpreter/translator and also taught Russian at St. John’s College (“Training for success”- Russian for beginners), at South Tyneside College (DPSI course) and at Durham Johnston school (GCSE and A-level).

Since 2010 I have been teaching Russian at all undergraduate levels in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

Academic and administrative roles

Teaching and module convening

• RUSS1042 - Russian language 1B Designing and teaching the oral and text classes
• RUSS1151 - Introduction to Russian History and Culture 
• RUSS1161 - Russian language 1A Designing and teaching the oral component
• RUSS2012 - Russian language 2B Designing and teaching the oral component, audio-visual classes and translation (E-R)
• RUSS2191 - Russian language 2A Module convenor; designing and teaching the oral component 
• RUSS3031 - Russian language year 4 Designing and teaching translation (R-E)
• RUSS3381 - Russian for Professional Communication (year 4) Module convenor; designing and teaching both interpreting and translation on this module

Other academic and administrative roles

• Year Abroad Research Project supervisor for YA students
• Staff mentor
• Student academic advisor
• Coorditator for incoming Erasmus students and colleagues from partner institutions

Conference Papers

• Durham University Learning and Teaching Conference (2024) "Exploring the Impact of Generative AI on Modern Language Learning (MFL) in Higher education". (group presentation)    https://durham.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=8303460c-8c12-4627-8027-b1cc00a616c6
• Durham University Learning and Teaching Conference (2024) "Extracurricular Activities in Language Teaching and their Role in Learning and In-class Performance".      https://durham.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=952d2175-9011-4eb0-a8a9-b1cc00a64f03
• International Conference XXVI Olomouc Days of Russian Studies (Olomouc, Czech Republic, September 2023). "Extracurricular Activities in Higher Education. My Experience and Findings".
• 2nd Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication Forum (Prince Sultan University, 18 March 2023). "Success Story. Learning through Performing".
• Interaction of Languages and Cultures, 9th International conference (Cherepovets State University, October 2022). "Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language through Acting and Performing"
• LSPHE 2022 (York) "Learning through Performing"
• UK Lingua 2022 (Durham) "Learning Russian through Performing"
• Durham University Festival of Teaching and Learning (2021)"Learning Russian through Performing. How students of the Russian Department created an online concert in 2021 and what they gained"
• 10th International conference Russian Heritage in the UK (04.07.2021) I presented the paper "Bringing History Home. How students of the Russian department of Durham University created and performed literary and musical evening to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory Day (1945-2020)".
• UK Lingua 2021 (Durham) I was leading round-table discussion "Learning through Performing".
• Kostroma International Student Conference (2020). My student Alex Haigh presented the paper on the history of dachas in Russia, which I supervised. Here is the link to Alex’s presentation: https://youtu.be/-bc8rVa8mk8
• UK Lingua 2019 (Durham) "Reaching across borders" (how I created and supervised the programme for our first-year students to go to Kostroma to teach English in summer schools and to improve their knowledge of the Russian language and culture). Patrick Noren, our graduate, thinks it was the highlight of his time at Durham University: https://youtu.be/TCo4uz_Skag?si=707PEYMEXl9RtjiU
• Durham University Fourth Learning and Teaching Conference, 2019 "Reaching across borders"
• UK Lingua 2018 (Durham) “Engaging Students through Songs and Fairy-tales”
• Durham University Third Learning and Teaching Conference, 2018 “Engaging Students through Songs and Performance in and out of Classroom”
• Conference organized by N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (Moscow) and Kostroma Architectural – Ethnographic and Landscape museum, Kostroma, 2018. I presented the paper “Peasant women in Russia at the beginning of the 20^th century”. My student Victoria Pedley took part in this conference with the paper “The life and writings of Marfa Kryukova”, which I supervised.
• Durham University Second Learning and Teaching Conference, 2017 “Songs in Language Teaching”
• Conferences in the Kostroma State Archive in 2012, 2014 and 2017 - papers on Kostroma peasants in the first half of the 20^th century and on the history of Durham - Kostroma twinning link.

Performances and Events

• Poetry contest to celebrate 460th anniversary of William Shakespeare (April 2024) https://youtu.be/992OEkNQSNk?si=ZqbIRo8IVFUcMj6i        https://youtu.be/IYRy1vzIRJA?si=mtkczpWAVNDiqRNE       https://youtu.be/WZcufHCfZQA?si=bYf3F_DsOQDfFiDM       https://youtu.be/HFyUyNA7EGo?si=qu_hxhCmQN4ZTbdK       https://youtu.be/wOQSitMBSO4?si=rAwMHqjDToH_9KQf   
• Literary and musical evening "When You Are Gone May Your Light Keep Shining On" (celebration of Russian literature, poetry and music, 5 March 2024), can be watched here:    https://youtu.be/jfh-qZ-WsZ8?si=pR__DOPrEdvvPdaN   
• Performance "Mistress into Maid" by A. Pushkin (07.03.2023), can be found here:   https://youtu.be/Wt9c6pwSIpA?si=f1_f_n8HoZ2fnqxq
• "Wings of Poetry" Contest (January 2023)      https://youtu.be/gwUgq2BSGm4?si=3Dz9QX-0gakn2AXP        https://youtu.be/GCSeDbTwuXc?si=Hz_cKd-yRq7p9OqI        https://youtu.be/aNxDDvjsnI4?si=JHYZwfIJ8TFIoeEo         https://youtu.be/ITsi2pNrlrU?si=jml4QOQWm4CoOeQl         https://youtu.be/jcc5ONXAF5Y?si=RuP_XrW7zK_IfXF-
• Julia Pliauksta, Head of Russian Heritage in the UK Society, gave a talk to the students of Russian "Russian mindset: how it was built and how it works now" (November 2023)
• At the Crossroads: What Every Language Professional Should Know. Webinar by Yelena McCafferty, award-winning Russian interpreter and translator, director of TalkRussian translation company (25.01.2023) 
• Dr Rahima Abduvalieva, Aitmatov’s interpreter and translator,spoke in person to the students of Russian about great Soviet Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov and his literary heritage (30.11.2022)
• Yelena McCafferty, award-winning Russian interpreter and translator, director of TalkRussian translation company, spoke to our fourth-year students doing Russian for Professional Communication module. A very inspirational talk with an insight into profession of translator and interpreter was followed by many questions (19.10.2022; 19.10.2023; 21.10.2024)
• Concert of the Russian department "Everything begins with love. The legacy of love in Russian literature and music" (08.03.2022)
•  Prospects of further education and work in Russia after graduating. In November 2021, the finalists of Russian department had a privilege to discuss this question with Boris Zhelezov, representative of Russian Ministry of Education and Science at the Embassy of RF in the UK.
• Julian Henry Lowenfeld, a prominent writer and one of the best translators of Alexander Pushkin delivered two lectures to the students of Russian in November 2021 1. "Eugene Onegin" by A. Pushkin2. The art of translating Russian poetry into English
• How to become a successful interpreter and translator. Yelena McCafferty, award-winning Russian interpreter and translator, director of TalkRussian translation company, spoke to the students studying Russian for Professional Communication. She shared her professional secrets and answered many questions (October 2021).
• International student online conference "From Knowing to Understanding" (16.04 2021), organized in collaboration with Kostroma Regional Institute of Education Development.
• Online concert of the students of the Russian department (2021), can be found here: youtu.be/lSjW5lyrNHc
• Evening dedicated to the great Soviet writer Chingiz Aitmatov with Dr Rahima Abduvalieva, Aitmatov’s interpreter and translator, as a guest speaker (March 2021).
• Celebrating 160^th anniversary of Anton Chekhov with Dmitry Turchaninov, director of the first professional Russian-speaking theatre in London “Xameleon” as a guest speaker (November 2020)
• MLAC concert “Music Unites Us All”, which I organized with all the departments of the School (2020) can be found here:  https://youtu.be/d3Bwr5D_JdE
• "Literary and musical evening to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory Day", (11.02.2020) can be found here: https://youtu.be/y5BtThEg1R0
• Performance of Chekhov’s short stories, which I organized  with our second-year ab initio students (2019) can be found here: https://youtu.be/TOVCJKGMCNM 

Publications

• Articles on the history of the Ipatyev monastery in Kostroma, on relationships between the city of Kostroma and the Romanov dynasty published in research magazines and newspapers.
• Articles about County Durham, its people, its heritage and traditions published in the Kostroma regional newspapers.
• “Kostroma from A to Z” by O. Zabotkina, N. Pashkevich and I. Sidorova. Textbook in English for pupils of secondary schools. Kostroma, 2006.
• “Kostroma from A to Z” by O. Zabotkina and N. Pashkevich. Workbook in English for pupils of secondary schools. Kostroma, 2012.
• «Кострома-Дарэм. Английские заметки» Кострома, 2010 (“Kostroma-Durham. Notes from England” Kostroma, 2010)

Scholarship Interests

• Enhancing student engagement
• Songs in language teaching
• Teaching translation and interpreting
• Enhancing student experience
• Using performance in and out of classroom

Awards

• Excellence in Teaching and Learning (2021) - nominated
• Aitmatov Academy Award (2022)
• Global Student Experience Award (2023) - nominated
• Innovation in Teaching and Learning (2024) - shortlisted
• Unsung Hero of Teaching and Learning (2024) - winner

• History of Russia (end of the 19th – beginning of 20th cent.) and of the Romanov dynasty
• Russian folklore and fairy-tales
• Russian wooden architecture and peasant household