New England Olympiada of Spoken Russian

2025 New England Olympiada of Spoken Russian participants and instructors

Sunday, April 12th, 2026 12:00-4:30 EST

Harvard University, CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA 02138

The New England Olympiada of Spoken Russian unequivocally condemns Russia’s war against Ukraine and stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their country and endure the consequences of Russia’s aggression, and with those citizens of Russia who protest against this war. We recognize that after February 24, 2022 our events take place in the shadow of the war and its horrific consequences. As we are all deeply distressed by these events, we continue to be committed to the humanistic mission of the Olympiada: to promote the value of language learning in today’s challenging, complex, and diverse world, to foster tolerance, and to bring people together.

12:00-1:00 - Arrival and check in (CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA 02138). All participants are welcome to join us for lunch (provided by the Davis Center)

1:00-1:15 - Official opening

1:15-3:00 - Speech contest by level

  • 1st year
  • 2nd year
  • 3rd and 4th year

3:00-4:00 - Judges convene [Tea and snacks, Harvard Campus tour]

4:00-4:30 - Award ceremony

New England Olympiada of Spoken Russian is a speech contest which invites students of New England colleges and universities to showcase their speaking skills in Russian. Whether you are currently taking a Russian language course or have studied Russian in the past, it is an opportunity for you to:

  • demonstrate your achievements in learning the language;
  • test your knowledge of Russian and showcase your speaking ability;
  • explore your artistic side by participating in poetry declaration contest (optional);
  • meet students from other colleges and universities of New England to build a community of learners of Russian;
  • challenge yourself in a fun and exciting way.

In 2026, the Olympiada is dedicated to the "Мой дом - Земля". This is reflected in the topics for the monologue and the poems.

The Olympiada is open to all undergraduate students studying Russian as a foreign language. Please note that heritage or native speakers of Russian or other Slavic languages are not eligible to participate at this time. Students will be competing against others based on their year of language study:

  • 1st year Russian
  • 2nd year Russian
  • 3rd year Russian
  • 4th year Russian

Each university can send up to 3 contestants for the 1st and 2nd year, and up to 3 students for the 3rd and 4th year combined (maximum of 9 students across all levels from each participating school). Each participating student may compete in more than one contest.

Registration deadline: Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

Click here for more information on the three contests of this year’s Olympiada, including topics, requirements, evaluation guidelines, and submission links, or go to “For Students” tab.

Click here to register for the Olympiada, or go to “For Instructors” tab.