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The Forum of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature will be held as part of the second Berlin Book Fair of Russian-Language Literature on May 2, 2026.
Teachers are well aware that bilinguals outside the language environment often require specially designed textbooks that take into account the limited number of hours in Russian schools abroad, insufficient or even basic language proficiency, European experience, and the students' life realities, which are increasingly less consistent with the content of Russian textbooks.
The forum will feature leading European teachers and methodologists presenting their textbooks and manuals. You'll have the opportunity to review them, hear from the authors, and ask them questions.
The forum will be held on May 2 from 12:00 PM to 18:00 PM. in this format:
12:00 Welcomes the forum participants and guests Dima Zicer, a teacher, host of a program on child-adult relationships, and author of the book "Love Is Not Educating." You can discuss the challenges of modern parenting and teaching with him, and consider how to find answers to difficult questions with children today.
14:00 – 15:20 Presentations by four authors: 10 minutes each, plus 10 minutes of Q&A
15:20 – 15:30 Break
15:30 – 16:50 Presentations by four authors
16:50 – 17:00 Break
17:00 – 17:25 Workshop: Reading as a game with first-reading books with Julia Mesarich.
17:30 – 18:00 Presentation of children's magazines "Fita" and "Shaltai-Boltai" and a workbook with assignments on "The History of an Old Apartment" by Anya Desnitskaya and Alexandra Litvina
С 18:00 – Additional questions for the authors, discussion and communication
The forum will be held at:
Prenzlauer Allee 227-228, 10405 Berlin
Assembly hall of the Bibliothek am Wasserturm library, 3rd floor
The forum is organized by Berlin Book Fair of Russian-Language Literature and online bookstore "Ant".
The following will present their textbooks:
Maria Goncharenko, author of the SUPER Russian bilingual textbooks, which are well-structured, vibrant, and suitable for children with limited language skills.
Lola Samatova, the author of a whole range of materials: copybooks, reading exercises, workbooks on the Russian language and textbooks on the world around us.
Julia Mesarich Yulia Mesaric has 35 years of teaching experience, 25 of which she has worked in Slovenia, where she founded and heads the Russian School in Ljubljana. Her extensive work with bilingual students has formed the basis for her own methodology, programs, and a set of teaching aids, which are in demand by colleagues worldwide. Yulia Mesaric is the author of a series of writing practice notebooks, a series of first-reading books, and a series of literature readers for bilingual children and adolescents in middle and high school.
Ulyana Retzlaff, co-author, for example, of workbooks for Yulia Yakovleva’s story “Children of the Raven” and for “The Snow Queen,” which use the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) method – an integrated learning method in which language is studied through subject, cultural, and semantic context.
Publishing team Lingua Media, which develops educational materials for bilingual children and children with Russian as a second language. These books tell simple stories, the texts gradually become more complex, and their cute characters and charming illustrations aid language learning.
Elena Ageeva (online), The author of "A Primer for Smart Kids," based on speech therapy requirements, psycholinguistic principles, and developmental learning. The primer is convenient for teaching bilinguals and children with speech difficulties.
Diana Bukaeva (online), author of the "Say: Hi!" textbooks for Russian as a foreign language for beginners at various levels.
Ekaterina Figurnova Ekaterina is a philologist, bilingual teacher of Russian, and co-author of the textbook "Crossroads." She works with bilingual teenagers aged 10–18 in London and believes that learning Russian is a way for them to understand the world.
Ekaterina implements the CLIL method, transforming Russian language teaching into interdisciplinary research—from cultural history to modern technologies. This approach combines academic depth with a modern format, essential for successful exam passing and fluent discussion of complex topics.
Fita — a monthly family magazine for bilingual children aged 6+ and for anyone who wants to continue communicating in Russian but lives isolated from a native Russian language environment. Games, interviews, crosswords, stories—32 pages of wholesome fun in the company of the kind and magical dog Fita.
"Humpty Dumpty" — a children's literary and artistic magazine for bilingual children aged 2 to 6. Poems, fairy tales, and short stories from the best contemporary children's authors, games, and speech development activities from leading experts.
A workbook with assignments for "The History of an Old Apartment" by Anya Desnitskaya and Alexandra Litvina This book will make this famous book even more interesting and useful! You can get lost and found in this notebook in the hallways of a communal apartment, distinguish fictional facts from real ones in newspapers, and color and dress paper dolls just like their mothers and grandmothers did. It's perfect for children's activities in schools, libraries, children's clubs, and at home.
"Ant" will also present other textbooks on Russian language and literature at the forum – educational kits from the publishing house Koolibri, Olga Bramley (London School of Russian Language and Literature), and bestsellers from Russian publishers.