The Department of Slavonic and Finno-Ugrian Studies is a part of the Faculty of Arts, North Campus, University of Delhi. It offers Full-time and Part-time Courses in various languages of the Slavonic and Finno-Ugric group of languages: Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Polish, and Hungarian. BRIEF HISTORY The Department owes its origin in the creation of Department of Russian Language in 1946. It was a matter of great honor and pride that the Founder Head of the Department was none other than Dr. V.A. Shibayev, a polyglot and a close associate of Nikolai Roerich, the world famous Russian painter, poet and philosopher. Within a short span of time, courses in other foreign languages like French, German and Spanish were also introduced and in 1948 the Department was renamed the Department of Modern European Languages. With a growing awareness about the significance of learning foreign languages, there was a demand for expansion and in 1969 new courses in Hungarian and Polish languages were introduced, followed by Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Portuguese and Romanian languages. Subsequently, with the increase in enrolment, in 1987, a decision was taken to bifurcate the Department of Modern European Languages into two departments: the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies and the Department of Slavic Studies. The Department of Slavic Studies was later renamed the Department of Slavonic & Finno-Ugrian Studies. This gave an impetus to the Department to expand its teaching programmes and soon One Year Full-time Intensive course in Russian language and M.A. in Russian Studies were launched. Research programmes like M.Phil and Ph.D in Russian Studies were also added to the Department’s academic schedule. Later a full-time Intensive language course in Bulgarian was also introduced. The Department of Slavonic & Finno-Ugrian Studies is the oldest department in India which started courses in Russian and the only Department in India which offers courses in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian and Polish languages. COURSES The Department conducts the following courses: Full-Time: 1. Ph.D. in Russian Studies* M.Phil. in Russian Studies* M.A. in Russian Studies 2. One Year Intensive Advanced Diploma Courses: Intensive Advanced Diploma in Russian Regular Intensive Diploma Bulgarian Course* Part-Time: 3. Certificate, Diploma & Advanced Diploma in: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian. 4. Part -Time Courses in Russian are also offered in some of the colleges** of the University of Delhi. 5. The Department also organizes, on request and as per the rules of the University of Delhi, Short-Term courses (duration: 2-6 months) in various languages taught here. All the courses in the above- mentioned foreign languages are designed in such a way so that the students may acquire adequate knowledge of the literature and culture of the concerned country as well as communicative skills to use the language. These courses also prove to be beneficial for students wishing to engage themselves in translation and research activities in the field of humanities or in professions where knowledge of these languages is required. Students who have passed out from the Department in the past have found profitable employment in several prestigious Government organisations as translation-officers, schools and universities as teachers and in several private organisations and the tourism industry, including medical tourism, in various capacities. * Subject to availability of the teacher. ** Each year the conduct of language courses in Russian in a particular college depends on the admission of stipulated minimum number of students.