Sixteen students from four Ohio colleges and universities competed in the 14th annual Undergraduate Olympiada of Spoken Russian, which was held on February 22 at Bowling Green State University.
Ten students from The Ohio State University earned top three finishes in various levels of language proficiency.
The competition featured three sections: poem recitation, oral interview and a presentation on topic students randomly select at the event. In addition to testing their Russian language proficiency, the event provided students with an opportunity to network with fellow Russian learners from across Ohio.
The questions and presentation topics are consistent with each level’s materials typically built on those of the previous year.
Sophie Papp, a third-year Ohio State student majoring in Russian and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, took first place in the Level 5 category. “There aren’t many surprises," she explained.
Since students randomly choose their presentation topics, they must be prepared for anything. “The most challenging part of the competition is usually finding a poem and memorizing it,” Papp said.
Papp chose to memorize a poem about a Pallas’ cat at the Moscow Zoo. To prepare, she practiced for 30 minutes a day in the week leading up to the competition.
“My prior experiences helped me not be nervous, apart from last-minute jitters while waiting to be called before the judges,” Papp said.
Papp’s interest in Russian began in high school when she initially wanted to work in the government. While her aspirations have evolved and changed, her passion for the language remained, leading her to continue her studies at Ohio State.
In addition to her coursework, Papp’s Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship enhanced her language skills. As part of the fellowship, she spent time in Almaty, Kazakhstan, studying at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. “My FLAS experience has been invaluable in developing my Russian skills,” Papp said. “I learned so much during my time in Kazakhstan – both about the Russian language and how it's used and perceived outside of Russia.” Her experience with the Russian language will be vital to her future career. She plans to continue developing her expertise and hopes to become a professor of interdisciplinary Slavic studies.
2025 Russian Undergraduate Olympiada Results
Level 1
- 1st Place: Aditya Sahani (Kent State University)
- 2nd Place: Tate Baughman (Bowling Green State University)
- 3rd Place: Logan Jarema (The Ohio State University)
Level 2
- 1st Place: Mehdia Sadat (The College of Wooster)
- 2nd Place: Alice Genkin (The Ohio State University)
- 3rd Place: Gabriela LaPlant (Bowling Green State University)
- Honorable Mention: Robyn Miller (Bowling Green State University)
Level 3
- 1st Place: Walker Wood (The College of Wooster)
Level 4
- 1st Place: Andreja Ruzic (The Ohio State University)
- 2nd Place: Madison Mindish (The Ohio State University)
Level 5
- 1st Place: Sophie Papp (The Ohio State University) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Summer 2024)
- 2nd Place: Sophie Boelk (The Ohio State University) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2024-25)
Heritage Speakers
Level 2
- 1st Place: Mariya Moiseytseva (The Ohio State University)
Level 4
- 1st Place: Barbara Shauchuk (The Ohio State University)
- 2nd Place: D. Y. (The Ohio State University) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2024-25)
- 3rd Place: William Slabodkin (The Ohio State University) (CSEEES FLAS Fellow, Academic Year 2024-25)
This event is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies.