The Slavonic Studies Section at the University of Cambridge hosted an exciting Alumni Day on 23 September to celebrate the work of Senior Language Teaching Officer Natasha Franklin, who retired at the end of the month. The sold-out event at Sidney Sussex College brought together an enthusiastic group of graduates from across the generations, who reengaged and renewed their interest and passion in Slavonic languages and cultures.   

‘Our Section continues to grow and thrive, and Natasha Franklin has been key to our development for decades,’ said Rory Finnin, Head of the Slavonic Studies Section, who introduced the day’s programme. ‘Our Alumni Day offered us a wonderful chance to reconnect with each other, take stock of our accomplishments, and pay tribute to a beloved teacher and colleague.’

The day kicked off with a lively presentation by Natasha Franklin on Russian mat. After lunch in the Old Library at Sidney Sussex, it then offered alumni participants a selection of activities: a Ukrainian language taster lesson with Maria Terentieva, PhD candidate and Ukrainian Language Teaching Fellow; a Polish language taster session with Edyta Nowosielska, Lector in Polish; and a Russian language refresher lesson with Elena Filimonova, Senior Language Teaching Officer in Russian. It concluded with a panel discussion featuring alumni Daniel Beer, author of House of the Dead: Siberian Exile under the Tsars (2017); Viv Groskop, author of The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature (2017); and Emma Widdis, author of Socialist Senses: Film, Feeling, and the Soviet Subject, 1917–1940 (2017).

‘Everyone I spoke to had a brilliant day, and it was great to catch up with classmates and professors alike!’ said one alumna. Another noted: ‘It was a delight to receive an invitation to an event that felt meaningful, engaging and, most of all, fun.’

Photos from the day can be seen here: