WELCOME TO CARTA

Dear CARTA Loyal Community,

 

The Year of the Red Horse, 2026, has galloped in at full speed, bringing with it unusual weather patterns, interesting political and world developments, and hopes for a peaceful year ahead of us, as well as we leave behind professional and personal achievements and victories, meetings with old friends, and making new ones. We cannot always effectively influence either the weather or the decisions that are made in state and national legislative chambers, but as a professional association, we can provide a venue for educators, learners, and researchers of the Russian world to exchange ideas and research findings, to express and gain psychological and emotional support to get recharged, reinvigorated, and enriched so that we can continue with our mission of supporting and promoting Russian programs in the United States and beyond.

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Hospitable and accommodating Kansas City, Missouri, was a perfect venue that offered a wide variety of activities for CARTA’s 27th Conference. For starters, participants had an opportunity for a Country Club Plaza tour and to admire an opulent malachite tazza at the Linda Hall library. Even the pouring rain did not diminish the participants determination to see the best of Kansas City. And of course, Dr. Turner, traditional leader of CARTA tours, was on hand to provide comments and answer questions.

 

That evening a group of more than fifty participants gathered for the Opening Reception at the Plaza Marriott hotel. The Reception was generously sponsored by the University of Kansas Department of Slavic, German, and Eurasian Studies. Those in attendance enjoyed a variety of cold and hot hors d'oeuvres, meeting new colleagues and supporters of Russian Studies and catching up with CARTA’s old-timers. A delightful music performance by the local group (Jane Romanova-Hrenchir, Dan and Ilya Hrenchir) and a skit by ECU students added to the delights for the evening and provided the positive charge for the following two days of professional exercises.

 

Saturday and Sunday we heard individual papers, panels, and roundtable discussions on Methods of Teaching Russian, Literature, Culture and other aspects of Russian Studies in the United States and beyond. A guest from faraway, Professor Baxtiyor Gafurov, talked about the state of Russian language in his homeland, Uzbekistan, while Dr. Pedro Talavera from Mexico intrigued the audience with his presentation on the philosophical undertones in Osip Mandelshtam’s poetry. Every paper presented at the Conference offered innovative practical tips, research ideas and an extensive reading list for participants to take with them.

 

As always, the Saturday Awards luncheon offered the occasion to highlight members’ accomplishments, present awards, and report on the state of the Association. Many of those in the dining hall could hardly hold back the tears when one of the CARTA’s Founders, Larry Lonard, was handed the organization’s first Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding service to the profession and CARTA. Larry, who taught Russian for 34 years at Topeka

High school in Kansas can certainly serve as a role model for educators and students alike.

 

Sessions lasted into the evening. A spectacular and savory Anna Pavlova dessert sponsored by Vista Publishing replenished everyone’s energy and sustained the presenters, listeners, and exhibitors through the remainder of the day.

 

Sunday was busy with additional sessions, awarding door prizes and a CARTA Auction, taking group pictures, and saying good byes to old and new friends. It was rewarding to see yet another CARTA Conference to its end, but also a little bit sad to realize that the year’s professional reunion was over and that it would take a year before we all could see each other again.

 

The virtual part of the Conference took place a week earlier and included two important events: a session for CARTA’s international members and the fifth annual Yevgeny Yevtushenko poetry recital.

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The International section was represented by colleagues from the Czech Republic, Russia, Spain, and Uzbekistan. We were pleased to greet first comers, Rafael Guzman and Katerina Zubkovska, Nikolai Pronkin and Ekaterina Rycheva, and hope they will continue their affiliation with CARTA and will be able to attend in person in the near future.

 

The Poetry Contest gave participants two-hours of sheer delight of listening to masterful Russian poetry recitations by contestants from American universities and one high school and plus others from abroad. Hats off to the students and instructors for their hard work and for their love of Russian poetry.

 

I look forward to seeing you in Austin, where the enthusiastic and tireless Local Committee is working to ensure another enlightening and pleasurable CARTA meeting.

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Mara Sukholutskaya, CARTA President