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SPPU assistant professor bags Dostoevsky Star Award for contributions to Russian literature
Savitribai Phule Pune University’s assistant professor Anagha Bhat-Behere has been awarded Dostoevsky Star Award for her achievements in Russian studies and promotion of the language
Pune: Anagha Bhat-Behere, an assistant professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University’s foreign languages department, has been awarded the Dostoevsky Star Award for outstanding achievements in Russian studies and promotion of the language.
Alexei Dmitrievich Dostoevsky, the great-grandson of the celebrated 19th-century Russian novelist, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, presented the award to her in New Delhi on November 12.
“The number of research works, academic books written by you and academic programmes organised by you are bright examples of your efforts in bringing Russia and India closer,” reads the official communication.
Bhat-Behere described the moment as a “double whammy” as the award was presented by Dostoevsky’s great great grandson.
“Dostoevsky has been a milestone in world literature. He was the first writer to explore the infinite depths of the human mind. His writings are polyphonic, giving voice to multiple points of views. It is indeed a great honour to receive an award in his name,” said Bhat-Behere, who holds a doctorate in Russian and specialises in linguistics, lexicology, translation studies and comparative literature.
She founded the journal “Kelyane Bhashantar” dedicated to promoting translations from various foreign languages into Marathi, and served as its chief editor from 2011 to 2016. She also compiled a first-of-its-kind tri-lingual Marathi-Russian-German dictionary, besides authoring four books, co-authoring four and publishing more than 14 articles in national and international journals.
Her translated publications include I. Bunin’s Sukhadol (2003, co-edited and translated), and the collection Ot Pushkina do Chekhova (2008) into Marathi. She also translated Anna Bhau Sathe’s My journey to Russia into English and Russian. She edited and translated Rasskazy (2017), a collection of stories by various Soviet writers for children, and A. Gelasimov’s Tahaan Aani Itar Katha (2020) into Marathi.
