Time, in a philosophical sense, is the perpetual flow of change—phenomena and events slipping irretrievably into the past. In each person’s life, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of images, moments, and occurrences fade away, becoming part of what once was. This invaluable past might have been lost forever were it not for human memory, the crucial bridge that connects generations. As the renowned Russian psychologist S. L. Rubinstein put it, “Without memory, we would be creatures of the moment. Our past would be dead to the future…” Thankfully, memory itself is timeless. Today, from its fragile records, we can trace the history—the discovery, establishment, and growth—of the Novorossiysk Branch of PSU. The proud legacy of this Branch, its rich activities, outstanding faculty, and close-knit student community, is truly one of a kind. Here, the key chapters of its story are shared.
The PSU Branch in Novorossiysk was established at a difficult time — in the early years of the post-Soviet era, when the country was still unclear about the vector of its development. However, it was already clear that the level of education was the most important indicator of a country’s viability. This idea was systematically developed and promoted by the rector of the Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University, Academician Y. S. Davydov, who unequivocally supported N. V. Baryshnikov’s proposal to establish a Branch in Novorossiysk. In spite of the fact that the 90th years in the history of the country became known as ‘dashing’, nevertheless, they are also marked as a time of creative labour for the benefit of NSF PSU and national education in particular. During that period a lot was done in various directions of the university activity. It is enough to mention only some of the innovations and initiatives.
A prestigious training direction — ‘Translation and Translatology’ was opened, a university school of methodical mastery of foreign language teachers was established.
A long-term programme ‘Peace in the North Caucasus through Languages, Education and Culture’ was developed and the first international congress of the same name was held under the auspices of UNESCO.
The practice of holding ‘University Readings’ during the students’ winter holidays as a form of professional development for teachers was introduced.
In addition, the Branch organised trial entrance examinations (there was no USE at that time).
As can be seen from the list of implemented projects, they are certainly not equal in importance and scale, but each required full commitment, and the PSU administration worked with passion and pleasure on their development and implementation, without thinking about career growth or awards. Among creative innovations, to put it in modern terms, in the context of innovatisation of educational activities, a Branch of the university was opened in the city of Novorossiysk on the basis of the technical and economic lyceum.
The first director of the Novorossiysk Branch was V.A. Ilyinskaya, a lyceum teacher, and the then very young Tatiana Reshetova became the chief accountant. The Branch opened a single field of study — Theory and Methodology of Teaching Foreign Languages and Cultures. However, a year later it became clear that the Branch would not be able to develop dynamically in its original format, and a decision was made to change its location and strengthen its management. On another visit to Novorossiysk, the Rector of the parent university met with S. V. Panchenko, Head of the Education Department of the Novorossiysk City Administration, who provided the Branch with strong personnel support and proposed N. P. Bugaenko for the position of the Branch director.
The era of formation and development of the PSU Novorossiysk Branch began under the leadership of N. P. Bugaenko, initiated by N. V. Baryshnikov, and lasted for nearly twenty years. N. P. Bugaenko established a strong material and technical foundation that enabled modern-level education. At the same time, a forward-looking personnel policy was consistently implemented. The main university undoubtedly provided—and continues to provide—support and assistance to the Branch; specialized linguistic courses were taught by faculty from the main university.
However, despite regular visits from esteemed professors of the main university, the Branch successfully built its own teaching staff and academic departments. One of the most significant achievements of the Branch’s director at the time, N. P. Bugaenko, was the development of the faculty. For many years, the deputy director of the Branch was Tatyana Anokhina, a candidate of pedagogical sciences and associate professor. Their partnership proved to be highly productive. T. A. Anokhina made significant contributions to maintaining a high standard of education at the Branch.
The Department of Translation Theory and Practice was one of the first to be established in the NB PSU, which from the moment of its creation to the present day (later renamed the Department of Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication) is headed by candidate of philological sciences, associate professor B. B. Dokuto.
Rector of PSU, Doctor of Economics, Professor A. P. Gorbunov provided the team of the NB PSU overwhelming support. Thanks to it N.P. Bugaenko and her team turned it into a true Black Sea pearl of linguistic education. As a result, talented school-leavers from schools in Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Anapa, etc. seek to enter this educational institution.
The Branch immediately joined the educational space of the city, cooperating closely with educational organisations. One of the results was the organisation of a university class at the Branch in 2000. In 2002, the first linguists graduated. The following year it was decided to expand the range of educational programmes, and in 2003 the first admission of translation students took place. In 2003, there was opened the department of additional education, which immediately became in demand both among the students of the Branch and outside students. The system of higher education in Russia has changed, and the Branch has changed with it. In 2011, in connection with the transition to a three-tier system of higher education, the first Bachelor’s degree programmes were introduced, and in 2016 the first graduation of Bachelors of Linguistics took place.
In 2014, in cooperation with the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, the Branch opened a local testing centre for migrants, which became another area of the Branch’s activity. The result of the Branch’s information openness was the appearance of the first official website in 2014, which was replaced by the current http://nf-pgu.ru/ in 2017.
In May 2016, Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University was renamed the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education ‘Pyatigorsk State University’ due to the expansion of the range of programmes offered, and the Branch became known as Novorossiysk Branch of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education ‘Pyatigorsk State University’.
In 2017, candidate of philological sciences, associate professor D. V. Yurchenko, who had previously worked as head of department and dean at Pyatigorsk State University, was appointed Director of the Branch, while the former director N. P. Bugaenko took the position of Rector’s Advisor for the Novorossiysk Branch.
In 2018, the range of additional educational programmes implemented by the Branch expanded and the number of their students increased. The material and technical condition of the Branch has improved; each classroom is now equipped with computers and projection equipment, which makes it possible to use multimedia resources in every class and to carry out the educational process in close connection with the Branch’s electronic information and education system.
The pandemic period presented new challenges. From March to June 2020, the educational process took place entirely in a distance form, and from June 2020 to March 2021 the Branch worked in a mixed format. The administration took all safety measures; the educational process was transferred to the electronic information and educational environment of the Branch. We can proudly state that the Branch coped with the challenges, and the implementation of the educational programme was carried out without any loss of quality. At the same time, the electronic environment was seriously filled up, and the faculty received new impulses to develop further.
When a big undertaking is made, it is very important to have a team of like-minded people working together and providing support on both current issues and strategic planning. Such a team is successfully working in NS PSU and making a significant contribution to the development of the Branch at the present stage, displaying professionalism and dedication to the common cause.