January 29, 2025: yesterday, on the eve of Anton Chekhov's 165 birthday, ARUCI (Association des russophones en Côte d'Ivoire) organized "Chekhov Readings" at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University.

The welcome speech by the Russian ambassador to Ivory Coast Alexey Saltykov was followed by a video greeting by Taganrog City Executive Svetlana Kambulova: "It feels good to know that in Africa, in a country with an exotic and romantic name Côte d'Ivoire, young people show interest in the personality and literature heritage of our townman, in Russian language and culture. Chekhov's writings are perfect for learning Russian language, because he is considered a past master of short stories. In his own words, "brevity is the sister of talent". With the photos we sent to you, we tried to make you feel the spirit of Taganrog - the home city of Chekhov, where he grew up, that he criticized and loved, where he found hundreds of characters for his future writings..."

Those who attended the event learnt interesting facts from the life of the world-famous writer. All photos and texts for the presentation were provided by Taganrog Local Government.

Chekhov readings in French were followed by the lecture delivered by professor Sylla Akiri, head of world literature chair, and dedicated to Chekhov's influence on the world drama. RT and some local channels provided coverage of the event.