Oubangui on the Volga

By Cathy MERCIER | LAMINE MEDIA

(Bangui, 10 June 2026 | LAMINE MEDIA) A Russian speaker through and through, or ‘soft power’ at its finest, the Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, already translated into 210 languages, sees, on his birthday, part of his work translated into Sango, despite many limitations; so the Russian House in Bangui launched an open competition for the best translation of five famous texts: “I Remember a Wonderful Moment”, “I Loved You”, “The Prophet”, “Winter Morning” and “Very” (or “Work”, depending on the version). Thirty-three candidates took part, and eighteen finalists were shortlisted after an initial selection. Among them were both novice authors and established poets keen to put their mastery of literary translation to the test. The entries were assessed by a jury comprising a professor heading the Institute of Applied Linguistics, a secondary school literature teacher, a journalist and a teacher of Russian as a foreign language. The jury praised the quality of the finalists’ work, their fidelity to the original text and their creativity in finding expressive equivalents in Sango. At the end of the competition, three winners were recognised for their talent as translators and poets. The Russian House in Bangui presented the top participants with smartphones. “We are delighted that Pushkin is now even closer to our Central African friends,” said the organisers. “Poetic translation fosters cultural dialogue and, in this particular case, is giving rise to a new tradition. ” Hello, we are indeed in Bangui, even though it feels like we’re in Moscow.

For: LAMINE MEDIA (in FR and GB)

Date: 10 June 2026

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