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Dr 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. The award was presented to her and eight other recipients on November 12 in New Delhi with the support of Rossotrudnichestvo Representative Office in India and the Centre for Russian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
The award certificate said that Dr Bhat-Behere has promoted the Russian language, literature, and culture in India. “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,” it added.
The award is named after legendary 19th-century Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. His books, like Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, explored themes like the psychology of crime, redemption, nihilism, philosophy, evil, faith, and free will.
In a Facebook post, the Russian House in New Delhi detailed that the award was given to nine people. Professor Bhat-Behere told The Indian Express on receiving the award, “I was honoured and happy. It was a double delight because I received it at the hands of Dostoevsky’s great-great-grandson.” The award was presented by Alexei Dmitrievich Dostoevsky, a descendant of the famous author.
Dr Bhat-Behere holds a PhD in Russian and specialises in linguistics, lexicology, translation studies, and comparative literature.
According to the Centre for Intercultural Dialogue, she founded a journal, Kelyane Bhashantar, supporting translation from foreign languages into Marathi and served as its chief editor from 2011 to 2016. She has also published translations of various Russian works into Marathi and compiled a trilingual Marathi-Russian-German dictionary. She has delivered a TEDx Talk titled Speaking for Ourselves: How Language Shapes our World, describing how language can be a tool for understanding, communication, and artistic expression.
Talking about the Russian author’s work, Dr Bhat-Behere said, “Dostoevsky’s literature is a milestone in world literature. His literature was appreciated by legends such as Albert Einstein and Franz Kafka. In India, the medium of popular culture, cinema, has several times resorted to Dostoevsky’s novels. His novella White Nights has found expression on Bollywood and south cinema screens. Currently, a stage adaptation of this novella, Chandani Ratein, is being performed. Such enduring popularity across the globe for 200-odd years comes because Dostoevsky truly touches the human soul.”
