Russia’s English-language school exam starts asking students about Defender of the Fatherland Day and National Unity Day

Russia’s Unified State Exam (EGE) in English now includes questions about Victory Day, Russia Day, Defender of the Fatherland Day, and National Unity Day, the Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported, citing students and tutors.

In at least one version of the exam, students were asked to write an essay about Victory Day — covering the holiday’s history and how it is celebrated. The exam also included an essay about National Unity Day, with one the prompts being: “What does this holiday commemorate?” Students said the question created two problems: “First, there are people who may not know the history. And second, the word ‘commemorate’ is at the C1 level, which isn’t appropriate.”

Tutors said they had prepared students to write on topics including hobbies, art, travel, transportation, environmental issues, artificial intelligence, and careers — but had not expected the exam to cover the history of Russian holidays.

In a subject-specific group on VKontakte, teachers wrote that students may struggle to think on their feet under stress, adding that for most of the holidays in question, the required language level “should clearly be higher than A2.”

One teacher said she had posed the question about the origin and significance of National Unity Day to several adults. “Nobody could give a coherent answer. And a child in a stressful situation, especially in a foreign language, will have even more difficulty,” she said.