The image of Moscow in modern Chinese textbooks of Russian as a Foreign language for higher education institutions

The paper aims at describing the representation of the image of Moscow as an integral part of the image of Russia, formed in the consciousness of the end-users of Chinese Russian textbooks. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been set and achieved: to select texts and illustrations centered on Moscow; to identify the components of the image of Moscow in the materials under consideration and to pinpoint the dominant aspect of the image; to determine the strategies of representing Moscow; to characterize the influence of the image of Moscow on the image of Russia as a whole. The methods employed in the study combine the elements of comparative analysis and content analysis of the material, description and induction. The research has demonstrated that, when selecting and presenting the teaching materials, the authors of the textbooks relied upon the strategy of linguocultural progression and holistic approach. The textbooks demonstrate a multifaceted image of Moscow. The findings of the study show that the analyzed textbooks provide the students with rich linguocultural information about Moscow, covering such aspects as history and culture, gastronomic tradition and holidays, education, transport, and trade. The studied materials use the constructive strategies of Moscow’s image presentation: the strategy of well-balanced presentation of the Russian culture and the Chinese culture; the strategy of the inclusion of phenomena of Russian culture into the world cultural heritage; the strategy of combination of the traditional and the modern in the description of Moscow. Overall, it can be argued that the textbooks under consideration project a positive image of Moscow, whose dominant component is the cultural aspect. The uniqueness of Moscow portrayed in the textbooks fosters Chinese students‘ interest in Russian culture and contributes to improving the perception of Moscow and Russia as a whole.