“Your Prime Minister (Hasina) is a brave woman with tragic history of her family,” he told reporters at a press conference in the city, adding that it is “very unusual case” (in global context) and she is so successful.
Prof Naumkin of the Institute of Oriental Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences worked as an interpreter during Bangabandhu’s 1974 visit to erstwhile Soviet Union. He translated two books, 'Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Birth of Bangladesh' and the 'Unfinished Memoirs of Bangabandhu', into Russian language.
After handing over the books to Prime Minister Hasina, Prof Naumkin, director of Oriental Studies at 300-year-old Russian Academy of Science (RAS), described why the RAS recently published a book on Sheikh Hasina in four languages – Russian, Bangla, English and Arabic.
The Russian professor also handed over a copy of the book titled 'Conversation of Professor Dr V Naumkin with Sheikh Hasina' to the Prime Minister.
The Russian scholar said the RAS published the book under one of its projects to highlight important global leaders. “Our idea was to highlight those leaders who are changing the world,” he added.
Prof Naumkin said the background of publishing these books is very specific as Bangladesh is currently one of the main global players, especially in South Asia.
“You country is developing at a very fast pace,” he said, adding that they thought it is important to help Russian leaders and people know more about Bangladesh and the relationship between the two countries.
Bangladesh-Russia Friendship Society General Secretary Prof Dr M Shahidullah Sikdar and RMM Power and Energy’s Managing Director Aniruddha Kumar Roy also spoke at the briefing.