ASU Freshers Meet with Representatives of Religions and National Security, Defense & Law Enforcement Agencies

On October 31, Astrakhan State University held the discussion “Dialogue of Cultures. Specificity of Extremism & Terrorism Prevention in Youth”. The invited experts consulted 1st year foreign students on various legal and religious issues.

In his welcoming speech, ASU Rector Konstantin Markelov noted that now ASU trains more than 2,000 foreign students from different countries like Azerbaijan, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Islamic Republic of Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and many others.

Vladimir Chernyshov, the Deputy Head of the Immigration Control Department of the Migration Directorate of the RF Ministry of International Affairs in Astrakhan region, told the participants in detail about the migration law, including registration and labour activities.

Another issue under discussion was connected with narcotic substances: Lt. Colonel Ekaterina Zubanova, the Deputy Head of the Unit for Interdepartmental Interaction in Prevention, Organization of Crime-Prevention Operations & Administrative Practice of the Drug Control Service of the RF Ministry of International Affairs in Astrakhan region, told the participants both about harm and negative consequences of prohibited psychoactive substances and about the responsibility for buying, storage, distribution and popularization of narcotic substances and some medicines.

The freshers also listened to spiritual representatives of the Astrakhan Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church — Priest Viraly Semenov, the Head of the Youth Affairs Unit, and Archpriest Roman Skolota, the Head of the Missionary Unit. The Orthodox representatives, as well as Chief Imam-Akhoond Rauf-Khazrat Dzhantasov, the Chairman of the Astrakhan Regional Muslim Spiritual Board of the Central Muslim Spiritual Board of Russia, reminded the students of the necessity not only to comply with the law of the country they are studying and living in, but to remember about the rules of the person’s own consciousness and moral responsibility to their parents, family and friends.