The campaign included 139 platforms in three locations: “Donetsk”, “Makeevka”, and “Gorlovka”, and united citizens of different ages who decided to test their literacy and to support the culture of the written language.

Total Dictation text was read by famous representatives of the Russian Federation and the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Thus, the dictation was read by the DPR People’s Council Chairman Vladimir Bidyovka and People’s Council Deputies, executive and artistic director of the Donetsk State Academic Music and Drama Theatre named after M.M. Brovun, the People’s Council Committee for Education, Science and Culture Chairman Nataliya Volkova, and actors of the Music and Drama Theatre. Among those reading the text were famous artists, representatives of cities’ administrations, journalists and teachers of DPR.

The Republic was attended by the famous Russian actors, such as Boris Dragilev, Aleksandra Kulikova, Aleksei and Igor Ogurtsovy, as well as teachers from Saint Petersburg and Kursk Aleksandr Kashchuk and Yulia Goncharova.

As for location “Donetsk”, Total Dictation was held at 57 platforms in the capital of DPR as well as in Shakhtyorsk, Torez, Debaltsevo, Dokuchaevsk, Khartsyzsk, Zugres, Yasinovataya, Amvrosievka, Zhdanovka, Snezhnoe, Novoazovsk, and in Starobeshevsk and Telmanovo districts.

The dictation was given by the Russian theatre and cinema actor, poet Boris Dragilev in the Donetsk Republican Institute of Additional Pedagogical Education. “Total Dictation is an excellent campaign, it is perfect! The language unites us. I used to read dictations in Saint Petersburg, and it is a pleasure for me to participate in the event in Donetsk” – he said.

Location “Gorlovka” presented 57 platforms, with the Gorlovka Institute for Foreign Languages headed by Rector Svetlana Kochetova being a traditional organizer of Total Dictation. The campaign was organized with the support of heads of Gorlovka and Yenakievo administrations Ivan Prikhodko and Roman Khramenkov, correspondingly. Twenty-five platforms on the basis of educational establishments were open in location “Makeevka”; the dictation was given by the leading Russian language and literature teachers.

In the course of Total Dictation festival, there were organized educational and mass cultural events with the involvement of Russian guests, including meetings with cultural figures, Republican students as well as pupils, literature evenings, and various workshops. Boris Dragilev presented his one-man production “Pochukovshchina” in the Donetsk Republican Art Museum.

The campaign had a lot of partners and sponsors in Donetsk including Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Communications of the DPR, Donetsk Republic Public Movement, Russian Centre, media streamer “Zvezda”, Donetsk State Academic Music and Drama Theatre named after M.M. Brovun, Donetsk National University, Donetsk Republican Institute of Additional Pedagogical Education, and DPR Union of Writers. Information support was provided by TV-channels “Union” and “Oplot-TV”, radio “Respublica”, radio “Kometa”, Journalism Youth School, and club of child and youth creativity “Yunpress”.

“We thank heartily the Russian Centre and media streamer “Zvezda” for making it possible for Russian guests to visit Donetsk. We are grateful to the Donetsk State Academic Music and Drama Theatre named after M.M. Brovun for actively participating in maintaining the campaign” – says the city coordinator, Head of the DonNU Russian Language Department Vyacheslav Terkulov.

The Total Dictation text dedicated to Maxim Gorkiy’s work was created by the Russian writer, literature scholar and critic Pavel Basinskiy. He is the author of the story “Moscow Captive”, the novel “The Humble and Aristocrat”, and other works.

It is worth mentioning that the Total Dictation campaign is organized by Total Dictation Fund (Novosibirsk). This year about 1,000 cities and populated localities from all over the world have participated in the event.