This dictionary is a unique lexicographic source designed to break the existing myth in Russian culture about the “sameness” of German and Austrian culture and its basic values, as well as to correct the perception of Russians and Austrians about each other in order to improve the effectiveness of intercultural communication.

To create the book, a mass associative experiment was conducted with speakers of Austrian, German and Russian linguocultures, which illustrated that associative reactions of different people to the same words reflect the basic values of culture and allow us to establish the specificity of the world picture of its speakers.

The presentation of the book took place on December 17, 2024 in the National Center “Russia”, established by order of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to preserve the legacy of the International Exhibition-Forum “Russia”, as well as to demonstrate the achievements of the country and its citizens on a permanent basis.

Andrey Fursenko, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Co-Chairman of the Russian-Austrian Public Forum “Sochi Dialogue”, welcomed the guests of the event. In his speech, A.A. Fursenko summed up the results of the organization's work in 2024, focusing on the key achievements of the Forum in various areas: from science to sports. The Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the publication of the book and presented the first edition of the dictionary to Natalia Virtuozova, General Director of the National Center “Russia”, to be given to the Center's library.

“It is encouraging to see that even in the current situation, bridges of cooperation between our countries are being preserved against all odds. We sincerely support the desire of all our friends to strengthen the work both to represent Russia abroad and to expand the horizons of cooperation between nations, and we look forward to continuing our fruitful cooperation,” said Andrei Fursenko.

Natalya Sergeyevna thanked Sochi Dialogue for the choice of the venue and expressed her hope for further fruitful cooperation, emphasizing the need to develop cultural and scientific international contacts.

“The National Center shares the values of the Sochi Dialogue. We strive to achieve common goals: to promote wider international awareness of our country's most important achievements, to popularize Russia in the international arena and to build a constructive dialogue with those who want to live in a healthy world,” said the Director General of the National Center.

Konstantin Ilyich Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, drew attention to the importance of the work of the Sochi Dialogue, which in a period of crisis for Russian-Austrian relations, with the help of people's diplomacy, continues to patiently and consistently strengthen the foundation of interstate partnership.

“The analysis of associative reactions of different nations to the same words shows that there is no ‘complete sameness’ of German and Austrian cultures and their values, also allows to correct the perception of Russians, Austrians and Germans about each other. And the latter is very important for increasing the effectiveness of intercultural communication in the current difficult political realities”, - said Konstantin Mogilevsky.

Nikolay Fedoseenkov, Director of the Publishing House “Nauka”, emphasized the importance of book publishing in the activities of the Russian-Austrian Forum, which is of key importance for supporting scientific exchange between Russia and Austria, as well as contributing to the dissemination of knowledge about the culture, traditions and achievements of both countries.

“The publishing activities of Sochi Dialogue act as a platform for the exchange of ideas and experience, enriching mutual understanding and strengthening the dialog between countries, opening new prospects for cooperation,” said Nikolay Fedoseenkov.

The event was also attended by Irina Arkadyevna Kraeva, Rector of the Moscow State Linguistic University, who thanked the Forum for its trust, building trust-based relations and fruitful scientific cooperation with the university. Vera Pishchalnikova and Anna Igorevna Khlopova, the co-authors of the dictionary, took the floor, elaborating on the tasks that the dictionary allows to solve in the field of intercultural communication, noting that the book will be of interest to linguists, philosophers, culturologists, sociologists, and a wide range of readers interested in the problems of correlation of values among different groups of people.

“In the context of a difficult geopolitical situation in the world, effective interaction between states and peoples in the spheres of education and culture plays a key role. We are grateful to the organizers and management of the Forum for the opportunity to be involved in such socially significant projects,” the Rector stressed.

“We are very pleased that thanks to the Austrian-Russian public forum “Sochi Dialogue” and personally M.D. Matveeva, the publication of the Dictionary of Basic Values has become possible. It will allow us to destroy the existing myths about both the deep value opposition between our cultures and the 'sameness' of German and Austrian cultures,” the authors of the dictionary concluded.

As part of the cultural program, the guests of the event were able to enjoy performances by the Bessonny brothers, laureates of international competitions, artists of the opera troupe of the Moscow Academic Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre Natalia Petrozhitskaya, Dmitry Zuev, concertmaster – Pavel Konovalov, as well as the string orchestra, represented by Hasanov Dennis, Roman Vikulov, Andrey Usov, Arseniy Beznosikov.