Congolese students: Respect for family and elders comes first, just like for Russians

Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from and where did you study before coming to SPbU? 

Kambale Mole Volonté: I would like to clarify in advance that there are two countries called Congo, we are from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sage and I were born in the same village and have been studying together all this time, so you could say we are very good friends, brothers even. 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: We studied petrochemical engineering at a fairly prestigious school in eastern Congo, and our dream was to continue our studies in this field. Later we went to Moscow, to the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas. I chose the Faculty of Chemical Technologies, Oil and Gas Processing, and Kambale chose the Faculty of Design, Construction and Operation of Pipeline Transport Systems. 

How did you decide to come to Russia to study? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: At the beginning, I honestly did not imagine that I would be studying in Russia. Petrochemical programmes are quite rare in our region, and in 2017 we became the first graduates from our home province to complete such a programme. To continue our studies, we needed help from the government, especially from the provincial governor. We had been looking for a suitable university for a long time, but without success. One day we received a message that there was an opportunity to study in Russia, which was a completely unexpected option for us. 

I should note that it is not easy to find scholarship programmes to study abroad. The application process is so long and complicated that I had little hope of success, so I enrolled in a local university to major in chemistry, just in case. And when I was told — it was just a rumour at the time — that there was a possibility of going to Russia, I didn’t really believe it, plus we still had to pass the exam to get the scholarship. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: We were allowed to take the exam in our town, although it is usually held in the capital, Kinshasa. This programme to study in Russia has existed for many years, but we were the first students from our province to be accepted. North Kivu is a province in eastern Congo that is still plagued by armed conflict. The best students in the province had gathered to take the exam, but only ten of them passed the test. The consul personally delivered the examination papers to Goma, the provincial capital. Later, Rossotrudnichestvo staff helped with the paperwork and obtaining a visa, although at that time the Rossotrudnichestvo programme in its current form was not officially active in the country and people could only apply through the embassy. 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: When we were accepted, I remember my parents’ reaction: "What are you going to do in Russia?" I don’t know how things are now, but back then everything that was known about Russia in our country was negative. We get most of our information about Russia from Western sources and social networks, where anti-Russian bias prevails. Basically all our sources of information are French-speaking, they tell us what is right and wrong and feed us blatantly biased information. You have to critically analyse the news in order to maintain a neutral position. My younger brother said that people here would see me as a terrorist or a smuggler. But I still thought it would be a good opportunity to go to Russia to study. I decided to give it a try. 

Do you find it difficult to learn Russian? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: I can’t say that the process of learning Russian is difficult in itself. This is not the first time Kambale and I have lived away from our families, and Russian is not our first foreign language, so we found the learning process quite intuitive. Nevertheless, Russian is a very challenging language that requires a lot of self-discipline, careful study of grammar and vocabulary, and lots of speaking practice. This is not the case with English, for example. As far as I’m concerned, you can learn English without any speaking practice, you can’t really do that with Russian, but that’s my opinion. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: Speaking of learning languages, we speak seven. These include Kinande, Kinyarwanda, French, Swahili, English, Lingala and Russian. In general, the language situation in our country is quite complex, but interesting. 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: For us, learning Russian became an extension of that language learning experience. After we finished school, we travelled to Uganda to learn English, as it is the official language of the country. In our home country, French is the official language and English is the language of administration, which we learn at school. Originally, we thought we would be studying in a country where English was the native language. We contacted a company that helps students get into foreign universities and they told us about the possibility of studying in Russia. It was an unexpected choice, but still a chance to get an education abroad. 

We started learning Russian from scratch and tried to learn it as quickly as possible. When we first arrived at the airport, we discovered that almost no one spoke English or French. I remember hearing a man say the word spasibo. I wanted to write the word down, but I had no idea how to type it. A friend of mine preinstalled a Russian keyboard on my phone, but I hadn’t figured out how to use it yet. It bothered me that I couldn’t write down such a simple word as "thank you" and I thought about it all the way to the dormitory. This situation motivated me to learn the writing system and start writing everything down as soon as possible. 

After three or four months I was generally able to speak Russian. The main thing is to put forward as much effort as possible, learn as quickly as possible. I don’t mind making mistakes in my speech because I know that it’s the mistakes that help me improve. 

What do you think is the most effective way to learn a language? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: I’ll be honest, 60% of my knowledge of Russian came from talking to Russians, 20% from university and another 20% from textbooks and TV programmes. For example, I used to watch the TV show «Best of all!» My choice might seem strange, as it’s probably considered more of a children’s show, but it really helped me. In the show, the presenter talks to talented children and I had no problem understanding them as the children use very basic Russian. 

I actively got to know Russians in order to practise the language. I hung out with friends, talked to cashiers, rarely sat cooped up at the dormitory, and constantly sought out new acquaintances. That’s how the integration process works. When you arrive in a new country where everything is new — the people, the culture, the weather — you are faced with the choice of hiding out in the dormitory, ruining your mood by getting stressed and homesick, or actively stepping out of your comfort zone. We were lucky enough to share the dormitory with some international students from South America who were also very motivated to learn Russian — we became almost like a family. 

After six years here, I can confirm that there is one big mistake international students make — they only socialise with their compatriots. We did our best to avoid that. In my case, playing football helped a lot and, of course, I had good teachers. 

I can’t say that I’m fluent, but I think my level of knowledge is sufficient. I have learnt to write, to speak, albeit with mistakes, to understand spoken language, and I consider it a great success since Russian is not my mother tongue. 

Was there anything you found strange about Russia? And what have you grown to like?

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: I’d like to start by saying that I have a principle: you have to accept what you can’t change. Like, I am not a fan of the Russian weather. Or that Russians don’t really laugh or smile that often — I can’t change these things. I can’t say that the stereotype of not smiling is entirely fair, as it depends very much on the person, but it is a tendency. Africans usually look happy, they don’t let you see their true mood on their face. A person going through a difficult time will not show personal feelings in public; they will put up a front. In Russia it’s not like that at all, you can tell someone’s mood just by looking at them. For my part, I have simply accepted this as a fact of life. 

I appreciate Russian culture, especially the values that are close to my own, such as the importance of family and respect for elders. I like Russian cuisine, although sometimes I miss our local food — I can only approximate food from home as only about 60% of the ingredients we use are available here. But that’s all right, I can’t expect the supermarkets to stock the same products all over the world. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: One common stereotype that is often mentioned and that we were worried about before we came here is racism. I can’t say that this stereotype is entirely accurate. From the moment we arrived at the airport, there was no negativity, people had a good attitude. There have been some unpleasant incidents, of course, but those are rare. When I talk to my friends back in Congo, I always remind them not to trust everything they read on social media. 

Of course, there are things I still don’t understand: everyone smokes here, even the young people! It was a shock to me, we don’t really smoke in Africa and it’s generally associated with criminals and stuff like that. There are even designated smoking areas here. My Russian friends explained that this was normal. 

I also love that there is a great opportunity here to meet and make friends with people from all over the world, not only from Russia. 

What is your impression of the people who live in St Petersburg? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: I find the people here to be kind and open to communication. Especially compared to Moscow, where we lived before — people there are always in a hurry, they don’t really socialise. And here, if you need directions on the street, people will always stop and help you; friends will always find time to hang out with you. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: For foreigners, communicating with Russians isn’t always easy. We are representatives of the Congolese community here in St Petersburg and often hear from students about the barrier in communicating with Russians. Depending on where they come from, some people are wary of foreigners. But we are already seeing a change; young people are more and more informed about what is happening in the world. Especially after the World Cup in Russia, Russians’ perception of foreigners is beginning to change. 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: This is not just true for African students. It is true for all foreigners. It is all too easy for people to fall into the trap of stereotypes. I think we should think critically and be wary of such prejudices, whether against Africans or any other people. It is necessary to seek out additional sources of information, actually talk to foreigners, ask questions and form your own opinions. 

Why did you decide to leave Moscow? What was it that attracted you to St Petersburg?

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: Honestly, St Petersburg is just better. Some people might disagree when they hear that, but that’s just my opinion. Moscow, of course, is a modern industrial city. But it is St Petersburg that best reflects Russia’s history; a city that has preserved its heritage. You have to go to St Petersburg if you want to see these things for yourself. I have been to Moscow, Smolensk and a few other cities, but none of them has preserved the pages of the country’s history quite like St Petersburg. 

We first came here in the winter before the pandemic for an important meeting for our company. I’ll be honest, I hated it here at first because it was freezing and we decided to come back at another time of year. It was another year and a half before the pandemic was over and I came back to St Petersburg for a competition — and I loved it this time around. As I explored the city, especially the museums, I remembered the lectures on Russian history we had had in our first and second years. It was like being transported into the country’s past. Naturally, when I got the opportunity to come here and study, especially at SPbU, I took it. For me, our university is the best university in Russia, you either choose this school or none at all. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: I agree. St Petersburg has preserved its culture and history. For me, this city quiter than Moscow, and more beautiful. For my Master’s degree, I wanted a peaceful environment where I could plan out my future and think everything through. 

Before coming here, I read a lot about Russian culture and history. When I first came to St Petersburg on company business, I got to see for myself all the places I had read about in books. I would also like to clarify that we were initially admitted to Master’s programmes at universities in both Moscow and St Petersburg, but for me there was only one option — SPbU. Not only for the love of the city, but also for the prestige of the university. When I heard that famous people like Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev had studied here, I said to myself — I must study at the same university as them. 

Why did you choose the Master in Economics and International Economic Relations of Asia and Africa? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: It may seem strange that we switched our major from oil and gas industry to Asian and African economics, but we had our reasons. We believe that the oil industry, the economy and politics are all closely interlinked and that we cannot talk about the oil industry in isolation from, for example, the global market and geopolitics. We are very interested in the international relations of African and Asian countries, so this programme has the great advantage of combining many areas of study. 

After completing my undergraduate degree, I became a specialist in oil and gas refining, but what next? I need to gain knowledge of economics and politics in order to understand and analyse different processes in this field. In general, I was surprised to find such an interdisciplinary Master’s programme. It covers a whole range of sciences, which is a great advantage for students. I am very happy that SPbU offers such a programme and that I was lucky enough to find it in time. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: I would like to add that in addition to being engineers, we need to become great managers, leaders. Sage and I have known each other for a long time and we have common plans for our careers, which do not stop at engineering positions. 

What is your opinion of the programme so far? 

Kambale Volonté Mole: I really like everything about it. When we started studying petrochemistry at home, I thought the coursework would get straight to the point, but we had to start with the more general theory first. The same thing happened during my undergraduate studies in Moscow, when I studied oil and gas processing: the first two years were reserved for general disciplines. Conversely, from the moment I started the SPbU programme, I’ve been able to study exactly what I came for. One of the side effects of this is that I was able to narrow down the topic of my dissertation very quickly. Also, all the courses meet my requirements and expectations for a programme called Economics and International Economic Relations and are therefore inherently interesting to me.

Read more about the Asian and African Economies and International Economic Relations Master’s programme

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: I really like the classes, especially the format, we get to interact a lot with the teachers, build a good relationship with them. COVID has given us a taste of distance learning and, to be honest, many schools still haven’t recovered from this format. Some lecturers at other universities continue to teach mostly online and via self-study materials (all those pdf files!), as they did during the quarantine. This is not the case at SPbU, where lecturers come to class not just to lecture, but to engage with students and discuss the material. I would like to make a special mention of our wonderful teachers: Maria Malashevskaya, Alexandr Zdanevich, Alexandr Zheltov and Valens Maniragen. 

Since a Master’s thesis requires independent research, it is essential to communicate personally with classmates and teachers, to build relationships, to discuss in lectures and seminars and to get feedback. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: I also wanted to add that I’m very happy that our class is international — we have people from Africa, from the CIS. I’d say the mix is about 40% Russian and 60% foreign students, with all the Russian students speaking various foreign languages. 

Have you been awarded a scholarship? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: Yes, the scholarship from the Government of the Russian Federation covers the full cost of tuition, and our families help us with our living expenses. 

The Faculty of Asian and African Studies requires the study of multiple foreign languages. Have you started on a new foreign language yet? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: We were offered to start Chinese in the second semester, but we decided to postpone it until next year. This year we are taking classes in Kinyarwanda and Swahili. You might ask why Swahili, as we already speak the language. At SPbU we study the standard Swahili spoken in Tanzania and Kenya, which is quite different from the Swahili spoken in eastern Congo. Congo Swahili is influenced by Lingala and French, has its own grammatical structures and patterns, so it would be difficult for us to understand a person from Tanzania, for example. 

Are you planning an internship in St Petersburg? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: This is a pressing issue for all international students. Educational programmes rarely provide internship opportunities for international students. There are some companies that accept international students for internships, but they are few and far between. Some students are advised to do their work placement in their home country. In our case, we returned to the Congo twice for internships during the four years of our undergraduate studies. I once got a job in a local company on my own initiative, but I was the only one out of ten Congolese students to do so, and only because I knew the CEO personally and they were willing to take on the trouble to employing a foreigner and a student. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: The situation is certainly complicated. Since we are being educated in Russia, it is only natural that we should first complete an internship within the context of the Russian industry. We understand, however, that a special agreement on student placements between the two countries is a prerequisite for this. So we had to go back to Congo. But consider this — the oil and gas industry is underdeveloped in our country, which is why we are here in the first place. There are simply not enough suitable companies to apply to for an internship. 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: Internships are compulsory for graduation; fortunately we had enough money to return home and were lucky enough to get a relevant internship. An appropriate work placement is particularly important for engineering majors. Take me for example, I studied Petroleum Refining, an internship for me should deal with a very specific range of engineering design tasks, not every company will suit me. 

Tell us about your plans for the future. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: As people say — it takes a lifetime to learn. After my master’s degree, I would like to start an active professional life — a career. I may continue my studies in the future, but in the short term I need to start working. I love Russia, but I am still a patriot of my country and I will definitely return to my homeland to build my career there. 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: Eventually I’d like to take it to the next level — graduate school. A PhD student can combine work and study without being locked in a classroom all the time. However, we have already invested a lot of years and effort in our education and the knowledge we have gained is enough for us to start a career in our home country and create our own projects. 

What do you think are the prospects for cooperation between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: As the saying goes, "Russia is a land of opportunity". We came to Russia not only for education, but also for business opportunities. Of course, a great deal depends on the political climate at any given point in time. We have been living here for five years, so we have a good understanding of many business processes in Russia. I am convinced that our education and experience have prepared us well to promote cooperation with Russia. Business cooperation between our countries will not only benefit individual entrepreneurs, but also the future of our country. 

Kambale Volonté Mole: As Sage mentioned, one of our goals is to make new connections here in Russia; we try to communicate with as many people as possible and expand our social circles. Who knows, maybe one of our classmates is the future Sergei Lavrov? There are many forums in St Petersburg and we have participated in many of them. It is important for us to expand our business relations so that by the time we arrive in Congo, we can use our contacts in Russia to better develop professionally and build our company. Over the years, political and economic cooperation between Russia and African countries has only grown, which benefits both sides and, of course, has a positive impact on entrepreneurs like us. 

Would you recommend SPbU to students in your country? 

Kihenyegho Sage Manassé: Of course, the University has already given me so much. In the rankings SPbU is after Moscow State University, but for me SPbU is the first university in Russia, regardless of any rankings. This is my personal opinion based on my actual experience of studying and living here. I think we should reframe the question: what other school could you possibly choose? 

Kambale Volonté Mole: Today, many African countries are beginning to draw closer to Russia, and many people want to visit Russia or study here. So ideally I would very much like to see an increase in the number of scholarship quotas for students who want to study in the Russian Federation. At the moment, in our country of 100 million people, the quota is only 50-55 people. It would be great if our students had the opportunity to get a quality education in Russia.