The Department of Russian Literature is one of the leading departments of the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek.
From 1990 to 2001, the department was headed by Professor A.Z. Vulis, Associate Professor P.P. Filippov, and Associate Professor K.R. Babadzhanova. From 2001 to 2011, the department was headed by Doctor of Philological Sciences A.N. Davshan. From 2011 to 2013, the Head of the Department was Associate Professor A.V. Popov. From 2013 to 2016, the department was headed by O.N. Gibraltarskaya. Since 2017, the department has been headed by Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor S.E. Kamilova.
S.E. Kamilova is Doctor of Philological Sciences and Professor, a specialist in contemporary Uzbek and Russian literature. Her research interests include comparative literary studies and translation studies. She is the author of translations of a number of literary works into Uzbek and Russian. She is also the author of textbooks, monographs, international and national scholarly articles, and an active participant in international conferences. The Department’s scholarly school of comparative literary studies and contemporary literature was established under the supervision of S.E. Kamilova. She is a participant in the international project “Anthology of the Literature of the CIS Countries,” a member of the jury of the international “Sheriyat” Prize, a member of the international community of the Institute of Translators, moderator of the International School of Translators, co-organizer of the annual international conference “Vinogradov Readings,” and a member of the editorial board of the journal Zvezda Vostoka.
At present, the department employs three Doctors of Philological Sciences (S.E. Kamilova, O.N. Gibraltarskaya, E.M. Kaminskaya), seven Candidates of Philological Sciences (M.N. Nizamova, A.M. Baltabaeva, A.N. Rotanov, F.M. Irkabaeva, O.B. Yuldasheva, A.Sh. Kurchastova, N.U. Yuldasheva), and ten associate professors, senior lecturers and lecturers: N.Kh. Alimova, A.V. Korzun, R.M. Batyrova, N.R. Sultanova, M.V. Shin, V.A. Sukhanov, V.S. Matkurbanova, D.E. Radzhabova, A.A. Usmanova, and F.J. Irkabaeva.

The publication of monographs has significantly strengthened the position of the republic’s literary studies school. During the past decade, the following monographs have been published:

• S.E. Kamilova — “The Contemporary Short Story: Semantic Vectors and Narrative Strategies”; “The Moral Code of the Individual in the Works of V. Rasputin and O. Yakubov”; “The Poetics
• of the Uzbek Short Story at the Turn of the 20th–21st Centuries”.
• O.N. Gibraltarskaya — “A Change in the System of Artistic Coordinates: From Prose to Drama”; “A Systemic Approach to Higher Philological Education”; “Current Issues in Literary Studies”.
• E.M. Kaminskaya — “The Poetics of S.P. Borodin’s Prose”; “The Poetics of S.P. Borodin’s Prose: Text, Context, Metatext”; “The Artistic World of Andrei Platonov’s Novellas (Inside the Writer’s Creative Laboratory)”.
• N.Kh. Alimova — “The Poetics of American Prose of the Last Third of the Twentieth Century”; “The Poetics of the Contemporary American Short Story”.
• A.M. Baltabaeva — “The Development of the Novella Genre in the Russian-Language Literature of Uzbekistan”; “Symbolic Images in the Russian-Language Prose of Uzbekistan”.
• A.N. Rotanov — “Graphic Literature: The Artistic Language of the Visual Age. Poetics and Reception of the Creolized Text”.
• F.M. Irkabaeva — “The Narrative Strategy of Guzel Yakhina”.
• O.B. Yuldasheva — “The Image of the East in the Russian-Language Literature of Central Asia”.

One of the department’s priorities is dissertation research. Doctoral dissertations (Doctor of Philological Sciences degree) have been prepared and defended by:

• S.E. Kamilova — “The Development of the Short Story Genre in Contemporary Russian and Uzbek Literature of the Late 20th and Early 21st Century”;
• O.N. Gibraltarskaya — “The Representation of the Artistic Systems of M.A. Bulgakov, A.P. Platonov, and B.L. Pasternak in Contemporary Russian-Language Literature”;
• E.M. Kaminskaya — “The Poetics of S.P. Borodin’s Prose”.

In recent years, the department has focused on training young scholars. Under the supervision of Professor S.E. Kamilova, the following PhD dissertations in Philology have been prepared and defended:

• A.V. Ekabsons — “Time and Space in Contemporary Russian Drama of the 20th–21st Centuries”;
• A.M. Baltabaeva — “The Development of the Novella Genre in the Russian-Language Literature of Uzbekistan”;
• Sh.N. Berdieva — “The Specificity of Non-Fiction in Contemporary Literature (Based on Russian, Uzbek, and Belarusian Prose)”;
• Kh.Sh. Kuchkarova — “The Poetics of Small Genres in the Works of F. Holler”;
• A.R. Fattakhova — “The Works of Alisa Ganieva in the Context of Contemporary Russian Literature”;
• A.N. Rotanov — “The Representation of the Graphic Novel in Contemporary Russian Literature”;
• V.I. Pulatova — “The Typology of the Dystopian Genre in Contemporary British Literature”;
• M.S. Fayzieva — “Types of Heroes in the Short Story of British Fiction at the Turn of the 20th–21st Centuries”;
• F.M. Irkabaeva — “The Works of Guzel Yakhina in the Context of Contemporary Russian Literature”;
• N.U. Yuldasheva — “The Poetics of Ildar Abuzarov’s Works”;
• A.Sh. Kurchastova — “The Transformation of the Family Saga Genre in Contemporary Russian Literature”.

Under the supervision of Professor O.N. Gibraltarskaya, O.B. Yuldasheva defended her PhD dissertation “The Reception of the Image of the East in the Russian-Language Literature of Central Asia”.

The Department of Russian Literary Studies organizes annual international and national conferences and round tables, including “Tashkent Literary Studies Forum,” “Young Philology of Uzbekistan,” and “Poetry Beyond Borders.”

The department has concluded international cooperation agreements with leading foreign universities: the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň (Czech Republic), Lomonosov Moscow State University, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, and the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute (Russia), among others.

Faculty members actively participate in international conferences, undertake research internships, and deliver lectures at leading foreign universities. Among them:
Professor S.E. Kamilova and PhD, Associate Professor A.M. Baltabaeva completed research internships and delivered lectures at the University of West Bohemia (Plzeň, Czech Republic);
Professor S.E. Kamilova delivered lectures at the University of Malta;
Lecturer V.A. Sukhanov completed a research internship at the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute in Moscow;
Lecturer R.M. Batyrova completed professional development and internship training in Saint Petersburg under the program “Russian Language and Literature at School and University: Teaching Bilingual and Foreign Learners”;
Professor S.E. Kamilova and Lecturer D.E. Radzhabova participated in the Fifth Kostomarov Forum in Moscow;
Professor S.E. Kamilova and Associate Professor N.Kh. Alimova participated in Linguafest 2025 at Sorbonne University (France);
Lecturer M.V. Shin participated in the Future Leaders Conference in Incheon, Republic of Korea;
Acting Associate Professor A.N. Rotanov participated in the international conference “Russian Language and Literature in the Countries of Central Asia” in Dushanbe, Tajikistan;
Lecturer A.A. Usmanova participated in the Fifth Congress of Young Scientists in Moscow.

Within the framework of the Department’s research-theoretical seminar, trainee lecturers present reports on their individual research projects:
V.A. Sukhanov — “The Conceptual Model of Urban Space Description in Literary Studies”;
V.S. Matkurbanova — “Folklore Tradition as a Literary Studies Problem”;
M.V. Shin — “The Authorial Style of A.B. Salnikov”;
N.R. Sultanova — “Imagology as a Tool for Studying National Character in Fiction”;
R.M. Batyrova — “The World of Things in Narine Abgaryan’s Novel Three Apples Fell from the Sky”;
A.V. Korzun — “The Image of the Lyrical Hero in A. Kan’s Novella Gentle Rain”;
D.E. Radzhabova — “The Specificity of the Chronotope in Andrei Volos’s Novel Khurramabad”;
A.A. Usmanova — “Persona Beyond Authenticity in the Works of V. Otroshenko”;
F.J. Irkabaeva — “The Poetics of the Short Story Genre in Philological Scholarship”.