Russia’s national college entrance exam will include Mandarin as an elective foreign language, according to an announcement by Sergey Kravtsov, Russian deputy minister of education and science, Sputnik News reported.

据俄罗斯卫星新闻报道，俄罗斯教育科学部副部长谢尔盖.克拉夫佐夫日前宣布，普通话将作为选修外语进入俄罗斯高考。

The three-year preparation work was completed in 2017, including technologies for written and oral tests, reference materials and talent reserves, according to the deputy minister.

据副部长介绍，为期三年的准备工作已经于2017年完成，准备工作包括笔试和口试的技术准备、参考资料的搜集和人才的储备。

Mandarin will soon become the fifth elective test item for the Russian college entrance exam in addition to English, German, French and Spanish.

普通话将成为俄罗斯高考的第五门选修课，此外还有英语、德语、法语和西班牙语。

The study of Mandarin has grown in tandem with increasing co-operation in trade and economics between China and Russia.

随着中俄经贸合作的不断加强，汉语学习也在俄罗斯不断发展。

The number of Mandarin learners in Russia has grown hugely in the past 10 years, from 17,000 in 2007 to 56,000 in 2017, according to a survey of a regional linguistics research centre in Russia.

俄罗斯某地区语言学研究中心的一项调查显示，在过去10年里，俄罗斯汉语学习者的数量大幅增长，从2007年的1.7万人增至2017年的5.6万人。

Insiders from the Russia education industry confirmed students with both relevant professional background and Mandarin proficiency are more competitive in job applications.

俄罗斯教育行业的业内人士证实，具有相关专业背景和普通话水平的学生在求职时更具竞争力。