The Institute for Bible Translation, in partnership with Granat Publishers, has just added a new Russian-language edition to its scholarly series on Biblical Studies. This is a collection of articles on the subject of intertextuality in the Bible.

The main premise of intertextuality studies is that any particular text necessarily exists in the environment of other texts written prior to it, and reflects them to varying degrees. This characteristic of texts in general also applies to the Bible, which by its nature is a compilation of books written at different times in different places by individuals who spoke different languages. The Bible is filled with self-citations and references and allusions. The authors of the New Testament frequently quote the Old Testament; however, the cited text often conveys a slightly different meaning from that of the original text in light of the new context in which it is being used...

According to the 2010 census, the number of speakers of the Abaza language in Russia is 37,831 people. The Abaza live primarily in the Karachay-Cherkessia region of the North Caucasus.

IBT’s Abaza translation project is working simultaneously on the books of the Old and New Testament. A bilingual Abaza/Russian edition of Jonah was published in 2019, and Ruth/Esther came out in 2020. An illustrated collection of "Gospel Parables" was printed in 2020. And now IBT has released the first full book of the New Testament - the Gospel of Matthew...

IBT’s Bible translation project in the Adyghe language continues its work with the recent publication of Gospel Parables. This edition had been previously published by IBT in many other languages of Russia, such as Agul, Bezhta, Dargi, Digor, Dungan, Even, Kabardian, Kumyk, Lak, Nenets, Nogai, Rutul, Siberian Tatar, Tatar, and Tsakhur.

Besides the collection of parables from Luke’s Gospel that IBT has used in previous editions -- the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:30-35), the Rich Fool (Lk 12:16-21), the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:10-14), the Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31), the Lost Sheep (Lk 15:3-7) and the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32) --  the Adyghe publication also includes several additional parables from Luke and Matthew: the Persistent Widow (Lk 18:2-8), the Sower and the Seed (Mt 13: 3-8, 18-23), the Unmerciful Servant (Mt 18:23-35), the Workers in the Vineyard (Mt 20:1-16), and the Talents (Mt 25:14-30).

The first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, has been translated into the Gagauz language.

Most of the Gagauz people (more than 100,000 speakers in all) live in south Moldova, particularly in the district of Gagauzia. The Gagauz, who are primarily Orthodox Christians, are already familiar with the biblical stories of the Creation, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel from worship and icon painting. Now, the book of Genesis will enable the Gagauz to get acquainted in full with these stories in their native language. Until now, the only Old Testament works available in Gagauz have been a summary of Old Testament stories published in 1907, the Psalter (1936), the IBT Children’s Bible (2010), six Psalms (IBT, 2011), and the books of Ruth and Jonah (IBT, 2017)...

One of the most interesting holidays celebrated by the indigenous peoples of northern Russia is Reindeer Herder's Day. It is rooted in antiquity and is timed to coincide with the Spring Equinox, when the Arctic wakes up from the long polar night. This is a real festival of culture for residents of the Yamal Peninsula: the Nenets, Khanty, Mansi, Komi, and Selkup peoples. The festival usually begins in a certain place at the end of February and is celebrated in all major cities of the region, passed on as in a relay-race from one place to another until the end of April.