The department was established in its present form on May 1^st, 2015, on the basis of two departments: the Department of Eastern Languages and Religious Studies and the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature. The new Department of Languages and cultures provides possibilities to study both world languages and cultures. The department offers a wide range of Western languages such as German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian etc. as well Eastern languages such as Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Urdu. The Department also focuses on ancient and modern cultures of the West and the East.

Among the main goals of the Department are the following:

• To develop students’ proficiency in modern foreign languages of the West and East through improving four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing)
• To expand students’ understanding of cultural-historical knowledge and the world’s cultural diversity through integrative learning, critical thinking, and analytical study of cultures, religions, and societies
• To conduct research and organize various programs on new approaches of teaching foreign languages, study of cultures and cultures