Education is no longer a closed sphere and there is a need to use philological knowledge as a basic
value through cultural and educational projects. This must take into account the regional culture
of speech, rhetoric, literature, and history. This project developed the format of an Open University
within which the project "Russian environment" was implemented. This was based on activityoriented,
personality-oriented approaches to learning, the concept of imagination development, and
the theory of functional systems. It led to the concept of development of philological knowledge in
the region, which the authors see as a system of content, methodological and information technology
components that meet the needs and demands of the socio-cultural environment. The article
presents experimental data on the efficiency of the approach. Philological knowledge is thought to
be an instrument of national identity formation, fostering tolerance and respect for the values of
national culture.