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SRAS is proud to work in diverse locations across Eurasia. Wherever you want to go - or whatever you want to learn more about - we can most likely help. |
Добро пожаловать!
This month, we take a deeper look at two very different places we offer programs – Central Europe and Central Asia.
Let the insights of our students teach you more about the history and geopolitics of both Poland and Turkmenistan. Find out what it's like to be Jewish in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Find out more about the Koryo-Saram, Central Asia's unique Korean population, through their culinary contributions to post-Soviet cultures. Find out how the face of Europe itself is diversifying as lands formerly united by the Warsaw Pact have taken very different trajectories.
Also in this newsletter, our big Back-to-School edition, we offer two new Russian Mini-Lessons on important aspects of life inside Russia: apartment ownership and dacha construction. We've also included our regular sections on news in Russia and Poland and sections on films and music in Russia. We even have another contest where we are giving away knowledge in the form of free books. Of course, there is also lots of information on unique study opportunities across Eurasia and how you can fund them!
Welcome to a new school year! We hope to see you abroad soon!
Study Abroad
in Poland!
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Study Abroad
in Poland!
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Study Abroad
in Eurasia!
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In this month's newsletter:
- SRAS Geography! - Programs - Koroche!
- Books - Language and Culture - Articles
Call for Papers: Vestnik - Deadline: May 30!
Students who submit papers for this edition of Vestnik will be eligible for a $200 Jury Award. Click here for details. Make your submissions by May 30, 2015.
Free Books!
Participate in our latest Facebook contest and win a free copy of Putin vs. Putin or The Putin Mystique. Two views of Putin - from the political right and left. Deadline: This Friday!
– SRAS Geography! –
Poland: An Emerging Central European Power?
Take a rich look at Poland's unique history, geopolitics, and current economy! Poland is rapidly emerging as a leader in Central Europe - in part because of the massive assistance it has gotten from Western powers seeking to keep the strategic country securely in Europe.
Europe: Divisions and Unifications
Breaking Europe apart into larger subdivisions for study is difficult. Deciding where to place the various borders can land you in unsolvable debates involving politics, economics, and histories that stretch back thousands of years.
Turkmenistan: A Rich, Desert Land
If the US and Saudi Arabia were a single country, they would have about as much natural gas as Turkmenistan, a mostly desert country about the size of New Mexico. This dense, epic look at an often-overlooked country should be of interest to any student of geopolitics.
4 Cities in Uzbekistan
Explore one of the world's ancient civilizations!
Jewish Bishkek
SRAS Home and Abroad Scholar Sophia Rehm writes of her experience with Bishkek's Jewish community.
Guide to Batumi, Georgia
SRAS' latest student guide covers the basics of staying for a few months in one of SRAS' newest locations - Batumi, Georgia.
Central Asia
The Caucuses
Kazakhstan's Capitals
– Programs –
Home and Abroad Scholarships - Expanded!
These scholarships now offer $5000 - 10,000 in a more flexible program offering more locations and more subjects.
Jewish Heritage Summer
Once the home to the majority of the world's Jews, nearly 70 percent of all Jews can now trace their heritage back to Poland. Study the major triumphs, the Holocaust tragedy, and the current revival of Jewish life in Poland this summer!
Crossroads of Empires: Central Europe
This program will look at Central Europe as a case study for better understanding Security Studies in general. The program will also cover the region's history, including its connection to the European Jews.
Food and Festivals: Faculty Development
SRAS invites educators to explore the cultural and culinary heartlands of Ukraine and Georgia. This program will be conducted in Russian, with a focus on development of food-related language and lesson plans.
Summer Seminars & Russian as a Second Language!
Sign up for a full summer of Russian as a Second Language and choose from one of five specially priced seminars - in art, business, environment, or anthropology.
View ALL 12 Summer Study Programs!
Study in locations across Eurasia! Study subjects as diverse as art, politics, the envrionment, and more.
View ALL 12 Fall Semester Programs!
Funding for Study in Russia and Eurasia
Braver Grants
Service Learning Grants
Art Grants
– Koroche! –
Top 5 Movies in Russia
Poland in the News
How the Russian Economy is Reported in Russia
SRAS Students Abroad: Food and Culture
Nashe Radio's Top 5
– Language and Culture –
MiniLesson: Russian Dachas
Learn new Russian vocabulary while learning more about a Russian cultural icon - the dacha - and what Russians have to do to build one today!
MiniLesson: Russian Apartment Blocks
Learn new Russian vocabulary while taking a look at how Russian apartment blocks are maintained and how the history of post-Soviet privatization is still affecting apartment ownership today.
Halva
Ancient and nutritious, halva is sweet, nutty, and most often crumbly. Find out more about its history - and how to make it!
Korean Sparzha
Korean Sparzha has a misleading name. First, this unusual and beloved salad has nothing to do with "спаржа," which means "asparagus" in Russian. Also perhaps misleading is the fact that, while invented by Koreans, it was actually invented in the USSR.
Korean Carrot Salad
Korean Carrot Salad was a Soviet-era invention of the Koryo-Saram, ethnic Koreans living on the territory of the former Soviet Union. Today, it's sold from giant buckets in marketplaces across Eurasia to people of all ethnicities.
Finding Bishkek's Best Shashlik
Bishkek locals recommend eight places to try a classic dish that spans all post-Soviet cultures.
Holidays in Russia for 2015
Guide to Food in Adjara
Marinsky Theatre in the US!
Russian Painters For Dummies
Communal Apartments & the Outlook of Generations
| – Never Too Many Books! – |
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| Developments in Russian Politics 8 |
Putin vs. Putin |
The Putin Mystique |
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| When Art Makes News: Writing Culture and Identity in Imperial Russia |
USSR: Diary of a Perestroika Kid |
No Illusions: The Voices of Russia's Future Leaders |
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Study Abroad
in Russia!
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– Articles –
10 Russian Foreign Policy "Black Swans" for 2015
After 2014, we can almost believe that anything is possible.
NY Times Investigates How Yanukovych Fell
An investigation by The New York Times — based on interviews with security commanders, telephone records and other documents — shows that the president was not so much overthrown as cast adrift by his own allies, and that Western officials were just as surprised by the meltdown as anyone else.
Ruble's Problems Spread to Other Ex-Soviet Currencies
Falling energy prices and the plunge in the Russian ruble are hitting currencies across the former Soviet states, with Belarus and Turkmenistan having already devalued this week and markets betting that Kazakhstan will follow soon.
Spiegel Interviews Gorbachev
Gorbachev is often made out to be undeniably anti-Putin and pro-Western. In this extended interview, however, he comes across as much more conservative and nuanced.
Moscow Says Will Redirect Europe's Gas to Turkey
Europe will be required to make its own arrangements, including building new pipelines, to collect and distribute the gas.
Russia Ends US Nuclear Security Alliance
The United States helped Russia secure and dismantle nuclear weapons in the Cooperative Threat Reduction programs.
Transgender Drivers May Keep Driving
Russia's new legislation used a WHO list of "psychological disorders" that still lists transgenderism as a psychological disease.
55% of Russians: Putin Should Stay after 2018
Only ten percent of respondents believe that a political figure who would be able to replace Putin can be named.
A Stylistic Struggle between Russia and the US
Political rhetoric in the two State of the Union address reveal significant semantic and stylistic differences in the approaches adopted by the two leaders in terms of both public speaking and expressing their political ideas.
How Can the West Solve its Ukraine Problem?
If there is to be any chance of Ukrainian economic and political progress, a compromise must be found whereby Ukraine can continue to trade as openly as possible with both the EU and Russia and Ukrainians can continue to work freely in Russia.
Russia Declassifies WWII Documents about Auschwitz
Following a recent high-profile spat over differing interpretations of World War II history, the Defense Ministry released 15 historic documents, which had been hidden away in secret archives for decades.
Foreign Policy Journal
For those interested in careers in foreign policy, this free journal is an excelent resource.
Russians: Isreal's New Elite
With the collapse of the USSR, more than 1,000,000 Jews from all walks of life and all parts of the former USSR used their new-found freedom of mobility to move to Israel. Now, they are changing the face of that country and becoming a new "elite," after being integrated in what this article claims is "one of the most successful mass migrations in history."
Putin Can't Save Russia's Economy
Russia's banks have three problems: oil, sanctions, and interest rates.
Russian/Ukrainian Students Spar on Propaganda
Kyiv university students last week released an impassioned video appeal to their Russian counterparts to question the Kremlin line. A Russian student group issued a video this week asking Ukrainians to question Kyiv's line.
If you have views or material you would like to contribute to the newsletter, please contact us.
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