The SRAS Newsletter
A Resource for Students, Educators, and Anyone Curious about Eurasia
 

The extraordinary beauty of Lake Baikal, as captured by SRAS student Richard Bechtol. SRAS has recently updated and reformatted its environmental program in Irkutsk: Russia and the Environment. The new version premiers this spring semester!

SRAS.org has grown with helpful resources and interesting articles over the past 15 years. We are now moving all that information to specialized sites to aid in presentation and organization. Our newsletter has changed to better highlight these sites and the great, often student-produced information they feature. Let us know what you think!

We've expanded and simplified our scholarship programs, combining nearly all under a single name: Challenge Grants. The challenges are focused on helping students gain the most from their time abroad. Meet the challenge, get the funding! Still separate is our Home and Abroad Scholars program, which combines an intensive internship with $5000 in funding per semester.

SRAS also has new or redesigned programs for this spring (Russia and the Environment) and summer (Georgian Foodways; Cuba-Russia Connection; and Central Asian Studies).

Table of contents
GeoHistory     Students Abroad    Russian Language
PopKult     ArtinRussia     Books

Study Abroad in Eurasia!
Study Abroad in Russia! Study Abroad in Poland!

- Spring Semester Study Abroad -
Application deadlines: Oct 15

In Warsaw: Security and Society

In Kiev: Post Soviet Conflict

In Bishkek: Central Asian Studies

In Russia:  Russian Studies Abroad
                 Russian Far East
                 Russia and the Environment
                 Diplomacy and International Relations at MGIMO

In most locations: Russian as a Second Language
                            Internships
                            Home and Abroad Scholarships (apply by Oct 1!)
                            Challenge Grants

GeoHistory.today
History and Current Events in Perspective

Russia on the Ground     Foreign Affairs     TV News
What do Russians think about issues that matter? What is going on in Russian foreign relations? How does Russian TV really report on the main issues of the day? These free monthly resources from GeoHistory.today are meant to keep you informed.

Manas: The Kyrgyz Odysseys, Moses, and Washington
Understand the legend of Manas - a part of Kyrgyz culture that remains central to Kyrgyz identity formation and modern Kyrgyz politics.

Europe: Divisions and Unifications
This recently updated article takes a look at some commonly-applied macroregions in Europe - and why their application often sparks debate.

 Students Abroad
Travel, Study, Volunteer, Work Abroad

Masha’s Dacha
University of New Hampshire student Samantha Barrett takes you to what has become one of our most popular cultural program offerings in Moscow - a real Russian dacha!

Going to Catholic Mass in Warsaw, Poland
Penn State senior Regan Bortz takes us to Catholic mass in Poland, maintaining an important part of her own identity while experiencing local culture.

Christine Jacobson: Russia, Kyrgyzstan, the US, and Back Again
Christine Jacobson turned her Russian studies degree from Stetson University and extensive experience abroad into employment with a Russia-focused NY-based NGO and the US Embassy in Bishkek.

Russian Language
Lessons from around the Web

SRAS: Syrniki in History and Preparation 
Expand your Russian vocabulary and learn more about syrniki, a traditional Russian food made of fried (or baked) cottage cheese.

Luch Sveta: Paratrooper Day in Gorky Park
Our friends at Luch Sveta have a new lesson looking at how Russian paratroopers celebrate their (usually rowdy) holiday.

Moscow Times: Russia's Day of Knowledge
Michele Berdy, resident linguist at the Moscow Times, talks about Russian terms for knowledge on Russia's Day of Knowledge, a holiday that celebrates the first day of school.

PopKult.org
Contemporary Eurasian Popular Culture

Nashe Radio    Polish Pop Hits    Russkoe Radio   Top Russian Movies
Find out what local language hits are playing on local radio stations in Poland and Russia and on Russian silver screens with these free monthly resources from PopKult.org.

TOP 5 SRAS Facebook Posts
These are the posts from SRAS’s Facebook feed that you have most actively liked, shared, or commented on for the month of August. As usual, the list is diverse and eclectic.

Druzhba: The Legend Behind the Soviet Cheese
SRAS Home and Abroad Scholar Katheryn Weaver gives you a quick introduction to the cheese that started off as astronaut food and soon became a pop culture legend.

Patryk Kumór: A Polish Internet Sensation
Although he gained popularity primarily through the Internet, Kumór's songs implore the listener to focus on off-line relationships in addition to advocating clean lifestyles.

New Program!
Featured Book!

ArtInRussia.org
High Culture, Museum Science
(Soon to be Renamed MuseumStudiesAbroad.org!)

Art Program Reviews:  Sophia   Kimberly   Evan 
Three students review our The Art and Science of Museums program, hosted in St. Petersburg each summer! They reflect on what they learned, how they might apply what they learned to future professions, and even about politics and art in general.

Museums in Warsaw
ArtInRussia.org will soon be MuseumStudiesAbroad.org - with a vastly expanded thematic and geographic basis. Our student Sarah Kirksey helps kick us off with a big entry on some of Warsaw's premier museums!

Crime and Publishing: How Dostoevskii Changed the British Murder
This is a free chapter from A People Passing Rude: British Responses to Russian Culture - a fascinating book that examines how cultures interact and eventually impact one another. 

Books from Amazon
New Releases!

Molière, or The Cabal of Hypocrites and Don Quixote
New translations of Bulgakov's plays by award-winning translators.

Kaukasis: A Culinary Journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan & Beyond 
"A sensitive, personal journey expressed through the beauty of food - just wonderful" - Jamie Oliver

Lenin on the Train
A gripping, meticulously researched account of Lenin’s fateful 1917 rail journey from Zurich to Petrograd, where he ignited the Russian Revolution and forever changed the world.

The Day Will Pass Away The Diary of a Gulag Prison Guard: 1935-1936
This diary of an engineer turned gulag prisoner has been translated to English and published for the first time.

Avenging Angels: Soviet Women Snipers on the Eastern Front (1941 - 1945) 
Some were drafted, some signed up - all were trained to kill.

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