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| 01.02.2006
Welcome from SRAS!
 In recognition of the U.S. Senate declaring 2006 "The Year of Study Abroad" SRAS has launched several ambitious new projects to further encourage study abroad in Russia and the study of the Russian language and culture in the United States. This month's newsletter is devoted to those projects.
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies, is accepting student papers for its fourth issue. If you are a student or have a student who has written exceptional research on Russia, check here for how to get it published! |
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News: Cold Winters and Wars?
With wind chill and humidity, the relative temperature in Moscow has been below –40F. It's the coldest winter in almost two decades. Several, mostly elderly homeless people, have died in the extreme weather. However, life for most has been as usual, with some seemingly as thankful for a "Russian Winter," as many Americans are for a "White Christmas."
In what can only be called odd, the British government has been caught spying on Russia with a "listening rock," a fake stone filled with bugs. It's unclear what exactly the rock heard, but it is clear that Russia is using the event to justify its controversial new NGO bill, saying that the spy ring funneled thousands of British pounds illegally to NGOs.
The NGO bill has been signed, though its significance has yet to be fully established. For those interested in understanding the legal text, we've formatted a side-by-side translation here.
Lastly, the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham) has announced that it will lobby the US government to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment as part of its efforts to support Russia's ascension to the WTO. For those interested in finding out more about AmCham's position, you may download a .zip file of materials in English. |
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2006: The Year of Study Abroad Grants!
SRAS will be awarding up to four Year of Study Abroad Grants in 2006. There are two types available: research grants and language exploration grants. The eligibility requirements and application procedures are relatively simple, but awards will be highly competitive. Students are urged to get their applications in early!
This is in addition to the scholarships for NGO interns SRAS announced last year, which still has open slots for 2006! One slot is reserved for helping coordinate a film festival in Moscow. SRAS is also searching for applicants for its paid internships this summer. Contact us for details. |
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Educator Pages: New Service and Contest!
Sensing the need for Russian programs across America to conduct sustained advocacy and marketing campaigns to improve attendance and decrease program closures, SRAS has begun a new set of pages directed at enabling teachers to do just that. We've included ideas on how to build and bill fun, practical courses. Eventually, we hope the pages will grow into an extensive resources for professors and other teachers to find resources on advocacy, peer support, grants, and great ideas. See the beginnings of the project here.
Help us build these pages with links and material and win valuable classroom material, free and imported from Russia! |
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Business: Gas Wars
Russia's problems connected with the Ukrainian gas row are likely not over. The move to raise prices was justified on Russia's part – Ukraine has paid ridiculously low prices for years and the payment structure has been riddled with corruption. However, Russia's insistence on a 450% increase (which would have crushed Ukraine's gas-dependent economy), combined with its over-confident posturing has resulted in an international incident. Ukraine has seized the lighthouses Russia has rented from it on the Black Sea, possibly affecting Russia's Navy and also announced that it will find other sources of gas and work to quickly diversify its economy. It is possible that other customers may follow suit. The economic effects, most agree, will not be immediate or even likely severe – but the damage to goodwill will likely take a good long while to overcome. SRAS plans a more extensive article on this soon! Check back in coming days. |
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Featured Programs: What Are You Doing This Summer?
The school year is now underway and now is the time to start thinking about study abroad opportunities for the summer term! SRAS has lots of new programs to chose from, for studying art, journalism, history, ethnography, business, and (of course) Russian. Gain new perspectives on your subject while building your resume with study abroad experience! Group rates for schools are available. See all of SRAS's summer programs in a glance. |
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Travel: St. Petersburg, City of Artists
Not only has St. Petersburg been home to most of Russia's famous artists such as Vrubel, Repin, Pushkin, and Tchaikovsky, it continues to attract artists internationally. Two young Americans, Kathryn Howard and Melissa Tyson, recently attended art courses there, with very different experiences. For Melissa, the trip was one of outward exploration and artistic validation. For Kathryn, it was more an introspective journey for coming to terms with inner emotions and creation. Both shared their thoughts with SRAS. |
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The Library Presents: Journalism in Russia
SRAS is working to format what was its links page into an easy-to-navigate, concise resource for students researching specific subjects or questions. We have started with print journalism in Russia and have recently tapped our contact lists of journalism and mass communications departments to help us in developing it still further. We've had a surprising amount of initial response to the project. Check back to these pages often to see how they develop! |
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Image of the Month: Recycling - Повторное использование, рецикл
This is planned as a new addition to the SRAS newsletter. Each month we will bring a new image or picture to help learn and teach Russian. This first installment deals with the appearance in Moscow of recycling vending machines. With slogans like "город живёт!" (the city lives!) and "город дышит!" (the city breathes!), these machines are now common around Moscow. Click here to download the .pdf file for full resolution pictures and text - including directions in Russian on how to operate the machine! |
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Language: Насквозь промерзший - Frozen Solid
Although current temperatures are the coldest Russians have experienced in about two decades, they are certainly nothing new for the famously cold country. The language, in fact, has developed some coping responses to the weather. Probably the most affirming of them is "У природы нет плохой погоды," which literally means "Nature doesn't have bad weather" but is also used in the context that one should roll with the punches and that everything happens for a reason. Also reassuring is "в зимний холод всякий молод" meaning "everyone is young in winter's cold." Literally, it refers to the rosy cheeks caused by blood initially rushing to them to keep them from freezing. There is also the more ominous "Мороз не велик, но стоять не велит" meaning "It's not tremendously cold, but we shouldn't stand in it," and which can be used in fairly obvious non-literal contexts. There are also linguistic turns pointing to the darker sides of human nature, of course. One of these is "у него снега зимой не допросишься" or, "he wouldn't even give you snow in winter" meaning that the person has a "cold heart," which can be literally translated as "холодное сердце."
Other terms, sayings, and words about cold:
frozen assets - замороженные активы
frostbite - обморожение
freezer burn - ожог при замораживании, морозный ожог
wind chill - охлаждение ветром
in cold blood - хладнокровно
He could sell ice to an Eskimo - Он и эскимосу снег продаст (he could talk you into anything)
A GAME!
Speed Translation: Grab a friend before continuing, or time yourself and see how well you do!
You have just gotten frostbite in Russia! What do you do? If you are like most modern Russian youths, you would probably send an SMS to a friend asking for help. Your instructions have just come back - in Russian. How fast can you find someplace warm and translate them?
Первый признак обморожения - это появление пузырей на коже. Если пузыри наполнены кровью, то это считается тяжелой степенью обморожения. Первая помощь: необходимо растереть уши при помощи ладони, махрового полотенца или ваты с одеколоном в направлении от периферии к центру уха, затем наложить асептическую повязку с широким слоем ваты на пораженные участки кожи. |
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