THE NEWSLETTER / YEAR IN REVIEW - 2005/2006       Site map

02.08.2006 Welcome from SRAS! The SRAS newsletter has evolved considerably over the last academic year. We've added new features, reformatted old features, and used the newsletter to announce major site projects. Much of this has been in response to feedback from our readership and our own drive to make our site more useful to teachers and students of Russia-related subjects. This month's newsletter recounts some of those changes and projects and where we plan to take them over the next year. What do you think of this newsletter and our site?  Send your comments direct to the editor! Guide to Russia - New Format and Location! We've updated our Guide to Russia, combining it with what used to be our FAQs section into a simpler, more compact resource. We have prioritized the guide as well in order to encourage students to at least read the most important information on visas, registration, and safety. Finally, we have added a new section on purchasing international air tickets and updated other sections (such as Internet and electronics with information about Yandex's efforts to provide free WiFi in locations across Russia). Our City Guides have also been updated and have moved with the guide. Programs in Review SRAS has added several new programs over the last year covering a range of issues and schedules.  See our focus pages on Political Programs in Russia and Summer Programs in Russia (it's not too early to start thinking of next year!).  Advanced students are also highly encouraged to consider our new Language as a Career program at Moscow State University or St. Petersburg State University!  Central Asian Focus SRAS has greatly expanded the amount of the information about Central Asia on its website.  A new talking Kyrgyz-English phrase book has been added (now complete with a total of five sections and around 100 useful words and phrases). We have added new articles about the differences between Kyrgyz and American culture and about Kyrgyzstan's ancient and unique bardic tradition. We also placed a collection of short articles online describing the "Great Game" that is once again shaping politics in this important and resource-rich region.  In addition, we added histories and city guides for Bishkek and Almaty as well as for their respective universities: The American University - Central Asia (AUCA) and Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP).  News in Review Beginning in March of this year, our monthly news section was redesigned to feature synopses of issues and stories relating to Russia for that month, with an emphasis on the Russian perspectives on them and how those issues and stories have been presented in the Russian media.  Below are the headlines from the top stories featured each month (including this month!), with links to the full news sections.  Aug:     G8 and WTO July:     WAN Journalists Converge on Moscow June:    Babushkas and Nazis April:    Gasprom Growing Pains March:  Roof Collapse Highlights Contemporary Problems Vestnik: The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies Vestnik: The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies has now published four issues of exceptional student scholarship. Vestnik is open to all students studying anywhere in world and at any level.  The deadline for our next issue is set at Sept 15th.  If you have produced well-written scholarship in the last year we encourage you to send it here!  The Library Another project started this year is The Library, an interactive resource for researching all things Russian. We have added substantial information about the print media, plastic arts, politics, Russian natural resources, and many other issues.  Over the next year, we plan to add sections on Russian finance, law, broadcast media, and dramatic arts.  The Russian clubs page has relocated to The Library from the resources menu. If your club would like to join, let us know! NGOs in Crisis? Another of our major focuses for this year has been the new NGO law.  We've followed it as it was debated in the Duma, enacted into law, and we published a full Russian-English translation of the bill.  For those interested in how the law is affecting NGOs currently, a new report has been published by Russian Analytical Digest. However, as forms and protocols are still being formulated, the law's final impact is yet to be fully felt. We will keep reporting on this law as events unfold.  Language & Services for Educators Our last major addition to the site for this year was a set of Educator Pages.  Here, we've placed considerable information on program advocacy, on "marketing" those programs to increase enrollment, on networking, and many other resources. We have also added to this an archive of the past year's "Images of the Month," which seek to help students understand Russia and Russian better through pertinent images and descriptions, and an archive of our Mini-Russian Lessons, which focus on slang, jargon, and modern usuage. « back to newsletters archive print this page email this page