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Required courses back to top Russian Language Study
Russian language courses are offered at six different levels, from beginning to advanced. Class size is small (3-5 students) and each level is designed to meet ACTFL (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages) guidelines. At the end of semester, more advanced language students may opt to take the Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (TORFL) exam. Featured classes back to top RS-110: Russia Today
This course looks at the current situation in Russia, including political, economic, and sociological issues: the transitional periods, crises, new economic classes, relations with NIS countries, security and intelligence, industry and business, education and demographics. RS-111: Russian Civilization I
The history, art, culture, and literature of Russia from ancient times until 1917. The first Slavic State – Kievan Rus’ (IX-XII centuries); Rus’ in the XIII-XV centuries. Mongol invasion. Muscovy – a new state in the East of Europe. Rus’ in the XVI century. Ivan the Terrible. Boris Gudonov; Time of Troubles (beginning of the XVII century); The Romanov dynasty in Russia (1613-1917); the XVII century – the reign of Peter I and Ekaterina (Catherine) II; Russia in the XIX century. Heroes of the Napoleon War; The middle of the XIX century – the time of Great Reforms; Russia at the beginning of the XX century. Economical and political systems. The 1917 October Revolution; The Civil War; NEP; WWII. The Stalin era; The Cold War; Perestroika and Glasnost; Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in Russia; The future of Russia. RS-310: Politics and International Relations – The Russian Perspective
Russian Foreign Policy; Soviet Foreign Policy and the Cold War; Foreign Policy Decision Making in Russia; Russia and the European Union; Russia and NATO; Russia and the Middle East; Russian-US Relations; Russia and Asia; Russia and the Politics of Energy; Attitudes toward Foreign Investment. RS-311: Economic and Political Geography of Russia and the NIS
Formation and development of the USSR; National problems and the collapse of an empire; The Russian Federation and the Near Abroad; Russia and the Baltics; Russia and Ukraine; Russia and the Central Asian States; Russia on the Caucasus; Newly Independent States: Integration vs. Nationalism. Optional Directed Study (3 credits each): back to top RS-350: History of Russian and Soviet Theater
This course explores the unique development of the theatre in Russia and the USSR. Of special concern is the relationship between theatre artists and authorities (both church and state), which in Russia has always been unique and exceptionally strong. The course begins with a brief theoretical component addressing the developmental history of western theatre, and then addresses Russian theatre (beginning with folk practices and skomorokhi) in the same light. Then, the integration of western theatre practices to Russian theatre (ca. Elizabeth I), the formation of a truly “Russian theatre” (The Golden Age), and finally the effects of the revolution, of Soviet rule, and of the fall are all covered. Included are sample “master classes,” in which professionals working in Russia will explain and workshop how Russian artists are trained, and how they view and practice their professions. RS-351: National Minorities, National Identities (Religious and Ethnic concerns in Russia)
This course examines the role of the ethnic factor in the dissolution of the Soviet Union and in post-Soviet conflicts. In its first part, theories of nationalism are discussed in conjunction with the histories of several major minorities (Jews, Buddhists, Cossacks, Chinese, Siberian tribes, Chechens, etc). This information is then applied to the late Soviet period with particular emphasis placed on the Soviet institutionalization of ethnicity and how attempts to “Russianize” the minorities affected their identities. The history is then traced to modern times (Mufti Soviet; Representation of Buddhism in the Duma, the politics between the Dali Lama and Russia, overview of Islamic dissidents in Russia, and other official and unofficial government structures and policies) Russians’ views of Terrorism. Also included is a very brief overview of Catholic, protestant and other faiths in Russia, their history and current challenges, including the state’s attempts to legislate religion. Includes trips to religious centers and guest speakers. Note: this course concentrates on non-Islamic ethnicities; see Russia in Central Asian History for a course concentrating on Islamic topics. RS-352: Russia in Central Asian History
An overview of those Central Asian, Islamic peoples and cultures that have been affected by Russia/USSR. Description of the major peoples/areas: Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The history of these peoples and their experience in common with Russia under the Mongols. What Islam means in Central Asia. The rise of radical Islamic sects as resistance to Czarist rule. Russian and Soviet domination and interference: Afghanistan invasion, first and second Chechen Wars. Uzbekistan’s Islamic movement and Tajikistan’s civil war. How the fall affected these countries and their Islamic movements. How conflicts in these areas still affect international politics, including those with Russia. Includes trips to Mosques, guest lectures by Islamic leaders. RS-353: Russian Folklore, Mythology, and Traditions
Explores folklore, mythology, and traditions, concentrating on how these historic and modern factors have shaped what can now be considered “the Russian Identity” in terms of ethics, etiquette and world view. Ancient pagan myths and the “double faith” of Russian Orthodox believers. Ancient folklore (dances, stories, music) and how they were changed/romanticized by the Russian nobility who studied them after 1812 in an attempt to redefine “Russianness.” Prison/Gulag “folk” culture and how it has affected modern society. Modern traditions and how the historical development has affected the modern life (including the domestic and foreign policies) of Russia. RS-354: The History of Russian Espionage
The origins and evolution of Russian intelligence services from the Napoleonic war to the FSB, including the Great Game and the Cold War. Strategy and gadgets in historical perspective. The purposes and targets of spying. Spying at home and abroad, in wartime and peacetime. Intelligence failures, covert operations and counter-espionage. Russian’s perceptions of “privacy rights” and spying in the international arena. The impact of popular culture (fiction and film) on intelligence practices and public opinion. Includes a trip to the KGB museum. What will be the future of Russian intelligence? RS-355: History of Science & Technology
State/Church support for / control over science. Russian and Soviet scientific education: philosophies, goals and techniques. The scientist as “intelegent” – resistance movements among scientists. Major scientists and disputed discoveries (Lomonosov, Tesla, the television and radio, etc.). The space race and the “deification” of science under the Soviets. The history of scholarly exchanges between the United States and the USSR. The Funding Crisis and “Brain Drain”: the late Soviet era to the present. RS-356: Economies in Transition
Part I - The Soviet Economy: Organization of a command economy; Impact of Soviet leaders and their reforms; inefficiencies in the system and their cost; the cost of maintaining military competition with the west. Part II – Transition to a Free Market: The Privatization Process; Development of Capitalist Institutions; Assistance or Interference from the West; Defaults and Crises; Shift toward an Energy Economy. Part III – Dissolution of the USSR: Impact on what was once Domestic Production; Overview of the transitions in NIS economies. RS-357: Russian and E. European Science Fiction
Russian Science Fiction, like that of Europe, was really born about 1750, as industrialization was revolutionizing how people thought about the world. This course will seek to provide a general overview of how the genre developed in Russia and the USSR, how previous literary tradition and the unique social development in Russia affected its development. The genre's meanings to the various national cultures of Russia. Official communist support for the genre as a way to boost science and technology. The genre's crossover into Russian film and cartoons. How Russian Science Fiction has affected western science fiction and vice versa. Authors of note: Plantonov, Evegenii Schwartz, Victor Pelevin, and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. RS-358: Russian Comic Literature
Russia is not known for comedy, but within Russia is a rich comic tradition. It seems that Russian humor can be too “heavy” for western tastes or draw on cultural referents of which westerners are unaware. This course seeks to dispel this cultural barrier through readings and discussions from such comedies as Dead Souls, The Three Sisters, Menakhem Mendel, The Twelve Chairs, and Master and Margarita, as well as from works by artists who cross the cultural divide (Doblatov, Nabokov, Ludmilla Ulitskaya, and Evgenii Greshkowitz). RS-359: The Rises and Falls of Advertising in Russia: 1750-2006
This course consists of two components: first, a historical overview to date. The birth of Russian advertising with industrialization and urbanization in the 18th century. The effects of Czarist and Church policies on advertising. The "death" of advertising in 1917 and it's various rebirths under NEP, Perestroika, and various Soviet campaigns to increase consumer spending and product diversification. The propaganda poster as "advertising." The second component will workshop modern advertising. Russia's most successful ad companies and campaigns. The rhetoric of modern Russian advertising. Russian perceptions of advertising. Target groups in Russia. (include trips to advertising agencies). RS-360: History and Future of the Russian Media
History of Russian Journalism: From Authoritarianism to Democracy or Paternalism? New Models of Russian Journalism; The Development of the Print Media Market: The Rise of Regional Press; Broadcast Media: National Channels, National Networks and Local Music Radio; Journalist in New Russia: New Professional Standards and Ethics; Media Under Government Pressures; Media Economics in Russia: How Media Make Money; Russian Media Moguls: Changes in Ownership; Media Regulation: Foundations for Free Speech; Media in Election: How Media Elect Presidents; Russian Media as Agents of Globalization; Russian Internet in Constructing Post-Modern Russian Identity RS-361: Russian Revolution - The Russian Perspective
When writing about another culture’s history, it is often tainted with perceptions based on our own experience. This is especially true of the Russian Revolution and of Communism. The Russian Revolution of 1917 and parallels with 1991 and 1993. Revolutionary theory and its development in the 20th century. Implementation in Latin America and Asia. Learn how Russians think about their own revolutionary past in this multidisciplinary series of readings and discussions. RS-362: Advanced/Specialized language study
Language study specialized to cover a specific topic. Choose any topic from the scientific, to turn-of-the-century literary Russian, to the modern language of business. RS-363: Independent research/study topic
Students who would like to pursue individual study and/or guided research should submit their proposal at time of application. Travel Components back to top Spring or Fall Travel Component. While the destiantion is tba each semester and dependent on ticket prices, housing cost and availability, and student interest, either St. Petersburg or Kiev are most often offered. The cost, included in the semester program core cost, includes train tickets, accommodation, bus tour, and free time for exploration either on your own or with the accompanying student coordinators. In St. Petersburg see the Hermitage and Peter and Paul Fortress. In Kiev visit the Lavra (monastery) and Chernobyl Museum. Optional Post-Semester Travel. We strongly encourage students to increase their regional exposure. The following modules are offered and must be confirmed at time of enrollment (possible visa and travel logistics). Participants may also propose their own formal travel module. Ukraine. The past election and “Orange Revolution” brought Ukraine to the forefront of Western media. Ukraine plans to take advantage of this attention and integrate itself as quickly as possible into Western economies and politics. Spend one week in Kiev with an intensive excursion-based study of the country’s politics, economy, history and culture. Stay for an additional week and visit the Crimea for additional excursions along with some R&R on the Black Sea. Central Asia. This region has been a hotbed lately as popular revolutions have sought to end corruption. Adding to this are the effects of international politics on the resource-rich and militarily strategic area, a process that historians have long called " The Great Game." Study the region's fascinating history and culture. Spend a week based in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) with an intensive excursion-based study of the country’s politics, economy, history, and culture. Stay for an additional week and visit either Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan for additional excursions and relaxation. Trans-Siberian. Travel for one to two weeks along the Trans-Siberian Railway with excursion-based study experiences in Irkutsk/Ulan Ude and Khabarovsk. Learn about the Decembrists and their role in developing Irkutsk and the surrounding area. Learn about Lake Baikal, its unique ecology and geology and the many threats to it. In Ulan Ude, learn about Buryat culture and visit the Datsan (a Buddhist Temple) as well as an Old Believers' Village. Discover the ethnic peoples of Khabarovsk and visit a Nanai village. Advanced Politics Semester – Students may continue thier studies as a Visiting Scholar at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, American University Central Asia, or the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research.
Excursions back to top
Each semester a series of excursions is coordinated with the coursework. Examples of excursions typically included during the semester include: 1. The Kuskovo Estate
The Kuskovo Estate is one of the most beautiful palace and park ensembles in Moscow. The estate and the lands around it belonged to Count Sheremetev at the beginning of the 17th century. The ensemble, together with the palace and park, was designed by architect Karl Blank. 2. The Moscow Kremlin and Assumption Cathedral
The Moscow Kremlin (Kreml, Московский Кремль) is the heart of the city and country, the place to which most Russian roads lead and from which most Russian power emanates. The Kremlin was once the center of Russia’s Church as well. The Kremlin occupies a roughly triangular plot of land covering little Borovitsky Hill on the north bank of the Moscow River. A kremlin is a town’s fortified stronghold, and the first short, wooden wall around Moscow’s was built in the 1150s. The Assumption Cathedral is the most important church of pre-Revolutionary Russia and the burial place of most of the heads of the Russian Orthodox Church from the 1320s to 1700. The Assumption Cathedral was built between 1475 and 1479 after the Bolognese architect Aristotle Fioravanti. The iconostasis dates from 1652 but its lowest level contains some older icons. 3. The Museum of Modern History
It is one of the world’s biggest museums of modern history. The way of life in Russia during the last 150 years is exhibited here: days of peace and war, the greatest revolutionary events of the XX century. Many collections of the fund have no analogues - personal belongings of statesmen and political figures of the country, paintings, sculptures, numismatics and a scientific library. 4. The Golden Ring town of Sergiev Posad
Sergiev Posad a built around the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius (Троице-Сергиева Лавра), one of the Russia’s most important religious and historical landmarks and a place of both spiritual and nationalist pilgrimage. Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk) is 60 km from the edge of Moscow on the Yaroslavl road. The monastery was founded about 1340 by Sergius of Radonezh, a monk (now patron saint of Russia). The Lavra, or exalted monastery, and the main link in a chain of fort-monasteries defending Moscow, grew enormously wealthy on the gifts of tsars, nobles and merchants looking for divine support. 5. Lenin’s Mausoleum
The Mausoleum was built in January 1924 to preserve Lenin's body. Lenin's coffin was brought from the village of Gorki, where he died, on 23 January and placed in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions for people to pay their last respects. The same night the architect A. Shchusev was instructed by the government to design and build a temporary mausoleum near the Kremlin walls in which the body would remain until the funeral, which was fixed for 27 January. Shchusev wandered around Red Square for a long time, and by sunset the design for a wooden mausoleum was prepared. It was in the form of a cube (a symbol of eternity) with a height of three meters. The contemporary Mausoleum was erected in Red Square in 1930 replacing the wooden mausoleum. Lenin's body, with its face uncovered, was placed in a glass sarcophagus, and thousands of people filed past each day. 6. Kolomenskoye State Historical, Architectural, and Nature Preserve
Kolomenskoye is a picturesque place in the south of Moscow on a bank of the Moskva River. In the 15th to the 17th century Kolomenskoye was first the Grand Duke's and later the Tsar's residence. Peter the Great spent his childhood there. The architectural ensemble of Kolomenskoye includes the Church of the Ascension, the church of St. George the Warrior, the Church of Our Lady of Kazan, the Water Tower and several auxiliary buildings. Among its green plantations is a lime-tree lane planted in the 19th century and a relic oak-tree grove where some trees are from 600 to 800years old. 7. The KGB Museum
The museum describes the history of Russian counterintelligence starting with the foundation of the Russian State and is constantly being enriched with more materials. The Historical and Demonstration Hall of the Federal Security Service of Russia (originally called Tchekist Hall of the KGB of the USSR) was opened in September 1984 on the initiative of J. A. Andropov. It was designed for the training of tchekists in the spirit of the best traditions. But since the fall, it has been open to all visitors, later also for foreigners. It has been visited by former CIA leaders Turner and Webster and by representatives of nearly all secret services of the world. 8. 3-4 Days in Saint Petersburg
If Moscow is Europe’s most Asiatic capital, St.Petersburg is Russia’s most European city. Created by Peter the Great as his ‘window to the West’. It was built with 18th/19th-century European pomp and structure by mainly European architects. Accommodation is provided. The excursion program in the city will include an orientation tour around the downtown, a visit to the Hermitage, and sightseeing around some beautiful suburban architectural ensembles. 9. Tolstoy’s Country House Museum
"Hamovniki" After moving from Yasnaya Poliana to Moscow in 1881 Tolstoy bought a country estate in Hamovniki. The main house of the estate was built in 1805 – it is surrounded by an outhouse, household buildings and also a big garden with a pavilion and a well. The estate was converted to a museum in 1921. The museum is furnished as Tolstoy left it, so visitors are brought to the true atmosphere of Tolstoy's house. The exposition dates back to the time when the writer lived here in the years of 1893-1895. 10. Gzhel
Gzhel is the name of the oldest and most famous Russian ceramic center which is situated at the distance of some 50 km south-east of Moscow and known since XIVth century as a home of potter’s production. Gzhel is also the name of a village in this area and this name is applied to the beautiful artistic porcelain and majolica ware made there. 11. Tretyakov Picture Gallery
The Tretyakov Gallery was reopened in 1995 after a nine-year renovation. The Tretyakov houses contain the world’s best collection of Russian icons and an outstanding collection of other pre-Revolutionary Russian art, particularly the 19th-century Peredvizhniki. 12. The Red October Chocolate Factory
The Red October is located in downtown Moscow and is one of the most famous chocolate factories in the world. It has 5 production departments: hard candies, sweets, chocolate, and a retail department. The fifth department is in Yegorievsk, a small town not far from Moscow, where jam, and candied fruits and vegetables are produced. At the moment “Red October” possesses production capacities for more then 60 thousand tons of confectionery. 13. The Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art
This museum is the only one of its kind in Russia, with a large and diverse collection of works of Russian applied and folk art. The collection contains more than 65,000 exhibits dating from the XIV century till the present time. Russian folk art is represented by items made from wood, birch bark, metal, ceramics and clay. 14. The New Tretyakov Picture Gallery
The Gallery at Krymskiy Val was specially built for expositions of Russian art of the XX century. These are just a smaple line-up up excursions which may be offered. In past years, students have also had the opportunity to see: History & Politics
Novodevichy Convent & Cemetery
Central Museum of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Museum of Russian Contemporary History
Duma Art and Culture
Pushkin Fine Arts Museum
Peterhof (St. Petersburg)
Andrei Rublyev Museum of Old Russian Culture and Art
House museums of Russian writers
Peredelkino Writers' Colony Religion
Mistra and the New Jerusalem Monastery Business
KMB Bank
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