In late June, 2024, Warsaw’s Ukrainian community arranged a celebration of Ivan Kupala Night, an Eastern Slavic midsummer festival that dates back to pagan times but still remains part of many Slavic cultures. The holiday was arranged primarily for Ukrainians displaced from Ukraine by the war. However, all who were interested were welcomed to the […]

World War II holds profound significance in modern Russian culture, transcending mere historical events to become a deeply ingrained element of national identity and collective memory. Known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia, it represents a pivotal period of sacrifice, resilience, and victory against Nazi Germany, shaping the ethos of the nation. Victory Day, […]

Many American students of the Russian language take part in study abroad programs in such Russian-speaking countries such as Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, and Lithuania, to name a few. Kinginger (2009, p. 11) defines study abroad as “a temporary sojourn of pre-defined duration, undertaken for educational purposes.” After entering a new country and culture, these […]

Studying abroad in Russia as an Armenian American was eye-opening. I am a Russian Studies major that has always been interested in Russian culture and history – which are deeply intertwined with Armenian culture and history. After a summer abroad, viewing life in St. Petersburg through an Armenian-American lens, I feel that I have come […]

Many well-known people from various countries have acknowledged that Russia and the Russians have unique features that can be difficult to explain. For example, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said that “Россия – это головоломка, завернутая в тайнувнутри загадки” (Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma). A part of this mystery is […]

The Village is a Russian-language publication in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev that seeks to inform locals about their various cities, their upcoming events, changes, and history. The following are two interesting entries from a series of short articles geared to answer the “strangest questions about city life” in the cities covered by the publication. […]

Maslenitsa is ancient holiday that still takes many Slavic nations by storm every spring. Celebrations are held to mark the imminent end of winter with mountains of hot, delicious blini and revelry. Originally a pagan holiday celebrated as early as the 2nd century A.D., Maslenitsa has been somewhat folded into Orthodox Christian traditions and is […]

While on SRAS’ Security and Society study abroad program in Warsaw, Rebekah Switala, a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, stayed very active. Here, she sat down with two Polish friends to discuss what it was like to grow up in Poland, their thoughts on Polish culture, and what advice they may […]

The following is lesson 8 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Any red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Москва – столица России, самый большой и густонаселенный город в стране (и в Европе). Москва – это […]