Andrei Nesterov

Andrei Nesterov leads SRAS' Research Services, performing remote archive research and consultations for researchers around the globe. Andrei graduated from Ural State University (journalism) and Irkutsk State Linguistic University (English). He also studied public policy and journalism at Duke University on a Muskie Fellowship and taught Russian at West Virginia University. As a journalist, he has reported in both Russian and English language outlets and has years of archival research experience. He has travelled Russia extensively and penned many stories on the “real Russia” which lies beyond the capital and major cities. Andrei also contributes news, feature stories, and language resources to the SRAS Family of Sites.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: Andrei Nesterov

Alex Sitnikov

Alex holds a BA in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) and an MA in Translation. He came to Moscow from Tolyatti to study at Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2013 and has been in love with the city ever since. Alex coordinates student activities in Moscow for SRAS. When he’s not occupied with that, Alex likes to play guitar, sing, read, play videogames, and make YouTube videos.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: Alex Sitnikov

Josh Wilson

Josh lived in Moscow from 2003, when he first arrived to study Russian with SRAS, until 2022. He holds an M.A. in Theatre and a B.A. in History from Idaho State University, where his masters thesis was written on the political economy of Soviet-era censorship organs affecting the stage. At SRAS, Josh assists in program development and leads our Internship Programs. He is also the editor-in-chief for the SRAS newsletter, the SRAS Family of Sites, and Vestnik. He has previously served as Communications Director to Bellerage Alinga and has served as a consultant or translator to several businesses and organizations with interests in Russia.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: Josh Wilson

Kathryn Yegorov-Crate

Kathryn Yegorov-Crate is a Sakha heritage speaker and a Master’s candidate in the Department of Slavic & Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Kathryn holds a B.A. in International Studies and a B.A. in Slavic Languages & Literatures from Indiana University Bloomington. Her current research examines pan-Turkism and Turanism in contemporary Sakha identity formation, Central Asian migrant positionalities, and anti-immigrant populism in the Russian Federation.

Program attended: Online Internships

View all posts by: Kathryn Yegorov-Crate

Michael Denner

Dr. Michael Denner is a professor at Stetson’s Program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES). A food enthusiast, he is currently translating and adapting a cookbook called Лобио, сациви, хачапури, или Грузия со вкусом (Lobio, Satsivi, Khachapuri, or Georgia with Taste) for English-speaking audiences. As part of this project, Dr. Denner is leading a Georgian Cooking Club at Stetson to test the recipies with Stetson’s diverse student group. Dr. Denner will also be leading Georgian Foodways for SRAS a new, two-week study abroad course that will address topics such as climate change and state agricultural policies within the context of broader issues of food security, the place of food in social justice and ethnic identity, and the role of Georgian foodways in the current global tourism economy.

Program attended: Georgian Foodways

View all posts by: Michael Denner

Maria Holderbaum

Maria Holderbaum, at the time she wrote for this site, was an International Relations major at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She was also studying Russian Language and Central Asian Studies in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Her future career ambitions included working for Non-Governmental Organizations and working with refugees. Maria enjoys traveling, finding the best street food in every country she visits and hunting for street art and mosaics. She was looking forward to diving into Kyrgyz culture and exploring Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan) during her semester abroad.

Program attended: Challenge Grants

View all posts by: Maria Holderbaum

Maryam Moghaddami

Maryam Moghaddami, at the time she wrote for this site, was an undergraduate at the University of Oregon double majoring in Cinema Studies and Psychology with a minor in Russian Studies. She has ethnic Volga Tatar heritage and is a Russian heritage speaker. Her articles on this site were produced as part of an SRAS Online Research Internship.

Program attended: Online Internships

View all posts by: Maryam Moghaddami

Olga Dmitraschenko

At the time of her writing, Olga Dmitraschenko is a sixteen-year-old native Muscovite and incoming freshman to Moscow State University, one of Russia's most respected educational institutions. She served an internship with SRAS during the summer of 2006 as a research assistant on issues of popular culture. She stayed on afterwards with SRAS as the primary author of Olga's Blog, a series of language lessons based on modern Russian life and written in the language of Moscow's young, well-educated college students. The blog aims to teach vocabulary, cultural implications, grammar, and some youth slang.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: Olga Dmitraschenko

Roxana Burkhanova

Roxana Burkhanova moved to Moscow with her family from Tajikistan when she was three years old. Of Tajik-Russian heritage, she has Russian citizenship, studied in Russian school and graduated from MSU (Lomonosov Moscow State University), one of the best-known universities in the country. Roxana is interested in history, anthropology, sociology, and politics. After a year of working as a private English and History teacher for school kids Roxana joined SRAS team as Moscow Student Coordinator and is contributing the Моя Россия blog project to the SRAS site. The purpose of this project is to teach Russian: not only its grammar and vocabulary but also cultural meanings.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: Roxana Burkhanova

Robert Polya

Robert Polya, at the time he wrote for this site, was a student of Russian and Italian at Durham University in the UK, who plans to study Eastern European and Russian languages, cultures, history and politics at postgraduate level. His research interests included Polish language, cuisine, history, and politics. The material he wrote for this site was written as part of an SRAS Online Research Internship.

Program attended: Online Internships

View all posts by: Robert Polya

Renee Stillings

Renee first visited the Soviet Union in 1990 to study at MGU after graduating from Boston University with a BS in Biomedical Engineering. After working at a technical translation company in Boston, she returned to Moscow in 1992 for permanent residence until 1998. During that time she worked in the Russian financial markets and eventually founded SRAS as well as co-founded Alinga Consulting Group. Renee is now based in Woodside, CA with her family and continues to travel frequently not only to SRAS sites, but throughout the world and with eyes open for new ideas in education abroad.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: Renee Stillings

SRAS

SRAS is a team of consultants and advisers dedicated to the educational opportunities offered by our unique locations. Our team has studied within the educational systems of the locations we represent and we continue to live in and/or regularly travel to those cities. This gives us the local insight we need to provide effective educational programming as well as safe and informed experiences for our students and clients.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: SRAS

SRASwiki

SRAS Wikis are maintained collectively by SRAS Challenge Grant Writers and Home and Abroad Scholars. They are meant to be continually updated repositories of information created for students and by students to best suit each SRAS location.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: SRASwiki

Tanya Tanyarattinan

Tanya Tanyarattinan is a third-year Thai international student at the University of Denver, double majoring in International Studies and Economics with minors in Russian and Japanese. She is currently studying Society, Business, and the Arts in St. Petersburg with SRAS’s Home and Abroad Scholarship. With an interest in pursuing a career in politics, she travels to see how the world works from different perspectives. Her next stop is Berlin where she will complete her study abroad year. In her free time, she likes to play games and try new food.

Program attended: Home and Abroad Scholar

View all posts by: Tanya Tanyarattinan