Walking around Warsaw on a daily basis, I have not become a stranger to witnessing memorials or places where something important in history has occurred. Everywhere in Warsaw it seems to be a reminder of the dark past. The oppression started on September 1st, 1939 when the German Nazis invaded Poland. The population was separated […]

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 […]

Hundreds of people came to Kyiv’s Independence Square, or, in Ukrainian, Maidan Nazeleznosti for the third anniversary of the day snipers killed 100 protesters during the EuroMaidan Revolution, on February 18, 2017. The deceased are commonly known as the “Heavenly Hundred.” The date of thier death is now marked every year by mourners returning to […]

The following is lesson 2 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal its English translation. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate words that have additional cultural/linguistic commentary below. Во многих странах мира — это традиционный атрибут празднования Рождества. Эта […]

The following article originally appeared in Russian on Vegetarianskij.ru. It has been translated and adapted by SRAS for presentation here. History of Vegetarianism in Russia The official coming of vegetarianism to Russia was inaugurated with the opening of the first vegetarian society. This was in Saint-Petersburg in the mid-1860s. The society was humorously called “Ни […]

My first visit to Irkutsk happened over twenty years ago, when I was looking to expand study abroad options for SRAS beyond Moscow. I recall that I was fascinated by these old wooden houses, right in the center of the city, where they seemed at risk for rapid demolition to make way for new offices […]

Russian is recognized as a critical language in the US (web), essential for maintaining US diplomatic priorities. The US government sponsors various programs for learning the Russian language (e.g., Intensive Summer Language Institutes, Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants, Teacher Exchange), and there are Russian programs at many US universities. Given the importance of the language, […]

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 […]

The following is lesson 7 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. У всех нас периодически возникает необходимость ходить по врачам. Может быть, вы простыли и хотите получить больничный, может у нас […]

The following is lesson 6 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Работать в российской школе может любой, кто получил высшее педагогическое образование, а также те, кто учился […]

The international department at VGUES has, throughout the semester, taken us on various excursions around Vladivostok. This week, we ventured back into time to explore some of the old Russian traditions. At a rather nondescript apartment building near the city center, a kind babushka beckoned for our group to come inside. We were then ushered […]

The following is lesson 4 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Каким вы представляете себе лицо бедности? Лично для меня это плачущая у кассы старушка, отдавшая последние деньги за […]