Jan 27, 2014 was the 70th anniversary of the end of the Siege of Leningrad. During the Great Patriotic War (WWII) German forces cut off the Soviet city of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) from the rest of the country with intense bombing raids and tank roadblocks. The siege lasted for 872 days: from September 8 […]

For some, traveling abroad can be as much a spiritual journey as a physical one, and tourists are often encouraged to visit religious relics and places of worship for their history, culture, and architecture. For me, a practicing Catholic who has now spent a couple of months living in Kyiv, this internship/study abroad experience has […]

Tucked away in the outskirts of Kyiv, in the Holiivs’ki district, lies St. Pantelemion’s Cathedral and Feofaniya Park. This place makes for a great day away from the hustle and bustle of the city. First, be sure to step inside and admire the beauty of St. Pantelemion’s Cathedral. When looking at the gorgeous iconography, don’t […]

During my Russian studies at Indiana University over the past two years, the concept of a “dacha” or Soviet-era summer home always intrigued me. While my family has taken multiple vacations during which we stayed in cabins in Indiana or the Great Smoky Mountains, we—like most Americans—were happy to return to our permanent home. Yet […]

The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal its English translation. Most Russians feel uneasy talking about aging. There are many Russians proverbs that express a negative attitude towards old age, such as , or , or . […]

Besides the New Year, Victory Day and perhaps the 8th of March, the next biggest holidays on most Russians’ rosters are actually their birthdays! The sheer level of drama that they entail, and the full-scale productions that they become are most certainly worthy of them being labeled cultural events. While I have been a guest […]

Новодевичье Кладбище/ Novodevichy Cemetery Лужнецкий пр., метро Спортивная 9am-5pm Admission free Novodevichy Cemetery is one of my favorite places in Moscow, and what luck that it is absolutely free to visit! I have personally been there three times during my two stays in the city. Located next to Novodevichy Monastery, the this cemetery is the […]

Possessive adjectives form a class of their own in Russian grammar.[1] They can be formed with a variety of suffixes; moreover, with additional suffixes, it is possible to create entirely new possessive-relational adjectives, which cross categorical boundaries. Possessive adjectives replace the use of the genitive case for nouns denoting people, animals and names of professions. […]

The following was written as a mid-term essay for an SRAS program in St. Petersburg. Students were encouraged to draw upon not only the program texts, but also on the impressions and experiences gained of Russia and Russians while on-the-ground in St. Petersburg. A select few of these essays have been chosen to be published […]

The following was written as a mid-term essay for an SRAS program in St. Petersburg. Students were encouraged to draw upon not only the program texts, but also on the impressions and experiences gained of Russia and Russians while on-the-ground in St. Petersburg. A select few of these essays have been chosen to be published […]

To the reader: These vignettes are a collection of personal essays of my childhood experiences growing up in the former Soviet Union and my later impressions based on travels to Ukraine and to Russia as a college student. Please be aware that since most of my childhood was spent in the Ukrainian SSR while it […]

SRAS: You are currently majoring in Russian Studies and Psychology at Stetson University – what got you interested in Russia? Mark Lowry: I served a two year mission for the LDS church in Russia helping out church members there. While there, I became proficient in Russian and when I returned in 2008 I decided to major in […]