Russian Studies

The Russian Studies curriculum offers important opportunities to study Russian language, history, politics, and literature at this pivotal moment when Russia has unleashed a war of aggression against Ukraine that has upended the post WWII political order and sparked long-overdue examinations of Russian linguistic and cultural colonialism in Eastern Europe, the Baltics, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

The U.S. State Department designates Russian a Critical Need language, underscoring the need to train a new generation of Russia experts after decades of neglect since the fall of the Soviet Union. Our graduates enter a world that needs their service in foreign policy, diplomacy, national security, energy, business, NGOs, publishing, and the arts.

We offer a regular sequence of Russian language courses, from beginning through advanced, and a range of surveys and seminars in Russian literature and Russian and Soviet history. Our students also take courses toward the Russian minor and majors from other departments and programs, including Political Science and Global Literary Theory. Outside the classroom, students have opportunities to engage with Russian through workshops, invited speakers, weekly Russian table, Russian club events, and volunteering in the community.