Russian studies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in Russian at Princeton in the mid-90s, at the nadir of Russian influence. We had four people in my class in the department, which had eight tenured professors. I had never taken Russian before I went to Princeton, and I did nothing with it after school. Became a sports journalist and then a lawyer.

Someone does not know what 'nadir' means.

It seems more the case that you would benefit from studying the history of this period, particularly that of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and rise of Russian emigrants indeed created a deep need for Russian speakers. How could you possibly not know this?

NP. The Russian/Ukrainian emigre and expat community is really sufficient to supply all needs that are not intelligence/security related. It's similar to Chinese in that respect. If you just want to do business you can always find a bilingual local or hyphenated-American. It's the rare person who doesn't have a family background who excels in difficult foreign languages.

And these days if you would be connected to intelligence, it would even further reduce your chances of safely visiting, working, making friends with locals, etc.

I believe that people should study what they are interested in, but I agree this is not a field where you can expect a free-flowing job market and easy job finding. That makes it more of a passion major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in Russian at Princeton in the mid-90s, at the nadir of Russian influence. We had four people in my class in the department, which had eight tenured professors. I had never taken Russian before I went to Princeton, and I did nothing with it after school. Became a sports journalist and then a lawyer.

Someone does not know what 'nadir' means.

It seems more the case that you would benefit from studying the history of this period, particularly that of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and rise of Russian emigrants indeed created a deep need for Russian speakers. How could you possibly not know this?

NP. The Russian/Ukrainian emigre and expat community is really sufficient to supply all needs that are not intelligence/security related. It's similar to Chinese in that respect. If you just want to do business you can always find a bilingual local or hyphenated-American. It's the rare person who doesn't have a family background who excels in difficult foreign languages.

And these days if you would be connected to intelligence, it would even further reduce your chances of safely visiting, working, making friends with locals, etc.

I believe that people should study what they are interested in, but I agree this is not a field where you can expect a free-flowing job market and easy job finding. That makes it more of a passion major.

Good point that if working in intelligence, you might not even be able to visit Russia and other countries. Can't even visit Russia now.

The reason to study it is mostly because you are passionate about it, and that might be a good enough reason. It just might be like other interdisciplinary degrees where you ultimately take a job in another field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in Russian at Princeton in the mid-90s, at the nadir of Russian influence. We had four people in my class in the department, which had eight tenured professors. I had never taken Russian before I went to Princeton, and I did nothing with it after school. Became a sports journalist and then a lawyer.

Someone does not know what 'nadir' means.

It seems more the case that you would benefit from studying the history of this period, particularly that of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and rise of Russian emigrants indeed created a deep need for Russian speakers. How could you possibly not know this?

That’s not a well paying field and a stupid reason for investing $90k in a major from which it is very difficult to get a good paying job in a career with a future. Even if fortunate to get into the CIA, you are stuck in a bureaucracy at a government wage the rest of your life.

I have two kids who are doing very well using their Russian Studies majors in exactly that way. Maybe you should move along if you don't even know what you're talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in Russian at Princeton in the mid-90s, at the nadir of Russian influence. We had four people in my class in the department, which had eight tenured professors. I had never taken Russian before I went to Princeton, and I did nothing with it after school. Became a sports journalist and then a lawyer.

Someone does not know what 'nadir' means.

It seems more the case that you would benefit from studying the history of this period, particularly that of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and rise of Russian emigrants indeed created a deep need for Russian speakers. How could you possibly not know this?

NP. The Russian/Ukrainian emigre and expat community is really sufficient to supply all needs that are not intelligence/security related. It's similar to Chinese in that respect. If you just want to do business you can always find a bilingual local or hyphenated-American. It's the rare person who doesn't have a family background who excels in difficult foreign languages.

And these days if you would be connected to intelligence, it would even further reduce your chances of safely visiting, working, making friends with locals, etc.

I believe that people should study what they are interested in, but I agree this is not a field where you can expect a free-flowing job market and easy job finding. That makes it more of a passion major.

You know that people working within the IC on Russian-related projects do most of their work here in the U.S., right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an excellent list! It pains me how ignorant some of these comments are. My kid received four federally funded scholarships to learn Russian as it is deemed a language essential to our national security. One scholarship included a 7-week immersion study in a Russian speaking country. These programs were started by President Bush as we did have enough U.S. citizen interpreters who spoke Arabic during the Gulf war. Unfortunately, the current administration is gutting these programs. The three universities that still have the Russian Flagship program are Georgia, Wisconsin and Indiana. All three offer amazing programs in Russian. Virginia Tech, UCLA, and UNC lost their Flagship funding last year but are still excellent. Arizona State, Columbia and Chicago are excellent.

Anonymous wrote:Academic here who studied Russian and a few other off-the-beaten-track languages:

Below I've pasted a list of universities that receive federal funds (at least until recently) for Russia and Central/Eastern Europe, including a number of state flagships. Any of them will have serious courses including language training. I'd second the recommendations for Middlebury & Georgetown as well.

But I'd also recommend that your kid consider a double major, or majoring in something else and minoring in Russian studies. On its own, it's pretty limiting. Language skills are useful but AI may erode that some of that utility. And it will be impossible to achieve real fluency without extensive in-country experience, which is going to be tricky for the foreseeable future with Russia.

Title VI-funded National Resource Centers/FLAS-Granting Programs for Eastern Europe and Eurasia

Arizona State University — The Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian & East European Studies
Harvard University — Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Indiana University — Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute
Indiana University — Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center
Stanford University — Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
The Ohio State University — Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies
University of California, Berkeley — Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of Illinois — Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center
University of Kansas — Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies
University of Michigan — Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — The Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
University of Pittsburgh — Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
University of Texas at Austin — Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison — Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia

Just so you are aware, it is the Biden administration that cut 1/2 the language programs, including Arabic at Maryland….give “credit” where credit is due.

I am well aware of the funding situation, thank you. The NSLI-Y scholarships that my child received have been jeopardized by the current administration. The Flagship programs are not high school programs, they are college programs, and yes, the funding for the Flagship programs were reduced at the end of the Biden administration save money. 4 of the 8 Russian Flagship programs were cut. But back to high school programs, it does not appear that NSLI-Y is sending kids abroad anymore — they did not open applications this fall although they took applications for their virtual programming. Foreign language acquisition has not been a funding priority in recent years but the budget cuts this year have practically been a death blow. I’m sorry you took offense to my post and responded politically. We are where we are with the budget and each administration has its priorities.

[Anonymous]

Arabic, Hindi and Mandarin are probably the most useful languages to know for next decade.

Russian if you really like it for some reason and attending school on aid or merit. Don't take loans.

If majoring in any language, add a more employable second major or minor. CS, cybersecurity, data science etc.

If you get a doctorate, academia is an option.

[Anonymous]

Bidens or Trumps may need interpretation for doing business with oligarchs.

[Anonymous]

I have one who went into Political Science and had to take a language. Decided on Russian after years of Spanish. Top program where Arabic and Russian language classes were put together for presentations by Govt. did internships in Govt and by 4th year very few students left in program. Ended up with Russian minor and currently in Govt along with the others. Has been overseas quite a bit and hasn't been furloughed. Professors were mostly (maybe all?) Ukrainian and help students with internship and jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in Russian at Princeton in the mid-90s, at the nadir of Russian influence. We had four people in my class in the department, which had eight tenured professors. I had never taken Russian before I went to Princeton, and I did nothing with it after school. Became a sports journalist and then a lawyer.

Someone does not know what 'nadir' means.

It seems more the case that you would benefit from studying the history of this period, particularly that of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and rise of Russian emigrants indeed created a deep need for Russian speakers. How could you possibly not know this?

That’s not a well paying field and a stupid reason for investing $90k in a major from which it is very difficult to get a good paying job in a career with a future. Even if fortunate to get into the CIA, you are stuck in a bureaucracy at a government wage the rest of your life.

I have two kids who are doing very well using their Russian Studies majors in exactly that way. Maybe you should move along if you don't even know what you're talking about?

Agree. It's one angry bored mom who thinks the only path is CS or engineering.

[Anonymous]

Russia has no future. It will be finished in a few decades. Moscovia will survive, as a small, sad, savage place. Suggest your kid take Ukrainian studies. Or you may as well study Latin. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

NYU is great for this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an excellent list! It pains me how ignorant some of these comments are. My kid received four federally funded scholarships to learn Russian as it is deemed a language essential to our national security. One scholarship included a 7-week immersion study in a Russian speaking country. These programs were started by President Bush as we did have enough U.S. citizen interpreters who spoke Arabic during the Gulf war. Unfortunately, the current administration is gutting these programs. The three universities that still have the Russian Flagship program are Georgia, Wisconsin and Indiana. All three offer amazing programs in Russian. Virginia Tech, UCLA, and UNC lost their Flagship funding last year but are still excellent. Arizona State, Columbia and Chicago are excellent.

Anonymous wrote:Academic here who studied Russian and a few other off-the-beaten-track languages:

Below I've pasted a list of universities that receive federal funds (at least until recently) for Russia and Central/Eastern Europe, including a number of state flagships. Any of them will have serious courses including language training. I'd second the recommendations for Middlebury & Georgetown as well.

But I'd also recommend that your kid consider a double major, or majoring in something else and minoring in Russian studies. On its own, it's pretty limiting. Language skills are useful but AI may erode that some of that utility. And it will be impossible to achieve real fluency without extensive in-country experience, which is going to be tricky for the foreseeable future with Russia.

Title VI-funded National Resource Centers/FLAS-Granting Programs for Eastern Europe and Eurasia

Arizona State University — The Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian & East European Studies
Harvard University — Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Indiana University — Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute
Indiana University — Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center
Stanford University — Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
The Ohio State University — Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies
University of California, Berkeley — Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of Illinois — Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center
University of Kansas — Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies
University of Michigan — Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — The Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
University of Pittsburgh — Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
University of Texas at Austin — Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison — Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia

Just so you are aware, it is the Biden administration that cut 1/2 the language programs, including Arabic at Maryland….give “credit” where credit is due.

I am well aware of the funding situation, thank you. The NSLI-Y scholarships that my child received have been jeopardized by the current administration. The Flagship programs are not high school programs, they are college programs, and yes, the funding for the Flagship programs were reduced at the end of the Biden administration save money. 4 of the 8 Russian Flagship programs were cut. But back to high school programs, it does not appear that NSLI-Y is sending kids abroad anymore — they did not open applications this fall although they took applications for their virtual programming. Foreign language acquisition has not been a funding priority in recent years but the budget cuts this year have practically been a death blow. I’m sorry you took offense to my post and responded politically. We are where we are with the budget and each administration has its priorities.

Thank you for acknowledging that the Biden admin is the one responsible for cutting the college critical language flagships in 1/2, and that neither democrats nor republicans are good at funding this — all to pay for, literally, a couple more missiles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For employment, you compete against native speakers-not necessarily from Russia but other countries (Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc). Also, linguist jobs may be impacted by AI in the future. For colleges, look at whether their program is focussed more on literature versus political science. Different departments have different focuses.

+1

I spent almost 10 years living in Moscow and Kyiv for work. I know a lot of people whose jobs were possible due to their Russian language skills, and they were all fluent. I don't think it is possible to become fluent in Russian just by raking it up in university as a native English speaker. Your child will have a heavy accent, will not be completely fluent, and won't have the cultural mindset or understanding of nuance to really "get" a tense or complicated situation involving native speakers. The people who had the language skills that got them these jobs were Americans with a parent from a Russian-speaking country who had used the langauge with them from childhood or were from an ex-Soviet country with a Slavic-family local language and Russian taught routinely in the local school system, etc. Don't forget that AI advances are going to narrow down the prospects for anybody intending to use their "Russian language skills" to get a job.

I can speak and read Russian at a conversational level. My accent and even my facial expressions/gestures are clearly American. This is after living in Russian speaking countries for 10 years and taking classes. I do not have the matery of the subtleties and cultural-influenced quirks/nuances to the language that would allow full fluency. And I can tell you that I wouldn't have the skills I do have unless I had spent so much time fully immersed in a Russian-speaking country.

Tell your child to take Russian for fun, for his electives/language requirements. He isn't going to be the American version of Phil Jennings.

I don’t know that I agree with this. I didn’t live in Moscow as long as you but no one ever believed I was American. From my accent and my facial expressions they all thought I was from one of the republics — Latvia or Lithuanian usually. My friend who started Russian at age 14 spoke with basically native fluency and is now a professor.

But I agree that it is hard to achieve a real level of fluency that can compete. But for positions that need security clearance, a native born American will have an advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in Russian at Princeton in the mid-90s, at the nadir of Russian influence. We had four people in my class in the department, which had eight tenured professors. I had never taken Russian before I went to Princeton, and I did nothing with it after school. Became a sports journalist and then a lawyer.

Someone does not know what 'nadir' means.

It seems more the case that you would benefit from studying the history of this period, particularly that of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and rise of Russian emigrants indeed created a deep need for Russian speakers. How could you possibly not know this?

That’s not a well paying field and a stupid reason for investing $90k in a major from which it is very difficult to get a good paying job in a career with a future. Even if fortunate to get into the CIA, you are stuck in a bureaucracy at a government wage the rest of your life.

I have two kids who are doing very well using their Russian Studies majors in exactly that way. Maybe you should move along if you don't even know what you're talking about?

Do you mind sharing what kind of places they work? I am the Russian major who posted previously. I works with Russian emigre community in the 90s providing legal services. But now so many of the people that came over in the 90s have kids that grew up here fully fluent…and there are fewer recent emigres so my impression was that work was not so in demand. And that work is often poorly paid — I didn’t really make a living wage when I did it.

[Anonymous]

UT Austin has an excellent Russia studies program and everyone I know who graduated from it has gone on to the fields they were interested in - international relations, business, government, and regional risk analysis.