Russian studies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve learned spooo much here!


There’s a Russian Lit course that everyone at northwestern raves about. I’m
Going to tel my DC to take it!

Russian Lit is great. Everyone should do a course in it.

I have a graduate degree in IR with a focus on Russia and Eastern and Central Europe. It was a very useful degree at the time. Because that's where the action was for more adventurous and unconventional paths - in finance, journalism, consulting, NGOs, multi-laterals, and of course State, USAID, IC and other US government agencies. It was super interesting and there were heaps of opportunities.

It's a different era today. Russia remains an issue, but it's a nation in rapid decline. The post Cold War gold rush is long gone. Now, I think a degree in Russian Studies is only useful for the humanities students going for the PhD or the oil and gas people. If you want to be prepared for the next few decades, do Chinese Studies. Otherwise, Russian Studies is for dilettantes who don't need to work for a living in 2025.

Good God. You are so very out of touch, it’s painful.

[Anonymous]

The 1980s is calling.

[Anonymous]

Clearly wil continue to be relevant for security issues.

Really interesting question whether it will be relevant for business within our lifetime. It was like a gold rush in the 90s with western companies looking to get a toe in the door and stake a claim. After decades of kleptocracy and now global isolation….im not sure if there’s much left to be interested in. I don’t know enough about the permafrost to know whether the permafrost melting will open up new areas of exploration. I had heard that Putin was very much in support of climate change because it is opening up more of Russia for food production.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I did a BA in Russian language and literature at Pitt in the late '80s (including summer Russian for year 2 level at Pitt's summer language institute)

Pitt grad here ('93), and I did the same Russian Summer Institute! Was lucky enough to get a USAID Samantha Smith Memorial Exchange Scholarship for a semester at Moscow State- one of the highlights of my academic life.
Funny enough, I remember trying to choose between study abroad in France or the soon-to-be-Russian Federation, and I said, well, I better go study in Russia before it closes up again. And...here we are, 30 yrs later.

While in school, the FBI reached out to me, but I decided to apply to work at the embassy in Moscow. Getting my security clearance ended up taking over 2 years (for me, a goody two-shoes, no rap sheet, no parking tickets, nothing, spotless record) and while I was waiting to hear back I went, on a lark, to a Delta airlines interview. They loved that I knew Russian, promptly hired me, and after training I lived in NYC and flew the JFK-SVO route for almost 8 years.
Quit and then got my MBA in international marketing. Russian was a great undergrad major and taught me so much about life.

I remember an Aeroflot flight Moscow to US in the 90s. A guy standing up after being told by an FA that he can't smoke and demanding to know why. General passenger belligerence. They eventually ran out of alcohol and passengers were livid, shouting. Not all my flights filled with Russians were like this at all. Still, I don't know how you did it. I bet you really learned about people.

I don't regret my Russian degree at all.

[Anonymous]

I have a couple of degrees in Russian studies (paid for by the USG) and studied in Moscow. Despite not ever becoming truly fluent, I built a successful career out of it for 20 years in a variety of fields. I made a change after having children and no longer being able to keep up my monthly commute.

No doubt the jobs are less plentiful now. But Putin will die someday, the country will open up again, and when it does, there will be trade. In the meantime, there's always intelligence work.

I do miss Russia and hope to get back to visit all my old haunts.

[Anonymous]

Shocked by the number of former Russian spies now SAHM working on college apps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shocked by the number of former Russian spies now SAHM working on college apps

1) These are Americans who speak Russian, not Russian spies. Russian spies studied English.

2) Most of the posters, including me and my spouse, appear to be working parents.

3) DCUM is a logical place for highly-educated people from the glasnost era to be hanging out (Gen-Xers). And it's Pitt-friendly too!

I had a reco for those who are interested. Google Kamil Galeev threadreaderapp. He is an internationally mobile academic of Tatar ethnicity. He posts some fairly interesting takes from time to time. He wrote for free at the beginning of the Ukraine war, but now is monetizing a Substack. Reminds me of the good old days reading books like "Ecocide in the USSR" by my spouse's professor.

[Anonymous]

Pitt Russian BA poster here. Small world. I fudged the dates a bit in my post. I graduated from Pitt in '92, so it looks like we overlapped. It was '89 when I did the summer Russian. It was held at Chatham College that year.

I knew many of the Russian majors/studiers ahead of me but only one '93 grad (who also did summer Russian in '89 -- only I was taking 2nd year and they were in 1st year). From the details you've given, I don't think I know who you are.

I attended Russian club outings (sometimes helping to organize). I remember going to see Boris Godunov at the Pittsburgh Opera, many Russian/Soviet movies, meeting with several speakers on campus. I remember volunteering when the Chataqua Conference was on campus.

I get the occasional mass email from the Russian department. I haven't kept contact with any of the professors since my career shift away from Russian stuff. Nancy Condee is still there. Padunov passed away a few years ago. Birnbaum retired a few years ago I believe. Nina Kossman, my first Russian teacher, has led a fascinating life (search if interested).

Small world, indeed! I was a few steps behind you (transferred to Pitt fall of '90) and hit the ground running with Nina Kossman for first year Russian- ay yi yi what a life she has had since those Pitt days! So glad Condee is still there, and I adored Padunov. Birnbaum was perfect for syntax. SLI was held in the Cathedral the year I participated (summer of '91) and I was at MGU Jan-June of '92- right after the coup and truly, there was real optimism in the air. Tons of joint ventures happening, and a boatload of foreign investment. My poor kids are dying to visit my old haunts, too, and I can't wait to go back there.

The Russian passengers I had on my subsequent Delta flights were rambunctious and rowdy. A common tactic to deal with the long (10 hr +) flight with NO Russian movies to watch was to snip the ends off the free earphones and use them as a giant straw for the bottle of vodka hidden under your seat. People would get absolutely plastered by the time I discovered the clandestine booze. I also had to manhandle Russian astronauts who wouldn't take their seats during bad turbulence.
See what you can do with a Russian studies major? But I regret nothing.