Shaping Russian Society: Soviet Heritage and Transformation

Catalog description

This Russian–language content course continues to develop students’ functional proficiency in speaking, writing, reading, and listening. The course is designed to familiarize students with contemporary Russian society and its historical background. It covers the current political, economic, and societal developments in Russia, focuses on a variety of issues central to Russian society since the fall of the Soviet Union, including the search for national identity, changing values, and popular perceptions of Westerners and Western practices. We will observe the business community and its relations with the government, trace the origin of Russian oligarchs and entrepreneurs and investigate how informal Soviet practices and the criminal world shaped the current business environment. Course materials will include interviews, articles, essays by leading Russian journalists and statesmen, and contemporary Russian movies.