Russia - 2008
During the last year, my son, Sam, and I wrote a paper entitled, "Modeling Population Dynamics in Rural Russia." Sam is a graduate student in Applied Math at the University of Central Arkansas. We were invited to present this paper at the annual fall conference, Regional Geography and Geoecology, at Ryazan' State University on September 22, 2008. This site contains photographs that were taken prior to and following the conference. Sam was not able to attend the conference.

 

 

While at the conference, I stayed in this dormitory. It was located about two kilometers from the university. A city bus made it extremely easy to move back and forth between the university and the dorm. My friends at RSU were able to arrange for me to stay in the dorm at no cost. They have always treated me exceptionally well!!
This was my room - #302. It was very comfortable, roomy, and had a clean bathroom with a shower. What made it extra nice was that I had hot water! In Russia, building heat is not turned on until October 15, so while the temperature outside was a pleasant 55-60 degrees, my room was chilly.
This is the main building of Ryazan' State University. It is a beautiful, old building and had recently been painted.
The head of the Department of Geography and the coordinator of the conference was Vyacheslav A. Krivtsov. While small in stature, he is a giant in geography. He has published multiple books and continues to be a prolific author. As the years have gone by, he has given me copies of several of his books. During the conference, a post-graduate student challenged Dr. Krivtsov's recommended natural regions of the Ryazan' Oblast'. There was an interesting dialog between the student and the "master" regarding this topic.
Prior to the conference, I was able to observe a weekend ecology class for school children. This photo shows a young girl at the computer showing slides that she had taken while at the Moscow Zoo. School teachers and parents are devoted to after-school and weekend classes for their children.
The building in which the ecology class was being held, a variety of other activities were going on. In a larger hall, young girls were participating in a dance class and in a smaller room, two ladies were making costums for Russian performers. These ladies were doing this voluntarily. This picture shows one of the ladies and one of the costums they had produced.
The City of Ryazan' is very old so there is a nice contrast between very old, wooden structures, communist era buildings, and modern shopping centers. The building to the left is the main city theater. It has just been painted.
This modern shopping center was constructed about three years ago. It contains a large grocery store, electronics stores, and a wide variety of appliance, clothing, and shoe stores. There is also a large buffet-type cafeteria and an Internet salon.
Following the conference, I was invited to visit the Ryazan' School for the Deaf. Ryazan' has a population of just over 500,000 and has one school which has about 170 deaf children in grades K - 12. These two ladies, Director Galina Karpachyova (right), and a social studies teacher, spent over three hours visiting with me about a wide range of topics. They were interested in education in the United States and were especially interested in contact with Little Rock's School for the Deaf.
These were four students at the deaf school. The tallest girl is Alyona Pribylova, the daughter of my friends Alexander and Elena. She is 11 years old.
These are my Ryazan' friends - Alexander (Sasha), Alyona, and Elena. I have known them for 10 years. They have traveled and assisted with groups I have taken to Russia. Elena and I have published together. Elena is a geographer and Sasha is a computer scientist. Both are professors at Ryazan' State University. They have been especially kind, helpful, and tolerant of my visits.
Following the conference, and the day before my departure for home, I traveled to Moscow and spent the night in a dormitory at Moscow State Pedagogical Unviersity. UCA and MSPU have had a long relationship. The officials at MSPU have been exceptionally helpful to me as I have taken groups to Russia. At left, of course, is St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. I have seen it many times, but each time is as dramatic as the first!
On the northeast margin of Red Square is Russia's largest department store - the State Universal Magazine, or GYM. Although the contents have changed to suit the more wealthy Russians, it remains an important commercial and tourist center.
While in Moscow, I had time to once again witness the changing of the guard at Russia's Tomb of the Unknowns. It is always a must while in Moscow.