Russian Studies - 2001

The Russian Studies Program at the University of Central Arkansas currently requires that interested students enroll in University Studies 2300, Russian Studies and participate in a three-week living and traveling experience in Russia. The group is hosted by Moscow State Linguistic University. We stay in their foreign student dormitory at #6 Komsomolskiy Prospect adjacent to the Park Kulturi Metro Station. The three-week experience involves studying the Russian language at the university, touring cultural and historically significant sites in Moscow, traveling to St. Petersburg for three days, traveling to Ryazan for three days, and visiting Sergiev Posad. An occasional day trip to other sites also occurs.

This site is devoted to the 2001 visit to Russia and is intended to provide an overview of some of the highlights of the trip including photographs that demonstrate day-to-day activities and living arrangements at MSLU.

The information at this site is divided into five sections: 1) MSLU, 2) Moscow, 3) St. Petersburg, 4) Ryazan, and 5) Other day trips outside of Moscow.
Moscow State Linguistic University
Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU) is located at #36 Ostazhenka Street. This street is across the Moscow River from Gorky Park and just north of the Park Kulturi Metro Station - really rather close to the center of the city. It is a beautiful building from the outside, but well used and worn on the inside. It is here that we pay for room, bus transportation from the airport, and other items. Mikhail Abov'yan, Vice Rector of the university, is out host and works with us as we plan for our stay in Russia.
Of the eleven who traveled to Russia, seven were students. They are shown at the left in a hallway of MSLU where we were registering our passports and obtaining passes to the dormitory. Other than the dormitory in which they unpacked, this was the first Russian building that they had entered.
This is the six-story dormitory where were stayed and where we had our Russian language lessons. It is the foreign student dorm and is located at #6 Komsolmolskiy Prospect near the Park Kulturi Metro. A short walk to the right of the building up the street takes one to the Park Kulturu Metro station. From that location, one can easily move around Moscow in a matter of minutes.
This is one of the bedrooms on the forth floor. Each bedroom suite has two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a toilet room. Each room has a table, two small night stands with space for clothing, and one larger closet for clothing that needs to be hanged. But, bring your own hangers.
On the first floor of the dormitory is a small cafeteria (stolovaya) where we ate most of our breakfasts. The food selection is very good and nutritious. And, it is cheap. Food choices ranged from kasha and borshch to various types of meat, bread, cheese, and salads. As you can tell, the cashier is also very friendly as are the ladies that served us.
Each day when we were in Moscow, we had a Russian language lesson in this classroom. We were taught by two Russian men who alternated their instruction days. This photo was taken before the beginning of one of the lessons before all of the students had arrived. The language class was not the favorite part of the Russian experience but it enhanced the experience.
Moscow

At the heart of Russia and Moscow are the Kremlin and Red Square. In the Kremlin is the beautiful Palace Square where the Cathedral of Michael the Archangel is located. Shown at left, it contains the tombs of most of the Tsars to Peter I (the Great).

 
Just outside of the Kremlin is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, now guarded by soldiers who used to guard Lenin's Tomb. The changing of the guards is enjoyable to watch.
Russian history during the 1930's contains the rule of Joseph Stalin and the Purges. During that time, millions of persons were killed or placed in labor camps - the Gulag. At the left is a recently completed memorial depicting the horrors of the Gulag. It is located in the White Stone Exhibition north of Gorky Park.
One of the pleasures of the Russian trip is a leisurely float up the Moscow River. From the deck of the boat one can see the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, and many other historically and culturally significant structures. Above, our group enjoys the trip. At the conclusion of this float, however, we were detained and locked in a small room on the boat. For some reason there was a disput over the price of our tickets. It was an interesting experience to say the least.
In 1995, the government of the Russian Federation completed Victory Park. It was built in western Moscow to commemorate the victory in World War II, or the Great Patriotic War as it is known in Russia. At left, UCA students stand in the huge plaza of the park. Inside the main building behind the group are exhibits, dioramas, and museums depicting the events of the war.
At the left is one of the graves that one must see while in Moscow - the grave of Nikita Kruzhchev. Unlike other leaders of the Former Soviet Union who are buried at the Kremlin wall, Kruzhchev is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Also in the cemetery is the grave of Raiza Gorbechev, the wife of Mikhail Gorbechev, former and last leader of the Soviet Union. This cemetery contains well-known Soviet and Russian scientists, politicians, wives of politicians, artists, and writers. It is also a must when visiting Moscow.
Ryazan - the Eternal City
 For many years, our visit to Moscow included a three-day trip to St. Petersburg and one or two one-day trips outside of Moscow. Last year (2000), we instituted a three-day experience in Ryazan, Russia. Unlike Moscow and St. Petersburg, Ryazan is not a tourist city. It is in Ryazan where we get the true flavor of the real Russia. Ryazan has 535,000 people and NO western restaurants. Yet, the city has its own Kremlin, other historical and cultural sites, and nearby monasteries and protected areas. The Ryazan experience adds a great deal to the Russian experience. The photos below capture only a small part of what we do in Ryazan. For much more information, please go to brooksgreen.net and follow the links to those associated with Ryazan.
We generally take the train from Moscow to Ryazan. That trip is approximately three hours in length and provides an opportunity to view the Russian countryside as exhibited in the Russian Plain. In Ryazan, we are met by faculty from Ryazan State Pedagogical University and their university bus. The photo above left is our group in the bus. While in Ryazan, we have the option of eating in a wonderful little cafe at the university. While in Ryazan we are fed extremely well with juice, fresh fruit, salads, soup, meat, and desserts. The photo above right is the cafe with members of the group eating dinner.
Other than the tour of the City of Ryazan, the group is taken to two locations outside of the city. First, we go to Poshchupova, the site of an old monastery for men. Because it is an active monastery (it is currently being restored), all who enter have to be dressed appropriately. For women, this means a head covering and a skirt. The monks at the monastery are very kind and realize that not all female visitors will be properly dressed, so they provide the needed items of clothing. Above left are three of our female students who are now properly dressed to tour the monastery. Don't they look great!
Along the high south bank of the Oka River is the small village of Konstantinovo. This village is the site of the place where the famous Russian poet, Sergei Yesenin lived for a portion of his life. The Russian government has declared part of the village a protected preserve to ensure artifacts conntected to Yesenin are kept for future generations. At the end of the village is this wonderful view of the Oka River Valley.
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, of course, is a wonderful city with beautiful palaces and canals - the Venice of the North. The visit to St. Petersburg is always one of the highlights of the Russian experience because we travel there by night train and we visit at least three palaces. Within the city is the beautiful Winter Palace, now the State Hermitage. It contains thousands of paintings and other works of Western Art. One can view entire rooms of the art of Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, and others. The photo to the left is the group in front of the Winter Palace in Place Square.
Another palace is located 15 miles west on the south shore of the Gulf of Finland - the famous Petrodvorets or Peterhoff. To get to this site we often ride one of the local hydrofoils as shown to the left.
Peterhoff, or Petrodvorets, has dozens of fountains. They are turned on the last Sunday in May each year. The photo to the left shows the front of the palace just after the fountains had been turned on. It is truly a magnificent site.
The other palace, the Summer Palace (show at the left) is located in the village of Pushkin, formerly known as Tsarskoye Celo. To get there, we frequently take the metro from St. Petersburg to the end of the line then we take a train. From the train station we walk a mile or so or take a bus. Once there, the photo shows what we see. Nearby (and worth the visit) is also the famed Alexander's Palace, the final residence of Nicholas and Alexandra and their family before they were executed in Yekaterinburg.
Day Trips Outside of Moscow
This year some of us traveled by train to the small village of Kubinka, west of Moscow. Near Kubinka is a large museum which contains armored vehicles from World War II. An entire building is devoted the German tanks captured by the Russian army during World War II. We were able to see tanks that few non-Russians have been able to see. It was quite an experience to see this poor village and the museum. The photo at the left is the Kubinka train station. Its size and architectural style suggest that at one time, this little village was more important than it is now.
On the final day before we returned home, we traveled by train to the city of Sergiev Posad, once called Zagorsk. This city contains one of the most significant religious sites in Russia, the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergei. A photo of the monastery can be seen on the 1994 and 1995 pages. On this trip some of the main buildings were being renovated and were not photogenic. So, just outside of the monastry was this beautiful little church (at left).
That is a summary of the 2001 trip to Russia. Visiting Russia is an exceptional experience. One never knows what is hidden around the next corner or what event will highlight the day. That can only be discovered by traveling to Russia and witnessing first hand this magnificent country and her extraordinary people. Come and join us on the next tour!

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