Russian Studies Courses
Browse and search our fall 2025 courses in Russian Studies.
For more information on sections and schedules, view the Schedule of Classes.
82-191 Elementary Russian I
This course is for students who have never studied Russian. It begins the Russian language sequence and is offered in the fall semester only. The course takes a communicative approach to teaching basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Language is…
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82-192 Elementary Russian II
Elementary Russian II is the second semester of a yearlong beginning Russian sequence. Students who complete this yearlong sequence will acquire the basics of Russian grammar and develop an active vocabulary of approximately 1,000 words. They will learn how to tell simple…
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82-194 Intensive Russian (I & II)
This intensive course allows students to complete a yearlong elementary Russian program in one semester and proceed to Intermediate Russian. Students who complete this course will acquire the basics of Russian grammar and develop an active vocabulary of approximately 1,000…
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82-195 Eastern European Society and Culture
This course surveys the societies and culture of modern Eastern Europe, from the Baltic States and Poland to the Balkans and Bulgaria. It will attend to this regions complex and turbulent history and consider the dynamics that shape it from geographical, geopolitical,…
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82-291 Intermediate Russian I
This course is designed for students who have taken two semesters of Russian at Carnegie Mellon or the equivalent. It is offered in the fall only. This course furthers communicative proficiency through intensive practice in written and spoken Russian. Complex grammatical…
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82-292 Intermediate Russian II
Fulfills Intercultural and Global Inquiry Gen Ed requirement
In this intermediate course, students will review the basics of Russian grammar, develop listening comprehension, and expand their vocabularies and recognize the conversational, artistic, and academic usage of…
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82-293 Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia
"Last night I was in the kingdom of shadows," said the writer Maxim Gorky in 1896 after seeing a film for the first time. "How terrifying to be there!" Early film inspired fear and fascination in its Russian audiences, and before long became a medium of bold…
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82-294 19th Century Russian Masterpieces
Fulfills 'Contextual Thinking' GenEd requirement!
Russian literature of the 19th century was shaped by its engagement with the so-called accursed questions—"accursed" for being urgent and inescapable but possibly unanswerable. "What is the self?" "What is the…
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82-295 20th Century Russian Literature
Fulfills Contextual Thinking Gen Ed requirement!
The October Revolution of 1917 had profound effects not only for Russian society, but also for literature and culture. Even before the Revolution, Vladimir Lenin stressed the importance of literature on the hearts and minds…
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82-296 From Augustine to Avatars: Personal Narratives Across Media
This course investigates the evolution of personal narratives, from early Christian autobiography to chronicles of war and exploration to the emergence of the modern memoir, and concludes with a look at storytelling in other media: blogs, vlogs, and social media. Who…
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82-297 Russian and Soviet Science Fiction
This course explores the longstanding tradition of science fiction literature, film, and art in the Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet world. How does the future-oriented world of science fiction look and operate when produced in a country with an entirely different…
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82-390 Soviet Future: Revolutionary Design
Taught in English.
This course explores the history of Soviet design from aspirations of an everyday Utopia following the 1917 Revolution to the crumbling facades and "post-Communist aesthetic" of the former USSR today. Students will learn about alternative visions of…
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82-391/392 Advanced Russian I: Modern Russia
This course investigates the cultural history of the post-Revolutionary Russian emigration to capitals of Europe, North America, and Asia. We will examine the life of Russian émigré communities in each of these cities, through poetry, literary fiction,…
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82-392 Advanced Russian II: Great Short Works
A ghost robs a poor copy clerk of his prized overcoat. A nightmarish visit to a local museum somehow spirits a Russian refugee back to the Soviet Union. A desperate mother beats her son in order to ensure his bright future. Although Russian literature is famous for its…
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82-394 Russian for Heritage Speakers: Babushka's Russia & Beyond
This course is designed to address the linguistic and cultural learning needs of heritage speakers of Russian, those who grew up hearing and speaking Russian at home but who have had little or no formal study of Russian language, culture, or history. Although heritage…
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82-590 Special Topics in Russian Studies
Restricted to language majors who wish to go beyond the regular course offerings in Russian Studies involving group or individual study in a subject area approved by the instructor.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and a 400-level course.
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82-599 Russian Studies Thesis
The Russian Studies thesis, as described for the Russian Studies major, is required of all Russian Studies majors and consists of researching and writing a thesis employing both Russian-language and English-language sources, and generally completed during the senior year.…
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