Browse Items (158 total)

Offered this year for the first time, Societies and the World 52: The Phoenix & The Firebird is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding Russia and its place in the contemporary global climate. Taught by a member of the Slavic Languages and…

In 1977 the great dancer Yuri Soloviev killed himself. The fact that he killed himself in his beloved dacha makes his death more haunting, for “it is tragic to think that in a dark hour he was drawn back to his roots” (Lobenthal 55). Though the…

South Ossetia is an autonomous republic in Georgia that declared independence in 2008. Only a few countries – in particular, Russia, which maintains a military presence in South Ossetia – recognize its independence.

Heavy fighting broke out…

Sputnik was a decisive event that initiated the Space Race. On one hand, it furthered divides between East and West, and helped kick off an arms race that led to thousands of nuclear warheads being deployed. On the other, the era of technical…

Vladimir I, born in 956, was a grand prince of Kiev, and was to become Kievan Rus’ first Christian ruler (“Vladimir I”). Vladimir was great-grandson to St. Olga, a princess considered to be one of the first converts to Christianity in Russia. Before…

The T-34 is widely regarded as the most influential tank of WWII, credited (along with the Russian winter) with turning the tide against the Nazi’s in the east. The T-34 was both a technological and industrial marvel, coupling advanced engineering…