Russian
Russian literature is world literature and a knowledge of Russian lights the way to understanding the works of such writers as Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Bunin, Isaac Babel, Andrei Platonov, Daniil Kharms, Chinghiz Aitmatov and Yuri Rytkheu; as well as modern authors such as Tatyana Tolstaya, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Viktor Pelevin or Vladmir Sorokin. It facilitates travel and communication in post-Soviet countries and helps one to grasp the essence of the deep-rooted problems and conflicts found within these states today.
In addition, we will aim to use the Russian language in our lessons as a way of comprehending the current complex situation in Eastern Europe and especially the relationship between Russia and the Ukraine. We would like to demonstrate the spatial and temporal aspects of the inter-relationship between the languages and cultures in these regions; and how these have become, to a certain extent, the premise for Russia's contemporary policies.
Whether you want to begin studying Russian for the first time or deepen your knowledge of it, then the Ukraine is a great choice of location to do so: the country is open and still breathes the air of freedom, no Visa is required and there is no need to register with the authorities on arrival (as you must in Russia, for example).