| This page is a link to various kinds of materials pertaining to Russia and Russian used in Russian courses at Bucknell. However, they may be used by anyone with a little curiosity about one of the most fascinating countries on earth. |
 | Simply click the appropriate hyperlink to go to the page with the specific materials which interest you. Our pages are growing in number and size, so visit as often as you please. |
This is the first on-line Russian encyclopedia offered by AGAMA. Everything you ever wanted to know about Russia is or eventually will be here. KOI8 fonts are required for the link above but there is a Win 1251 variant located here.
A daily (Monday-Friday) news service which provides 30 minutes of the Voice of Russia World Service news. Direct from Moscow, the Voice of Russia radio news is now available via Real Audio, the sound system that does not require downloading -- simply click and listen. Radio Prague, Radio Budapest, and Radio Warsaw news broadcasts are also available at this site. This service is provided by the World Radio Network which collects news broadcasts from 25 countries and converts them to Real Audio.
The art and architecture of Russia from the 13th century until today, including timeless Russian folkart and the ecclesiastical art of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
As the Russian and NISE economies stabilize they provide invaluable insights into the real nature of economic relations in that part of the world. This page contains economic reports as well as business analyses of new private companies and investment opportunities in Russia. Current exchange rates.
News and background on the struggle in this Russian oblast' from the Chechen perspective is available here. The Australian National University provides a broader source information on the subject. Finally, Gleb Zverev has provided a photo album of the war in Chechnya if you want to get really close to it.
Begin with the man who started it all, Sergei Eisenstein who, with D. W. Griffith essentially defined film editing (montage) The AGAMA Russian cinema site is rich with information on actors, directors, and producers of 5,000 Russian films from 1919-1995. The 'Russian World' site was a bit shaky when I discovered it but promises a rich Russian film archive, too. (Let me know if the link gives you trouble.) Abamedia also maintains a large archive of Russian film of all genres and types. Truth-in-CinemaQuest includes pages on Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Paradjanov and Alexander Sokurov. It also contains a special page written in Russian. The Library of Congress is also online with a list of its collection of films made in Russia. David Gurevich has written two insightful articles, "The State of Contemporary Russian Cinema" and "Masterworks of Soviet Cinema", both worth perusal. There is also a web site on Nikita Mikhailkov, the director and main actor in the Academy Award winning Burnt by the Sun. The description of the video collection at UIUC is a marvelous source of short descriptions of classic Russian filmes and documentaries. Bucknell's Bertrand Library holds many of the classics and allows them to be checked out.
Here is a page of links to the most interesting and beautiful sites about Russian cities. You might want to go directly to the Moscow Guide, which provides a walking tour of Moscow, including the Kremlin, a drive around the Golden Ring, a brief interlude on Russian culture, an extensive and lavishly illustrated catalog of Moscow restaurants and hotels.
Caviar, bliny (blintzes), boeuf Stroganoff, shashlyk, borshch, shchi, pickled herring, kasha . . . Russian cuisine is among the most delicious on earth. Here is the place to find out how to create it: you start with two years of Russian study, for the site is in Russian (Windows 1251). Friends and Partners also carries a Russian Cookbook worthy of consideration. A typical Russian dinner menu to give you an idea of what it is like to eat 'po-russky'. Gourmet Russian Cuisine from Russian London mixes original receipes with links to the Little Russia site. Of course, good food must be accompanied by good Russian wine or, if you prefer, Georgian wine.
The Moscow Guide page on Russian culture includes pages on folk art, holidays, museums, churches, the Golden Ring, and a Kremlin tour.
This site connects the embassies in Washington which have web sites. The Internet Attaché carries news about the foreign affairs community in the Washington area and updates on the use of internet in diplomacy. Here you will find all the addresses and telephone numbers of all the embassies in Washington including, of course, those of the NIS. We also have the names and addresses of embassies in Moscow.
The Russian Environment
The new Russia is moving toward ecological reform. It has a Ministry for the Protection of the Environment (MinPrirody) and a wide range of organizations are emerging. The Socio-Ecological Union (SEU) is an umbrella for nearly 300 organizations and groups in Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Center for Coordination and Information at the SEU has compiled a database that includes hundreds of funding organizations world-wide that are active in the FSU. The United Nations Environment Programme (ENRIN) maintains a global resource information database (GRID) which includes information on Russia. Dr. Andrei N. Bogaturev, Head of the Department of Scientific Research in Agriculture, University of Science of the Russian Federation entitled "The Russian Governmental Policy on Environmental Protection" (1996). Finally, ECOLOGIA is an organization focussing on questions of the Russian environment associated with E-TIP, a major Russian hub of links to ecological web sites all over the world. All these sites require Windows CP-1251 or KOI8-R fonts.
Russian Femininism
This site is a collection of links and info relating to Russian women, and the development of independent grass-roots feminism in Russia in recent years. There are links to web sites of women's organizations, news items, Russian women's literature and art on the net, and a selection of individual women's home pages. There are e-mail lists you can join, and pointers to more information on women in Russia and other countries in East-Central Europe.
Russian and Slavic Folklore
A little information about Russian folklore is beginning to appear on the Web. Begin with Sergei Naumouv's excusion into the mythology of Dazdbog and a few other Slavic gods. For additional sources, examine the site of the Slavic and East European Folklore Association.
KOI8 and other Cyrillic fonts that you will need to read the Russian language materials here and elsewhere on the Web.
Materials and links related to the study of Russian and Soviet history, including chronologies, exhibits, and tours.
Here is a list of the Russian public holidays, including the elusive Easter (Paskha). Some are official state holidays, some Orthodox Christian holidays.
Russian Humor
The mother lode is Anekdoty iz Rossii, but substantial collections may be found in Finland at FUNET, at the SovInfoBuro and at UNC. These links are all FTP sites. If you have trouble with the vocabulary, the 3-volume Бестолковый словарь will help make things worse--but you'll laugh all the way in Russian! The latest Russian political party, however, has an HTTP web site (in Russian) you might want to check out. (This is a real political party!) If politics are not your thing but you can take the risque (in Russian), you might want to join the Gusarskij klub. Then, again, maybe not. You can also find the best of Victor Bogorad, St. Petersburg's top cartoonist (in English). There is also a collection of very recent jokes maintained by Dima Verner. In Russian, of course. Another source for the highest quality satire is The Moscow Channel. A must see. Of course, the lot of the student is a funny one, indeed, and the Folklore of the Russian Student captures it all. This page is found on the Chertovye kulichki site which deserves a lingering visit. Don't miss the jokes at Joke Cafe, the Russian toasts, the bars and clubs and, of course, the ever-popular photo-bordello. Last but not least, Anekdoty iz Rossii is a daily compilation of Russian jokes from the Russian internet--they don't get any fresher than these!
Russian language study materials used at Bucknell such as lists, rules, tables, review materials, including an on-line, active and interactive Russian reference grammar.
This page focuses on political and legal issues pertaining to Russian and the NIS. Don't forget to check the archive list in Little Russia, and the REES and Friends and Partners web sites, as well.
Materials and links related to journals, corpora, centers, and institutes having to do with the study of Russian literature, drama, and poetry. There are also links to secondary sources: criticism, biography, and other genres. About half the material found here is in English, half in Russian.
These maps from the Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection of the University of Texas at Austin were produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Moscow State and St. Petersburg Universities
The photograph of MGU on the right connects you with the MGU (Moskovskij gosudarstvennyj universitet) website, where you can get all the information about studying at MGU you want. St. Petersburg University also has a website that links you with other sites in the tsarist capital.
This page contains excerpts from Russian folk music performed by the leading vocal and instrumental ensembles in the US. It also has links with other sites which contain music by a wider variety of ensembles as well as sources for the words to popular Russian songs.
Dazhdbog's grandson (Sergei Naoumov) strikes again! Find out who Dazhdbog and all his friends and relatives really were (are?). This is a Russian language gopher site which requires a KOI8 fixed-width font. The Far East Russian Magazine contains more information on the ancient gods of the Rusi. Another folk tradition in Russia was the offering of bread and salt to guests upon their arrival; indeed, one of the Russian words for 'hospitality' is khlebisol'stvo from khleb 'bread' and sol' salt.
News Resources for Russia and NIS
This page contains a growing number of news sources pertinent to Russia and the NISE which offer daily news releases and stories. The list includes Izvestia, TASS, The Vladivostok News, New Siberia of Novosibirsk, plus US news sources known for their coverage of Russia and the NIS.
Here are the background notes on the NISE countries provided by the CIA World Data Book. We are elaborating on them by providing flags, coats of arms, and better maps of these regions as we get them.
Perekryostka: Digest of Net Communication
Here is the ultimate communication tool for connecting with Russia: articles on every topic on earth, teleconferencing, bulletin boards and a news net--all in Russian. Discuss contemporary politics, economics, kids, sex, culture with Russians in Russian. Enlightening fun.
The Russian Orthodox Church
Russia was originally inhabited by pagan tribes who belileved in a variety of major and minor gods. Christianity was introduced in Russia in 988 by Prince Vladimir whose grandmother, Olga, according to tradition, was converted to in Constantinople.
Russian Philosophy
This overview of Russian philosophy is maintained by Mikhail Epstein of Emory University. It organizes Russian philosopy into crucial issues in the course of Russian thinking and Russian contributions to these lines of thinking. There is also a gallery of Russian thinkers of the 19th and 20th century. Further information about Russian philosophy can be found at the site of the Vladimir Solovyev Society This site includes many links to other Russian philosophy sites.
Paleontological Institute of the Russian
Academy of Sciences
This affiliate of the Russian Academy of Sciences has more paleontologists under one roof than any other institution in the world. They have collections from all over the former Soviet Union and the world including those on the dinosaurs of Mongolia, Pleistocene mammals, tertiary mammals, and the architecture of the museum itself, which are represented here.
The Slavic Review is one of the major journals in Slavistics. In contains articles on Russian and East European folklore, history, literature, politics, economics, and sociology.
Moscow State University (MGU) offers this presentation of the Space Station Alpha project along with recent news of the Russian space research efforts. It includes a link with NASA.
Russian Theater
Modern theater owes a great debt to Russian playwrights and directors like Chekhov, Meyerhold, Stanislavsky. The startpoint of an exploration of Russian theaters is the Russian theaters website. Or you may prefer to jump right in and begin your exploration of that debt at the place where it began, Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theater (MKhAT), where you will find a history of this exciting theatrical experience. Konstantin Stanislavsky's 'Method' acting techniques, which he developed for MKhAT, form the foundation of all contemporary acting schools.
Travel to Russia
After all this you should be ready to go and see for yourself. Here are a few links to help you plan your trip. First, you will need travel documents, including a visa. You can download the form and instructions here. The Russian Embassy in the USA can provide you with a lot more than travel information. It is a trove of information about the culture, government, and history of Russia. The Traveler's Yellow Pages provides all the addresses and telephone numbers in Moscow and St. Petersburg taht you will need, plus a bevy of travel tips. The Russkaya Zheleznaya Doroga, the Russian railway system website, provides schedules for rail travel. If you would prefer to fly, try Aeroflot, the Russian international airline. They just ordered 10 Boeing 737s--maybe you can ride on one of them. Need help planning your trip? The Russian National Tourist Office stands ready to help.
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| "Polovetsian Dances" from Borodin's (opera) Prince Igor |
Sequence by permission of Reinhold Behringer |
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© 1996 Robert Beard