Russian Language and Literature

Basic Structure of the Department

The Russian Department offers two majors and two minors: one each in Russian Language and Literature and one each in Russian Area Studies.
The Russian language sequence, RUSS 1-2-3 (a prerequisite for both majors, and for the LSA+ in Saint Petersburg) is offered as a fall-winter-spring sequence, so a student who wants to begin Russian must do so in the fall.
The Intermediate Language sequence, RUSS 27-28-29, is also offered as a fall-winter-spring sequence.
The Russian program runs an LSA+ each summer in Saint Petersburg, before which a student must complete or place out of RUSS 3. Prerequisites also include a recommendation that a student take one or more of the following: RUSS 11, 13, 15, 19, 31 or HIST 54. Applications are due on January 10. (For sophomores: the summer LSA+ will satisfy the summer residence requirement.)

RUSS 15: Introduction to Russian Civilization
RUSS 19: Understanding the Russians: The Role of Language and Culture in Communication
RUSS 31: Russian Literature of the Golden Age in Translation
The Russian Language is no harder to learn than German or any of the Romance Languages, and the department encourages students to begin Russian 1.

Some language study is necessary to both majors and both minors. So a student is advised to begin with the appropriate level language courses.
RUSS 27 is prerequisite for the Russian Language major. RUSS 3 is prerequisite for the major is Russian Area Studies, and the Russian Language minor. The Russian Area Studies minor has either RUSS 13, 15, 19 or 21 as a prerequisite.
There are a good number of literary and cultural studies courses that are taught in English and assume no prior knowledge of the Russian language.

It is strongly recommended that student thinking about Russian as a major should make an appointment with the chair, Lev Loseff, or any professor in the department, to discuss courses of study on an individual basis. This is particularly important because of the constraints that the sequencing may impose on a student’s schedule.