Russian Language & Area Studies at St. Olaf

News

  • Events Marking 4th Year of Russo-Ukrainian War

    Join GOLOS and the Russian Language and Area Studies department (RLAS) next week at one or more of the events marking four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    On Wednesday, we will hold a moment of silence for the victims of the Russo-Ukrainian war in the RLAS department space. In the evening, Anna Kolesnyk (’28) will lead an introduction to the Ukrainian language. Finally, on Sunday, March 1, we will screen a Ukrainian film, titled “Hunt for the Cossack’s Gold” (1993). See posters below for details.

    Links and Online Events:

    United Help Ukraine

    CSIS: Four Years of War in Ukraine (Monday, Feb. 23 3:30pm EST)

    Carnegie: Russia’s War Against Ukraine: Four Years and Counting (Tues, Feb. 24 10:00am EST, Registration Required)

  • Film screening and Letter Writing to political prisoners in Russia

    On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, students from Prof. Dossi’s RUSSN 268: The Muslim in Russian Literature and Prof. Morse’s Intermediate Russian II and WRIT 120e: Riding and Writing braved driving snow and slick roads to attend a film screening and letter writing event at Carleton College.

    Elena Mityushina, the head of “Russians Against War-MN” introduced the film and spoke about political prisoners in Russia and Russian asylum-seekers in MN. After the talk and screening, students wrote letters to Russian political prisoners.

    This event was co-sponsored by the Carleton College Russian Department and the St. Olaf Department of Russian Language and Area Studies.

  • RLAS Department Statement against ICE and CBP Actions

    The faculty of the Department of Russian Language and Area Studies at St. Olaf College condemns the discriminatory, reckless, and violent actions of ICE, CBP, and other federal agencies in our community and in communities across the United States. We condemn the spurious narratives and outright lies that President Trump and his administration continue to use in their efforts to justify the illegal abduction, detainment, torture, and murder of people regardless of citizenship or legal status. We stand in heartfelt solidarity with our community members who are living in uncertainty, fear, despair, and anger. We also stand with those who have been moved to resist this clear violation of law, peace, and security in our community.

    Resources:

  • Queer Russian Literature Undergraduate Conference

    On Saturday, December 6th, the Russian Language and Area Studies department hosted the first Queer Russian Literature Undergraduate Conference at St. Olaf.

    The event consisted of two student panels followed by a keynote from Katharina Wiedlack (University of Vienna).

    Six amazing students from Prof. Dossi’s Queer Russian Literature (RUSSN 330) delivered presentations on a variety of queer Russophone authors, some of whom you might not know, but many more that you will want to discover! After the panels, Katharina Wiedlack delivered her keynote address, titled “New Cold War Cultures and Russian Vulnerable Subjects.” The presentations and keynote were followed by a small reception catered by Tasteful Delights.

    Panel 1

    Maggie Walker “Mikhail Kuzmin’s Wings: A Platonic Fable”
    Parker Chelikowsky “Pederasty and Mikhail Kuzmin’s Wings“
    Maria Leyva “Having an Idol Doesn’t Always End Well: Sergei Esenin and His Followers”
    Panel discussion

    Panel 2

    Emily Kleiber “From Fantasy to Reality: The Collapse of Queer Desire in Marina Tsvetaeva’s Letter to the Amazon“
    Cayla Chun “Queerness is Russian: Aesthetic Revolt from Modernism to the 1990s”
    Panel discussion

    Yaz T. delivered a talk entitled “Цветы и Шпаги: Dichotomy of Gender in Marina Tsvetaeva’s work.” We won’t post a picture of Yaz to protect their anonymity.

    Keynote

  • Oles visit St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral and TMORA

    Students and faculty assemble in front of the iconostasis. St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis, MN.

    On Saturday, November 18, students from Prof. Morse’s course The Cultures of Medieval Rus’ (RUSSN 180) and Prof. Lippmann’s The Making of Modern Russia (HIST 120) visited St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral and the Museum of Russian Art (TMORA).

    At St. Mary’s, students were able to put their knowledge of Orthodox Christian ritual, ritual space, and sacred art to the test. They “read” and discussed the iconostasis, frescoes, icons, and architecture of St. Mary’s with a generous and knowledgeable member of the lay community.

    After visiting St. Mary’s, the group stopped for lunch at Kramarczuk’s Deli and then traveled to the storage of the Museum of Russian Art to view examples of folk art and a special performance by the folk performance group Nitka. The performance was followed by a visit to TMORA to view the current exhibitions “The World of the Russian Folk Tale” and “Nadezhda Glazunova: Festive Art.” We extend a special thanks to TMORA curator Dr. Maria Zavialova and Nitka!

     

  • J-Term Course Proposal

    The Russian Language and Area Studies Department J-term course proposal is officially under consideration. Fingers crossed — будем держать кулачки!

    We’re so grateful for all the input and support we’ve received from Theresa Heath, Director of the Smith Center for Global Engagement, and Alyssa Melby, Director of Svoboda Center for Civic Engagement.

    In the meantime, we can announce the tentative course title and description:

    Civic Engagement in Riga, Latvia: History, Culture, and Politics at a European Crossroads

    In this course, students will spend one month in the scenic, historic, and exciting capital of Latvia, Riga. They will divide their time between civic engagement projects with local NGOs on one hand, and on the other, lectures, discussions and excursions that will address the pressing issues of immigration, displacement, diaspora, and language politics in Latvia and Eastern Europe more generally.

    The course centers community engagement: students will choose to collaborate with a local community partner based on their personal and academic interests. Local partners include organizations for youth community building, LGBTQ+ support, exiled writers and journalists, and environmental sustainability.

  • Russian Language & Area Studies Department Radio Program

    Prof. Morse and Paul Murphy are hosting “Office Hours” (приемные часы) weekly on KSTO radio. The program draws together eclectic global pop selections (w/ a Central and East European emphasis) around a weekly theme. Played in sets accompanied by limited commentary.

  • Inaugural Pickle Fest at St. Olaf

    This October, students from the Russian Language Learning Community (RLC) and Russian Language and Area Studies Club organized the first annual St. Olaf Pickle Fest (Пикльфест), which was held at the Flaten Art Barn on Tuesday, October 7. Congratulations to our student-organizers for putting on such a memorable event — вы молодцы!

     

  • Riga Site Visit & Research in Helsinki

    This summer, Profs. Dossi and Morse traveled to Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia to conduct a site visit for an exciting new J-Term course. They also conducted research at the National Library in Helsinki, Finland.

    Our visit to Riga was engaging, informative, and fun. SRAS’s Baltics Program Manager, Katya, organized our itinerary and put us in touch with potential community partners for our program. We’re so grateful for her guidance and look forward to working together in the future.

    In Tallinn, Prof. Morse attended a mass at the Transfiguration cathedral, which houses an exquisite early 18th c. baroque iconostasis. Profs. Dossi and Morse also enjoyed exploring the old town and the Maritime Museum with their children.

    Finally, in Helsinki, Profs. Dossi and Morse worked in the National Library. Prof. Dossi examined the extensive collection of nineteenth-century Russian medical journals in the Slavonic Library, while Prof. Morse examined texts from the private libraries of three influential courtiers at the court of Peter I (r. 1682-1725) held in special collections.

    Rainy Riga Old Town
    Tallinn, Old Town
    St. Olaf’s Church, Tallinn

  • Congratulations, Honors Students!

    We congratulate our honors students, Sydney Niehaus, Neil Stewart, and Aidan Warrington on being initiated into Dobro Slovo, the National Slavic Honors Society.

    Dobro Slovo National Slavic Honors Society, established in 1926 at the University of California at Berkeley, serves as the leading national Slavic honors society for students of Slavic languages in the United States. Dobro Slovo recognizes the hard work and dedication of students, faculty, and universities aimed at the study of Slavic languages and cultures and currently boasts a membership of 6000 members across over 130 universities.

    Congratulations Sydney, Neil, and Aidan!