Russian Studies

Russian Studies: Major, Minor

Russia’s importance in the world continues to grow and evolve. To understand the richness and complexity of Russia’s thousand-year-old history and culture you need to view it from various perspectives. The Russian Studies Program courses, major, and minor are designed to be interdisciplinary — combining the study of Russia’s art and culture with its language, history, religious traditions, geography, and more.

Our vibrant curriculum will provide you with superior language training and skills in critical thinking and analytical writing, while ensuring broad literacy in Russian history, art, and culture. In addition to all levels of language study, the Russian program offers an array of literature and culture courses that focus on different centuries (early Russia, 19th century, 20th century, contemporary Russia), genres (epic and folk tale, drama, poetry, prose, film), and geographical regions (Kievan Rus, European Russia, Siberia). We encourage you to expand the breadth of your studies with Russian related courses in other disciplines such as history, economics, philosophy, and political science.

To better understand today’s Russia, you will interact with our native Russian foreign language assistant (FLA) on campus and have the opportunity to study abroad at our affiliated university in Moscow. The Russian Studies Program and the student-run Russian Club also sponsor film series, artists’ performances, speakers, and on-campus conferences that will keep you engaged in ongoing cultural, political, and economic happenings in Russia.

Program Highlights

  • The Russian Studies language curriculum uses up-to-date, innovative methods to accelerate learning
  • Literature, art, and culture courses develop 21st-century skills like critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration
  • You can study abroad on our own Holy Cross program in Moscow — the cultural, economic and political center of Russia
  • Holy Cross Russian Studies students are singled out for jobs, graduate school and fellowships 
image of the university of Daugavpils, Latvia
Study Abroad

Holy Cross faculty oversee our program in Daugavpils, Latvia.

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Opportunities

Russian Studies students land exciting internships in the Washington Semester Program and produce original research.

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Courses

Our interdisciplinary courses frame Russia’s rich cultural and artistic traditions in its political, economic, and social history.

Russian Studies News

two students study in their room
Home Sweet Campus: A Peek Inside Residence Life at Holy Cross
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Five Holy Cross Faculty Members Promoted to Rank of Professor
After years of dedicated teaching and research in their respective fields, five Holy Cross faculty members have been promoted to the rank of full professor. We asked them a few questions about their scholarship — and more:
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Blog: Brown Baker ’20 Hopes to Become Fluent in Russian During Year Abroad
NAME Emily Brown Baker ‘20 HOMETOWN Harper Woods, Mich. (near Detroit) AREAS OF STUDY Sociology and Russian double major, Peace and Conflict Studies concentration WHERE SHE’S STUDYING Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) in Moscow, Russia DURATION Full academic …