Trip to Saint Petersburg Inspires US Students
A group of 20 undergraduates from the United States visited St. Peteresburg, 'the Venice of the North', this January, taking part in a programme that blended the history, society and culture of the Russian Empire’s capital. Participants arrived from Mount Holyoke College and Smith College, opting to spend two weeks of their winter holidays here (6 – 22 January) learning about this city. Participants were diverse in their fields of studies, Russian knowledge, and travel experience, some even choosing this trip as their first chance to travel outside the borders of the United States.
Students shared different reasons for embarking on the programme. Elizabeth Nolasco said, 'I thought this was an interesting opportunity. You’re going to go to St. Petersburg and study history where the capital of the empire was.' Literature had played a key role in sparking Caroline Dunbar’s interest in the country and its heritage years earlier. Having read the works of Dostoevsky and Akhmatova, she jumped at the chance to visit the city where they had lived and worked. Samantha Linder wished to rediscover the country of her ancestors, as well as to experience the wealth of Russian art in the city first hand. Daisy Paez was inspired to come here because of a strong female figure in Russian history, telling us, 'The first thought that came to me was Catherine, and right away I just knew I wanted to come to Russia and study her, especially. I had never been to Russia, or even out of the US, so two weeks outside of the country was just ideal for me.'
After even a short time in Russia, participants agreed that the trip had been transformative. Ms. Nolasco talked about how the reality compared with longstanding assumptions about the people, saying, 'Any time I focus more on the people and the stereotypes that we heard – they’re unfriendly and they don’t smile – but I’ve met so many amazing people here.'
After coming here, I am very happy that I did. It’s a beautiful city, and when I compare it to places like Paris or Rome, I think it is even more charming and romantic, because there is an honesty to St. Petersburg
Some of the people Ms. Nolasco was referring to included HSE staff and faculty who had put together this programme with the specific aim of introducing the rich history of this city and country, the evolution of its society, art forms and politics in a compelling way. Their success in this was obvious from the praise participants placed upon the enthusiasm of the professors and their ability to bring long-dead czars and artists to life in their lectures. But the praise of HSE did not stop with administrators and lecturers. Participants of the programme were very grateful to meet their Russian peers, students at HSE, through the Buddy System. After long days of lectures, tours, and activities, the participants were able to explore modern Russia and see it through the eyes of their 'buddies'.
Participants took excursions to the city’s key points of interest, as well as did a large amount of sightseeing on their own, but they agreed that in all cases the material they had covered in their lectures complemented these tours nicely. Ms. Dunbar shared her thoughts on the programme, saying, 'It’s all been rewarding. My friends and I have done a lot of sightseeing on our own. We’ve gone to the museums for Pushkin, Dostoevsky, and Akhmatova, and there were things we had learned in class that were helpful in those museums. Like in our History class, we had talked about political thought in the 19th century, and those political thought movements always come up in the background of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky novels. So, it was great to learn about them from a historian.'
Ms. Paez summed up the overall impressions the participants shared about the city quite nicely, stating, 'After coming here, I am very happy that I came here and very appreciative. It’s a beautiful city, and people like to say that it is a European city. And when I compare it to places like Paris or Rome, I think it is even more charming and romantic, because there is an honesty to St. Petersburg.' Two weeks here in St. Petersburg, experiencing the culture, braving the Russian winter, and beginning to scratch the surface of the rich culture heritage the city has to offer has left a lasting impression on each of the students, with many looking forward to the next chance to return.
See also:
‘We Cannot Understand the Modern Ideological Confrontation without the Accusations that Emerged during the Lausanne Process’
Rainer Matos Franco, from Mexico, defended his PhD thesis with honours at HSE University this June. In his dissertation, Rainer Matos Franco examines the history of anticommunism in Europe during the 1920s. The HSE News Service spoke with Rainer and his academic supervisor, Tatiana Borisova, about the significance of the Lausanne Process for the Cold War and contemporary history, the opportunities provided by HSE University for international PhD candidates, and the challenges of working with a vast database of historical sources.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Ten: 'Number, Please?'
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The final episode of the series recounts how men were unable to cope with telephone operator jobs and were replaced by tall and polite young women. However, as telephone networks expanded, the role of the intermediary became unproductive, eventually rendering the switchboard operator profession obsolete due to automation—not the first nor the last time such a thing has happened. As for Alexander Graham Bell, he used the earnings from inventing the telephone to promote science, educate people about the world around us, and pursue new inventions.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Nine: Big Connections
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The ninth episode of the series explores the development of the first long-distance, interstate, and transatlantic telephone lines, which suddenly made people thousands of kilometres away feel as close as if they were in the same room together.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Eight: The Russian Field of Experiments
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The eighth episode of the series recounts how Russia first adapted the telephone for military and logistical purposes, created a shell company headed by a nominal executive for reselling the rights to Western competitors, and intensively developed communication infrastructure in the country's two capitals, making such progress that Vladimir Lenin insisted on capturing and maintaining control of telephone exchanges at all costs.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Seven: German Efficiency
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The seventh episode in the series recounts the story of German bureaucrats, who proved to be the most astute in Europe by ensuring effective telephony first for themselves and subsequently for all major cities in Germany. However, even there, the government's dominant role over the free market slowed down the adoption of the new technology.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Six: The Telephone's Misadventures in France
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The sixth episode of the series recounts events in France when the private owner of the telephone network was compelled to sell it to the government at a knockdown price, and the impact it had on the development of communications in the country. Spoiler alert: the impact, naturally, was detrimental.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Five: From the US Free Market to Conservative Britain
In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The fifth episode of the series chronicles the early experiences of the telegraph and telephone in Great Britain, shedding light on the challenges they faced, and explores the adverse impact of excessive government regulation and nationalisation on the evolution of telecommunications.
Peacocks, Pepper, and Petrol: The Early History of Imports from Asia
Petroleum for equine care, wood oil for lighting, sandalwood for Easter celebrations, and lemons and olives for entertaining unexpected guests. Russian monasteries often used these and other eastern goods in the period leading up to and during the reign of Peter the Great. Analysing their account books leads to a revision of the traditional assumptions about the primary consumers of oriental goods in Russia. These consumers, in addition to the royal and aristocratic circles, included monastery estates, as discussed in the paper ‘“Three altyns worth of petroleum…”: Oriental goods in Russia at the second half of the 17th and early 18th century’ by historian Arthur Mustafin of HSE University. Based on his paper, IQ.HSE explores the types of goods that were shipped from the East to Russia in the latter half of the 17th to the early 18th century, including the routes and purposes of these shipments.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Four: David the Start-up Versus the Corporate Goliath
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The fourth episode of the series recounts the story of the fledgling start-up's confrontation with hordes of patent trolls and its subsequent victory in a full-blown corporate war against the largest telecommunications company of the late 19th century.
‘In Search of the Key to the Past’: Students of HSE Art and Design School in Nizhny Novgorod Develop Collection of Souvenirs
The HSE Art and Design School in Nizhny Novgorod, together with the ‘Protected Quarters’ project to revive Nizhny Novgorod’s historical territories, have carried out the ‘Timeless’ creative project, which included a design laboratory and an educational programme. As a result of the creative workshop, students made concepts for souvenir products based on the local identity.