About one month in to our semester, the SRAS students took a weekend trip to Novgorod, one of the oldest and most important cities in Russian history. Located between Moscow and St. Petersburg, it is believed that Novgorod is the birthplace of Russia, since it was here in 862 that Prince Rurik proclaimed the modern […]

As part of our SRAS program, we had a guided tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress. On a beautiful summer day, we took a tram out to the fortress. Once there, our guide started off by explaining the history of the fortress. Peter the Great established the fortress on May 16, 1703 on Hare […]

Although there were several programs offering summer programs in Russia to choose from, I had from the beginning decided to choose SRAS. At least two professors and several of my colleagues recommended SRAS to me. The reasoning? Well I think my favorite piece of advice, and one that I have come to agree with, was […]

My decision to study abroad with SRAS began spring 2018 when I was looking at the credits I still needed for graduation with my Russian advisor. I only needed to take 6 credits of Russian language the following spring in order to complete my Russian degree. After seeing this I looked at my advisor and […]

The majesty of beauty of this site can hardly be put into words. No library of books or collection of photographs can ever account for the magnanimous moments of history, the tragic also, the intimate conversations that took place within the halls, and the secrets that are lost for all time to history. For all […]

New Holland Island dates to the 18th century, but today is a compact and beautiful center of modern culture and international food in St. Petersburg. It’s a great place to grab some food and relax. It’s very similar to any brewery district in a hipster city – and was right up my alley. I visited […]

Why did you choose your program and location? Ever since my older sisters did semester-long study abroad programs while they were in university, I knew that I wanted to do the same. Having studied Russian at university for two years, going on a program in Russia or Ukraine made a lot of sense for me. […]

St. Petersburg’s Annenkirche is a sight worth seeing. An Evangelical Lutheran church built in the 1770’s, the building has seen many reincarnations throughout its life. During the time of the Soviet Union the building was used to house a cinema, then until the early 2000’s the space was transformed into a nightclub. The nightclub remained […]