INTRODUCTION
All
We offer courses for the whole academic year (32/36 week courses). In the autumn term there are courses lasting
13 or 16 weeks and in the spring term 13 or 18 weeks. Both the 13 and 16 week courses in the autumn allow you to return home for Christmas.
There is no difference in the amount of tuition between the 16 and 18 week courses. The 16 week courses have less reading weeks.
In
most cases the courses are exclusively for RLUS students. RLUS does not arrange courses where you are studying alongside Russian students,
as in the opinion of the Committee your level of Russian is unlikely to be such that you will be able to benefit from them.
CHOOSING
A COURSE
You will be asked to apply for autumn term courses by mid January and for spring term courses by early May. Please note that
once you have applied for a course, no change will normally be allowed.
COURSE DATES AND READING WEEKS
Autumn term courses start at
the beginning of September. 16 week courses finish just before Christmas and 13 week ones at the end of November or the first few
days of December. Spring term courses start in the 3rd week in February. 13 week courses finish in the second half of May. 18 week
courses finish at the end of June/
36 week courses also start at the beginning of September. They have a break over Christmas and New
Year. There are full details of when they resume for the spring on the website. The 32 week course in Tver starts at the beginning
September, the one in Yaroslavl starts in the first half of October.
The precise course dates cannot be fixed until the group lights
have been booked. This should be by May for the autumn term courses and November for the spring term ones.
Each course has a number
of reading weeks. The dates are on the website. The reading weeks will give students the opportunity to travel and see more of the
country.
STATE UNIVERSITY OR PRIVATE CENTRE
Some students, when choosing courses, select a course at a state university, as they believe
that in this way they will be able to meet Russian students more easily and join in university clubs. This is not necessarily the
case, as Russian universities do not organise the range of social activities that you expect at a UK university. In Petrozavodsk and
at the State University in St Petersburg there is often a possibility of attending classes with Russian students.
TWO TERMS
IN RUSSIA
If you have to spend the whole academic year in Russia, you can either attend one of the RLUS 36 week courses either in Moscow
or in St Petersburg. The advantage of doing this is you will have a course specially designed for the whole academic year. Many students
want to study in two different centres. This has the advantage of giving you the experience of living in two different towns. Some
students choose to book two one term courses at the same centre. If you do this, you are likely to find that the spring term course
will repeat a lot of the material that you have covered in the autumn term. You would be better advised to take one of the 36 week
courses.
COST OF LIVING
Russia is thought to be a cheap place to study by many students. This was the case in the 1990’s, but it is
no longer the case. If you are looking for a course where your living expenses will be cheaper, we suggest that you choose Yaroslavl
or Petrozavodsk.
LOCATION
When choosing a course in Russia, you will need to decide where you wish to study. Please talk to your liaison
officer and to students in their final year who have been on
You
should decide whether you wish to go to a large city such as Moscow or St Petersburg or to one of our provincial centres. Moscow and
to a lesser extent St Petersburg are more expensive than the provincial centres. Accommodation, transport and entertainment are likely
to cost you more. Your accommodation is very unlikely to be in the city centre. As with all large cities, you may find yourself spending
a lot of time travelling to and from the city centre and your course. Furthermore, you will find many more people who speak good English
and as a result you will speak less Russian.
The provincial centres have a much lower cost of living, and as there are fewer foreigners
around, you will end up speaking more Russian. Don’t forget, you can always get to Moscow or St Petersburg for a weekend or during
your reading weeks.
We normally offer courses in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yaroslavl in both terms. In the autumn term we also offer
courses in Petrozavodsk; in the spring term we run a course in Volgograd. All courses are subject to demand and we may not run all
courses every year. We will take a final decision about the courses to be run by the beginning of February, at which time you will
be asked to fill out an application form.
MOSCOW
Moscow is a large, bustling, exciting city, as you would expect from the capital city
of an enormous country. There is plenty to do with a wide range of theatres, cinemas, clubs, bars, restaurants, etc. Like all big
cites it is expensive. However, if you avoid the places frequented by foreign businessmen and rich Russians, it should be no more
expensive than in the UK, and at times surprisingly cheap. The downside of Moscow from the point of view of learning Russian is the
presence of a large number of foreigners. You may find it difficult to use your Russian and meet ordinary Russians.
An advantage of
Moscow is that there is a huge variety of voluntary work available, ranging from helping out in orphanages to translating/interpreting
for charitable organisations. Past students have found work experience in the English language media and teaching English as a foreign
language, for which a TEFL certificate is not always necessary.
It must also be said that Moscow is not Russia, in the same way that
London is not Britain, and traditional Russian life has been somewhat diluted in the capital, due not least to the influence of the
large number of foreigners who live there. However, it is still possible to avoid the Western "expat" experience, and there is no
doubt that past students have made very firm Russian friends.
All Moscow courses will be held at Language Link. Language Link is based
in a brand new teaching building in central Moscow, equipped with the latest technical aids. It is a relatively small organisation
and you will be well looked after by the teachers and by the two RLUS representatives, who work both for Language Link and
ST PETERSBURG
St Petersburg is the
former capital of the Russian empire and retains a grandeur that Moscow lacks. It is now much more provincial than Moscow, but still
has a very wide range of things to do. You are unlikely to be bored in St Petersburg! The architecture in the city centre is very
much more Western than Moscow and extremely beautiful. It is not as expensive to live in compared to Moscow but as in Moscow you can
spend a lot of money in the places designed for foreigners. It also has the impersonality of the large city with lots of foreigners
around. You will have to make an effort to make friends.
RLUS offers courses at the Benedict School and at the State University.
The
Benedict School offers courses for 13, 16/18 and 36 week courses. It is a small private organisation, which arranges both courses
in Russian for foreigners and English for Russians. Being small, you will get to know everyone in the School and should find it easier
to make friends. The classes take place in a newly refurbished building close to the centre of St Petersburg.
The
The Benedict School can offer both homestay accommodation
and accommodation in a hotel in the centre of the city, near to the Benedict School teaching building.
The Benedict School also arranges
courses in English as a foreign language for Russians and there may be an opportunity to earn some money teaching English.
The State
University offers courses for 13 or 16/18 weeks in both terms. The courses are based in the Politics Department, housed in the buildings
of the former Smolny Convent. There is an opportunity to attend politics lectures with Russian students. If your level of Russian
is higher than the average RLUS student, you may have the opportunity to join more advanced classes with groups from other countries.
The State University will arrange homestay accommodation. Please note that they are no longer able to arrange hostel accommodation.
YAROSLAVL
Yaroslavl is
a beautiful old town on the Volga, part of the Golden Ring of historical towns encircling Moscow. It has many fine religious buildings
and is famous for being the home of the first theatre in Russia. Many of the churches have now been given back to the Orthodox Church,
having been museums or warehouses in Soviet times. Within easy reach of Yaroslavl are the Golden Ring towns of Kostroma, Uglich and
Rostov Veliki, which have many fine ancient buildings. Moscow is four hours away by train.
A course in Yaroslavl could enable you to
enjoy the extra care that you get in a provincial centre (compared to Moscow and St Petersburg) and much cheaper cost of living.
Our
13 and 16/18 week courses, during the autumn and spring terms, are run by the State University. The building where you will study
is situated in the city centre. Students, who have attended courses in Yaroslavl, are full of praise for the tuition, care and attention
paid to students.
If you are an ab initio student at the University of Oxford, you will attend an 8 month course in Yaroslavl, specially
designed for you. Please note that this course (Y32) is not available to students from other universities.
The courses normally consist
of language (conversation, grammar, and translation), literature and a class on the mass media. Extracurricular activities (some for
additional payment) include dancing, balalaika playing, art, sport and drama.
PETROZAVODSK
Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic
of Karelia, to the North East of St Petersburg. The city was founded by Peter the Great at the same time as St Petersburg. Its main
purpose was to build ships for Peter’s navy. It is now a pleasant town of about 300,000 population with all the facilities of a provincial
capital. It is situated on the banks of Lake Onega, from where hydrofoils operate to the island of Kizhi, noted for its wooden architecture.
There are daily trains to St Petersburg, taking eight hours, to Moscow and Murmansk.
The course is run by the Petrozavodsk State University.
They will offer courses in the autumn term lasting 13 or 16 weeks. Students praise the high quality of tuition and the help given
by the teachers and staff in helping students to find their way round the town. There is likely to be a possibility of attending lectures
with Russian students.
TVER (for Glasgow students only)
Tver is one of the ancient Volga towns near to Moscow. Although records go back
to the 13th century, the town was built of wood and was totally destroyed in the 18th century by fire. The oldest buildings date back
to that time, when it was an overnight stop for the coaches on the way to Moscow. It is now a town of about 460,000 population and
a regional capital.
Tver is close to Moscow, two and a half hours by local electric train or bus. It is on the train line to St Petersburg
-- about fours hours by the fastest train.
The course lasts for 32 weeks and is normally only for students at the University of Glasgow.
If students from other universities are interested in attending this course, please contact Dr Bivon before applying to find out if
this is possible.
VOLGOGRAD
Volgograd is a city of about a million inhabitants and has all the facilities you would expect of a large
city. As the site of the battle of Stalingrad, it would be a great centre for anyone interested in recent Russian history. There are
plenty of museums and monuments reminding you of the battle, including the enormous sculpture on Mamaev Kurgan. There was nothing
left of the old city of Stalingrad after the battle. The city centre was completely rebuilt during the immediate post war years.
The
climate in Volgograd is warmer than in other RLUS centres. They do have some snow, but it often does not last for long. It would be
a good centre for students who do not like the cold!
It is 20 hours by train from Moscow. There are also daily luxury buses, which
take slightly less time and are cheaper than the train. There are also regular cheap plane services to Moscow.
The course will be run
by Language Link, who provide
VISAS
You will be expected to apply for your own visa. You can do this once
you have an official invitation from the course organiser in Russia. We hope to be able to send this to you 3-8 weeks before departure.
There are full details of how to apply for a visa in the visa document on the website. Please make sure that you have a passport that
is valid for at least 18 months after the end of your course. As it can take some time to renew a passport, please check it now and
renew it if necessary. If you were born in Russia, you will be required to travel to Russia using your Russian passport. You will
not be given a visa with your British passport. If you do not have a Russian passport, please apply for one immediately. You will
not need a visa to go to Russia.
ACCOMMODATION
You can if you wish arrange your own accommodation. However, please note that you will not be met and taken to your accommodation
free of charge, even if you arrive on the group flight. Everyone arriving in Russia has to register their visa. This will be done
automatically for you if you choose accommodation arranged by our partner institutions. If you find your own accommodation, you will
either have to register yourself, or seek the assistance of the institution where you are studying. This can involve considerable
extra expense.
COSTS
The price list for courses will be confirmed by February. Please check with your university what your university
will pay and what they expect you to pay for.
There are details of current accommodation costs in the accommodation document on the
web. You will be expected to pay for accommodation in Russia. RLUS does not take any money for accommodation. Please check the prices
shortly before you leave for Russia, as inflation is very high and prices can rise significantly/
SAFETY
RLUS is assured that all teaching
accommodation and accommodation in hall complies with local fire and safety laws. RLUS is also assured that all homestay accommodation
is inspected by the host organisation. Few countries are as stringent as the UK in setting general standards for safety, hygiene and
fire precautions and the local authorities in Russia may not have adequate resources to monitor and enforce standards. Please note
that it is common practice for fire exits in Russia to be kept locked with a key being available with a nominated official. This is
to alleviate the serious security threat posed by emergency exits being left open.
TRAVEL
INSURANCE
All students attending RLUS courses
must be insured. Some universities arrange their own insurance. Otherwise, you will have to arrange your own insurance. Please read
the insurance document on the website.
(Dr)
Operations Consultant, RLUS Ltd