Russian is the world’s 8th most spoken language and is spoken by over 144 million people in nine different countries. A gateway to learning about fascinating literary and cultural heritage, Russian is also a strategically important language for many fields, including air and space, information technology, nuclear studies, security studies, and many others.
MIT’s Russian program offers instruction in the beginning and intermediate levels of language and culture, as well as courses in Russian literature, history, and political science. The Russian program’s goals are to prepare students to communicate effectively with native speakers as well as to acquaint them with Russian culture and civilization, and in this way prepare them to function successfully in a Russian-speaking environment. Students can fulfill their HASS concentration in Russian language or Russian and Eurasian Studies, as well as pursue a minor in Russian and Eurasian Studies.
Fall 2019 Course Offerings
21G.611 Russian I
21G.613 Russian III
21G.085 Imperial and Revolutionary Russia: Culture and Politics, 1700-1917
Looking ahead
IAP 2020
21G.611 Russian I
Spring 2020
21G.612 Russian II
21G.614 Russian IV
21G.077/618 Introduction to the Classics of Russian Literature*
21G.086 Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society
*Taught in English with additional readings and a short writing project in Russian under 21G.618 (13 units).
A note regarding the enrollment policy of the Global Studies and Languages section: Enrollment limited to 18 for pedagogical reasons. Preference will be given to pre-registered students, including pre-registered undergraduates who were cut from the same class the previous semester due to the enrollment cap. Please note that you have to attend the first day of class to maintain your preference level. In case of over-enrollment, preference will be given in the following order: declared majors, declared minors, declared concentrators, first-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students.
