Our students arrived in early June and right away plunged into a variety of exciting activities and events. We enjoyed a wonderful field day on our first Friday of classes and learned that the fourth-year class was the best at running while holding an egg on a spoon, while the thidr-year class was best at the three-legged race (of course!). The 2nd year class won the tug-of-war! Everyone had a great time. That same evening we enjoyed parties for each of our courses.
Other sporting events this summer included our very successful soccer season (in which we had not a single injury!) and our volleyball season, in which our team came in 2nd in the language schools volleyball tournament. (In summer 2000 we were the champs and we're hoping to win the Rifkin cup back in 2002!)
We had wonderful dance parties, an all-school charades party and story telling event (in which faculty and students told one another stories from their own life experiences on the cultural divide.)
"We learned more about the cultural divide in the films shown in two separate film festivals, one held on Wednesdays (consisting of films based on works of Russian literature) and Saturdays (consisting of some of the very newest films to be released in Russia.) One of the films that really struck a nerve this year was Vii (based on Gogol's short story.) Some of the third-year students created a parody of this film that they presented at the talent show (about which more below)
This year for the first time we had a karaoke night and it was a smashing success, thanks to Professor Tatyana Smorodinskaya. Students and faculty, regardless of their singing talent (or lack thereof) participated in an evening that was both silly and fun.
We did, however, have some absolutely wonderful concerts. Sergei Pobedinsky came to sing Russian and Gypsy ballads and romances and Tatyana Yampolskaia gave a wonderful piano recital of works of Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Scriabin. Veniamin Smekhov recited poetry of Blok, Pasternak and Mayakovsky as part of Yampolskaia's concert.
This summer we had some fascinating visitors, most important of whom was Vladimir Voinovich, noted Russian writer and human rights advocate. Voinovich gave four lectures or readings and participated in the roundtable discussion of the coup of August 1991. During his visit, we saw some films based on his works. Students in 3rd year Russian were particularly lucky to have Vladimir Nikolaevich visit their class twice in conjunction with their reading of his novel, Monumental Propaganda.
In addition to the roundtable discussion of the coup of 1991, we also had a roundtable discussion of World War II and its impact on Russian families. Teachers and staff, especially Evelina Bogdanovna, discussed their own families' experiences during the war.
Student also attended presentations on graduate study in language, literature, area studies disciplines and jobs sing Russian to help them plan their "next step."
Our lecturers this summer included Tatyana Smorodinskaya on popular culture, especially rock music, Snejana Tempest on mushrooms in Russian culture, Larisa Ratnikova and Andrei Efremov on their art (in conjunction with exhibits of their work), Lev Loseff on the beginning of the century as a cultural phenomenon (in conjunction with our literary symposium), Veniamin Smekhov on the play Master and Margarita at the Taganka Theater, and Gene Sosin on episodes from the history of Radio Liberty. Of course we also enjoyed Vladimir Voinovich's readings from his own work and his lectures.
Students participated in a lot of different clubs. Among all the clubs, we have to single out the choir (with over 40 students) and the theater group (with over 25). The choir concert was spectacular, with wonderful chamber work (including a barbershop quartet) and solo work, but most importantly with a great performance by the entire choir as a terrific ensemble. The concert featured liturgical, folk and contemporary popular music and was vey well receivd. The performance of There Won't Be Enough Vodka, based on Il'f and Petrov's Strong Feelings, was a great success. With this performance we marked the retirement of theater director Grigorii Davydovich Ziskin who, after 15 years and 20 plays at Middlebury, has decided to move on to other things.
Grigorii Davydovich, Nelly Aleksandrovna and Marat Enverovich worked together to help the students of the Russian School put on the talent show. The combination of humorous skits, serious musical performances, poetry recitations, and dances made the evening unforgettable.
In addition to the choir concert, play and talent show, this year for the first time we had a college bowl competition in which students matched wits with one aother. The viktorina "What? Where? When?" was a lot of fun for all who participated or watched.
This year the staff of the school newspaper outdid itself. The four issues of the newspaper were successively better and better, leaving this reader simply speechless.
Cooking Club Students also participated in the chess club, cooking club, current events club, mystery club and poetry lovers club. The chess club was unopposd in a language schools championship this summer (no one dared oppose us!). The cooking club made so many tasty dishes that some students decided they shouldn't go to the dining hall anymore! The current events club had its hands full with current news by television and internet press. The mystery club read a novel by contemporary Russian mystery writer Aleksandra Marinina and watched a movie based on another one of her novels. By the end of the summer they were ready to solve any crime, but of course, since this is Middlebury, Vermont, there were none here for them to solve!
At the awards ceremony we acknowledged students with outstanding achievements in their courses. The list is too long to reproduce here, but we woud like to acknowledge students with the greatest progress in all areas (speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar) at each level:
Level 1.0: Adam "David" Dubinsky, Brown University
Level 1.5: Blair Cochran, Swarthmore
Level 2.0: Kaiming Chiang, Middlebury College
Level 3.0: Sapna Dessai, Wesleyan College
Level 4.0: Selinda Geyer, Agnes Scott College
Matthew Williams, Holy Trinity Seminary
The faculty and staff of the Russian School congratulate all the students of the Russian School on their many successes, both in the classroom and outside it, in the summer of 2001!
This page was last updated on August 12, 2002