The Russian and East European Society, like all other Middlebury clubs, is open to all members of the campus community. The majority of our active membership, however, is made up of Russian students and also international students from all parts of Russia and Eastern Europe. In order to introduce the campus to the cultures of these international students, we host several cultural events throughout the course of the year.
Over the past few years the society has been responsible for planning excursions, holding film screenings, hosting chaikhany (teahouses), and throwing parties to celebrate various Russian and eastern European holidays. The year usually starts with a picnic of Russian cuisine prepared by the faculty and students in order to bring our members back together and welcome new members. Frequent teahouses act as regular meetings where we discuss event ideas and work on planning them.
Last year cultural celebrations were some of our most popular events. Our first Russkaya Diskoteka (Russian Discotheque) attracted almost 100 students for a night of dancing to popular Russian and American music in a post-Soviet Disco setting. Later celebrations such as the Bulgarian National Holiday and Lenin's birthday meant more fun as well as more excellent cultural dishes prepared by our international students.
Cultural excursions are also a large part of our program. In past years we have made such trips as Boston for a Chekhov play, Burlington for a gypsy music concert, and New York City's Brighton Beach to visit that area's large Russian population.