The Russian and Eurasian Studies (RES) program prepares students to understand the turbulent developments in Russia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union. Trends in that vast territory, which occupies one-sixth of the earth's land surface, continue to influence events in regions as distant as North America and East Asia. More than 280 million people in the world speak the Russian language. Like no other group of countries, the post-Soviet states are confronting simultaneously all of today’s “hot” issues: energy security, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, political Islam, democratization, creation of market systems, nationalism and ethnic strife, post-conflict reconstruction, labor migration, public health crises, and environmental degradation. Russian and Eurasian Studies at SAIS The International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the European Union, the Central Intelligence Agency, many national governments, and numerous corporations and NGOs employ highly-trained specialists to analyze and influence developments in Russia and nearby parts of Eurasia. Although more than a century ago the Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev wrote, “Umom Rossiyu ne ponyat” (“The mind cannot understand Russia”), the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program helps its graduates grasp the turbulent development of this fascinating country and its closest neighbors. Campus Options In general, RES students may be admitted to the Washington, D.C., campus or the Bologna Center. The Bologna Center offers Novice and Intermediate-level Russian language instruction. Ph.D. Program The RES Ph.D. program is highly competitive and typically accepts only one or two new students per year. The program is designed for exceptional students who want to become experts on the region, competent in analyzing its ties with the rest of the world and experienced in field research. Click here to download the Ph.D. Program Syllabus. Life after SAIS SAIS graduates follow many different career paths. Among the members of the Class of 2005, 37% took jobs in the private sector; 21% work for the U.S. and foreign governments; 13% gained employment in non-profit organizations; 15% have joined international organizations, 11% chose to study further, and 4% have recevied fellowships. RES graduates work in the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Treasury, the Congressional Research Service, the Eurasia Group, the World Bank, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Defense Intelligence Agency, public-interest organizations such as the National Security Archive, and financial firms such as Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers. Michele Kelemen, who completed the RES Program in 1993, has been the chief National Public Radio correspondent reporting from Moscow for five years. Study in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., is sometimes compared to a small town because of its tight-knit intellectual and political communities. The RES Program has well-established relationships with Washington’s many think tanks and educational institutions. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, George Washington and Georgetown universities and other organizations invite RES students to their events, and the RES Program invites students from other universities to its activities. Representatives from foreign embassies are frequent guests at SAIS seminars. The Voice of America and C-SPAN often cover lectures at SAIS. Beyond SAIS’s walls, the city of Washington offers a rich assortment of related intellectual and cultural activities. The Kennan Institute of Advanced Russian Studies organizes regular presentations and colloquia by scholars from around the world, and it offers interested graduate students the opportunity to work as interns alongside the researchers in residence. The Russian and Eurasian program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a major center of research on the former Soviet Union, and its senior fellows often speak at SAIS. For students with a special flare for research, the Library of Congress offers one of the world’s greatest collections of primary source materials on Eurasia, along with a staff of skilled professionals ready to help with research problems Students especially interested in policy-related research will find the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Heritage Foundation close at hand. Individuals with strong cultural interests can visit the Hillwood Museum, whose collections include many beautiful objects from early twentieth-century Russia. The Hirshhorn Museum and the National Gallery of Art house works by some of the Russian emigres who shaped the development of modern art in the United States. Washington is also home to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the American Film Institute. Over 10,000 Russian-speakers live in the Washington metropolitan area. Bookstores with the latest Russian newspapers, grocery stores carrying black caviar, as well as Russian churches, clubs and restaurants have become a part of Washington, creating an aura that one experienced Washington Post correspondent called “Moscow on the Potomac.” Typical Russian and Eurasian Studies Courses Click here to view full course descriptions - The Caucasus
- Comparative State-Building in Ukraine and Belarus
- Economic Development in Post-Communist Countries
- Energy and Environment in the Former Soviet Republics and Eastern Europe
- The Great Powers and the Politics of Central and Eastern Europe
- Modern Central Asia and the Caspian Basin
- Modernization and Political Power in 20th-Century Russia
- Nations and Nationalism in Comparative Perspective
- Newspaper Seminar (non-credit)
- Politics and Civil Society in Contemporary Russia
- Power and Wealth in Post-Communist Russia
- Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire
- Russia and the New Eurasia: Geopolitics, Economics and Foreign Policy
- Weapons of Mass Destruction and Proliferation in the Post-Soviet States
Suggested Electives Offered by Other Programs - Current Asian Security Issues (Asia Regional Courses)
- Arms Control and Nonproliferation Regime (Conflict Management)
- Principles and Practices of Conflict Management (Conflict Management)
- Humanitarianism, Aid and Politics (International Development)
- Trade Policy in Transition and Development (International Economics)
- Islam in Domestic and International Politics (Middle East Studies)
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