2013 Language Institute: Ufa, Russia

Student Activities

In 2011, students were invited to the restaurant "Moroshka" in Ufa to learn the fine art of preparing pel’meny—Russian dumplings filled with meat, vegetables, or potatoes. Participants relied on their Russian and worked with a local chef to prepare the dough, assemble the fillings, and cook the pel’meny to perfection. Check out photos here.

Alumni Highlights

Hannah Doughty (CLS Ufa 2012) returned to Russia after the CLS Program to study in St. Petersburg with CIEE. In addition to classes, Hannah is teaching English and has found time to continue exploring, including visiting Veliki-Novgorod, Kyiv, and Moscow.

Jacob Lassin (CLS Ufa 2011) returned to Ufa this year on a Boren Scholarship. He is interning at a local television station and continuing to study Russian at Bashkir State Pedagogical University. Afterwards, he plans to begin a Ph.D. program in Slavic literature and Culture at Yale University. This past summer, Jacob’s senior thesis gained international attention when Evgeny Morozov, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and Edward Lucas, international editor of the Economist, tweeted about it. Shortly afterwards, a story appeared on Radio Free Europe. Read more about his thesis.

Harry Leeds (CLS Ufa 2012) is teaching English and pursuing freelance translation work in Kazan, Russia. While in Ufa, Harry and CLS participant Lisa Gulya were interviewed on a local news program about their study of Russian and experiences in Russia.

Julian Waller (CLS Ufa 2012) is studying Russian at the Herzen State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg. In spring, he will return to The George Washington University to write his senior thesis and complete his last semester.

Alexander Melin (CLS Ufa 2012) is continuing his law studies at the University of Kansas, and has received a FLAS Fellowship to study Ukrainian.

During the 2011 CLS institute in Ufa, Russia, Alissa Davis and several of her classmates found time outside of class, homework, and interacting with peer tutors and host families to give back to the local community. With help from one of her instructors at BSPU, Alissa and her classmates arranged to volunteer at the “Indigo” Ufa Child Development Center, "Индиго" городской центр психолого-медико-социального сопровождения. The children at this shelter ranged in age from 5 through 15. Alissa and her classmates spent time leading an art project, playing games, and interacting both with the children and the workers at the shelter. While they enjoyed talking with the children, Alissa noted that most were quite shy. “The workers there were much more inquisitive and asked many more questions than the kids. In addition to wondering what state I was from, they asked me why I was in Ufa, how long I'd be there, what I was studying, what I wanted to do after I graduated, what my experiences were like working in similar organizations in the U.S., etc.”

Alissa has proven dedicated to working with NGOs in Russia, and her initiative allowed her and her classmates to identify and pursue this volunteer activity in Ufa. During Alissa’s participation in the CLS Program in Astrakhan in 2009, she completed an internship at an NGO working with homeless children and victims of human trafficking. Alissa is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in International Relations with a certificate in Civil Society Organizations at Syracuse University. She ultimately hopes to earn a Doctorate in public policy, and continue to work with NGOs to advance the cause of human rights.