<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN">
<html><body>
<p>A newsletter for Russian and Eurasian Studies (with some pieces on Jewish topics), including lots of study abroad opportunities. </p>
<p>Happy new year, all. Looking forward to the spring semester!</p>
<p>best,</p>
<p>Rachel</p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<pre>---<br />Rachel Rubinstein
Associate Professor of American Literature and Jewish Studies
Dean of Academic Support and Advising
Hampshire College
893 West Street
Amherst MA 01002
413.559.5498</pre>
</div>
<p>-------- Original Message --------</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr><th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">Subject:</th>
<td>January, 2016 - The Year Ahead</td>
</tr>
<tr><th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">Date:</th>
<td>2016-01-09 22:30</td>
</tr>
<tr><th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">From:</th>
<td>Josh Wilson <jwilson@sras.org></td>
</tr>
<tr><th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">To:</th>
<td>RRUBINSTEIN@HAMPSHIRE.EDU</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<!-- html ignored --><!-- head ignored --><!-- meta ignored --><!-- base ignored --><!-- script not allowed -->
<table style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; width: 100%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#e5e5e5">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<table style="width: 640px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img style="display: block;" src="cid:4f1349769691838e8f9fee5cabe537df@hampshire.edu" alt="" width="640" height="27" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><img style="display: block;" src="cid:aa0d8feddecb99245db0c6510c555876@hampshire.edu" alt="www.sras.org" width="640" height="88" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #cd0000;" align="left" valign="top">
<table style="width: 640px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 20px;" align="left" valign="middle" width="254"><img style="display: block;" src="cid:89188d7fd18627ca0c26ad9bdaad35d7@hampshire.edu" alt="The School of Russian and Asian Studies" width="234" height="27" /></td>
<td style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase; padding-right: 20px;" align="right" valign="middle">08.01.2016</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<h2 style="color: #cd0000; font-weight: normal; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 20px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-top: 20px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: #CCCCCC; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin: 0px;">January, 2016 - The Year Ahead</h2>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<table style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; width: 640px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="20">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p><strong>Trouble viewing this email? <a href="http://sras.org/jan_2016">Click here.</a></strong></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span class="col1" style="font-size: 18px;">The SRAS Newsletter</span><br /><span class="col3" style="font-size: 12px;">A Resource for Students, Educators, and Anyone Curious about Eurasia</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;"><a class="col1" href="http://sras..org/program_summer">Deadlines for Summer, 2016 Start March 15, 2016!</a><br /><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/program_fall">Deadlines for Fall, 2016 start May 15, 2016</a></span></h1>
<table style="width: 289px;" border="0" align="right">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td> </td>
<td align="right" valign="top"><img style="margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;" src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="d7a0b170dcb853c0fcf225185e7add60" width="280" height="202" /><br /><em>Kasha, though not often a hit with visiting westerners, is a Russian dietary and cultural staple that can serve as a surprisingly enlightening window into Russian history, daily life, and conversational speech. The full article is in our Language and Travel section below.</em><em> <br /></em></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Добро пожаловать!</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This month's short newsletter focuses on the year ahead.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Where is Russia's foreign policy headed this year? Check out our regular "How the News is Reported in Russia" for a brief overview of some year-end broadcasts from Russia. They cover not only those events that were deemed most important this year (the fall of the ruble and terrorist actions against Russia) but also where the next year is likely to take us (deteriorated relations with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the West and continued focus on developing relations with BRIC countries).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Our articles section carries some of the best material that we've read this month on Russia's economy (which is likely to be lackluster, but not likely to collapse in the next year), Russia's domestic policy (which is likely to continue its focus on the military, economy, and patriotism), as well as more insight on Russian foreign policy and, perhaps most valuably, what ordinary Russians think.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, you'll also find free language lessons as well cultural articles and information on great programs and funding opportunities for this summer and fall (deadlines may be closer than you think)! The newsletter will return to its standard format next month.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">SRAS wishes you all a healthy, happy, and successful 2016! We look forward to seeing you in Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, or Poland this year!</p>
<table style="height: 1000px; width: 600px;" border="0" cellspacing="5">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98px; height: 1000px;" align="center" valign="top">
<table style="width: 156px; height: 1000px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><strong><span class="col1" style="font-size: 12px;">Study Abroad<br /> in Eurasia!</span></strong><br /><a href="http://sras.org/policy_conflict_post_soviet_space"><img src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="Policy and Conflict Post Soviet" width="150" height="375" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><strong><span class="col1" style="font-size: 12px;">Study Abroad<br />in Eurasia!</span></strong><br /><a href="http://sras.org/kyrgyz_summer_adventure"><img style="margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;" src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="14795881905_8f8802d278_o" width="150" height="375" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><strong><span class="col1" style="font-size: 12px;">Study Abroad<br /> in Poland!</span></strong><br /><a href="http://sras.org/siberian_summer_adventure"><img src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="Sib-Summer-Adventure" width="150" height="345" /></a> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><a href="http://students.sras.org/"><img style="margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;" src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="SA_logo_button" width="150" height="114" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><a href="http://www.artinrussia.org/"><img style="margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;" src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="Art-in-Russia-button" width="150" height="150" /></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: justify;" valign="top">
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>In this month's newsletter:</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">- <a href="http://sras.org/jan_2016#programs">Programs</a> - <a href="http://sras.org/jan_2016#obzor">Koroche!</a><br /> - <a href="http://sras.org/jan_2016#Language">Language and Travel</a> - <a href="http://sras.org/jan_2016#articles">Articles</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/call_for_papers_vestnik">Call for Papers: Vestnik - Deadline: May 31!</a></strong><br />Students who submit papers for this edition of Vestnik will be eligible for a <strong>$200 Jury Award</strong>. <a href="http://sras.org/call_for_papers_vestnik">Click here</a> for details. Make your submissions by May 31, 2016.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong> <a name="programs"></a> – Programs – </strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/ha">Home and Abroad Scholarships - Expanded!</a></strong><br />These scholarships now offer $5000 - 10,000 in a more flexible program offering more locations and more subjects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/intern">Internships</a></strong><br />Gain work experience in your field while abroad! We are especially recommending Kiev as a host location this year as lots of businesses and organizations are rapidly opening their doors to interns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/siberian_summer_adventure">Siberian Summer Adventure</a></strong><br />Join SRAS and the Great Baikal Trail (GBT) for a summer of language learning and hands-on eco-tourism development in the Baikal wilderness.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/study_russian_abroad">Russian as a Second Language</a></strong><br />Intensive Russian courses for all levels in locations across Russia and Eurasia.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/study_art_museums_russia">Art and Museums in Russia</a></strong><br />Russia's art has survived war, censorship, revolutions, and several economic crises. Discover the creativity and ingenuity Russia has developed in how to create, display, and preserve art. Classes taught inside the Hermitage!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/kyrgyz_summer_adventure">Kyrgyz Summer Adventure</a></strong><br />Three intensive weeks of Russian language study followed by a one-week trek through the majestic mountains of Kyrgyzstan on horseback, practicing the language and learning about local culture. What better way to spend the summer?</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong><strong><a href="http://sras.org/program_summer">View ALL 12 Summer Programs!</a></strong><br /><a href="http://sras.org/program_fall">View ALL 12 Fall Semester Programs!</a><br /><a href="http://sras.org/grants_and_scholarships_for_russia">Funding for Study in Russia and Eurasia</a><br /><a href="http://sras.org/service_learning_grant">Service Learning Grants</a><br /></strong></p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong> <a name="obzor"></a> – Koroche! – </strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://sras.org/russia_top_movies_dec_2015">Top 5 Movies in Russia</a><br /><a href="http://sras.org/poland_dec_2015">Poland in the News</a><br /><a href="http://sras.org/russian_journalism_december_2015">How the News is Reported in Russia</a><br /><a href="http://sras.org/russian_top_5_dec_2015">Nashe Radio's Top 5</a></strong></p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong> <a name="Language"></a> – Language and Travel – </strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/kasha">Eurasian Cookbook: Kasha</a></strong><br />Kasha is often not an immediate hit with visiting westerners. However, understanding the place this Russian staple food has in Russian history, economy, language, and culture goes a long way to understanding Russia in general.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://sras.org/mini_lessons_2016#hope">MiniLesson: Expressions of Hope</a></strong><br />To start your New Year out - here's a Russian lesson on how to express hope.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://luchsveta.org/index.php/2015/12/10/the-truck-drivers-protest/">Луч света - The Trucker's Protest</a></strong><br />LuchSveta.org presents learning material for Russian-language news clips that combine relatively intelligible speech with compelling content that illustrates some issue of larger cultural or social interest.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.vox.com/2015/12/22/10634320/soviet-union-christmas">I Still Miss Soviet Holidays</a></strong><br />A multi-cultural (Russian / Soviet / Jewish / American) search for identity at the holiday season.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://artinrussia.org/history-russian-christmas-cards-pre-revolution/">A History of Russian Christmas Cards (Pre-Revolution)</a></strong><br />A brief history of Russian Christmas cards with lots of examples of pre-revolutionary cards!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-17/russian-cartoon-masha-and-the-bear-pulls-in-billions-of-rubles">This Russian Bear Is Hitting the Mall</a></strong><br />After sweeping YouTube and Netflix, Masha and the Bear looks to licensing.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/12/30/lack-of-russia-experts-has-the-u-s-playing-catch-up/">Lack of Russia Experts in US Worrisome</a><br /><a href="http://artinrussia.org/4-painters-enchanted-winter/">A History of Russian Christmas Cards (Pre-Revolution)</a><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/12046040/Hardest-part-of-becoming-an-astronaut-Learning-Russian-says-Tim-Peake.html">Hardest Part of Becoming an Astronaut? Learning Russian.</a><br /><a href="http://artinrussia.org/10-best-films-eldar-ryazanov/">10 Best Films of Eldar Ryazanov (Video)</a><br /><a href="http://rbth.com/arts/literature/2015/12/09/how-much-do-we-know-about-contemporary-russian-writers_549199">What Do We Know About Contemporary Russian Writers?</a></strong></p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong> <a name="articles"></a> – Articles – </strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb538-Cold-War-Nuclear-Target-List-Declassified-First-Ever/">US Strategic Air Command Declassifies Cold War Nuke Plan</a></strong><br />This thick document detailed which targets in which communist countries, under which priorities and why, the US would strike in case of war. Moscow was due for some 180 bombs.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-climate-change-explainer/27396613.html">Explainer: Climate Change And The View From Moscow</a></strong><br />RFE/RL takes a look at what climate change means for Russia.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/551491.html">U.S.-Russian Relations in Space</a></strong><br />A brief history of US-Russia space relations in light of an agreement to extend the space station to 2024.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7fsXGWiuDc">Putin's Annual Q&A Marathon</a></strong><br />The full video, with English translation, for free on YouTube.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23J2pTGrK1g">HBO - What to do About Russia?</a></strong><br />HBO recently invited four experts to debate "what to do about Russia." The full event is on YouTube for free.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-us-russia-20151218-story.html">U.S. and Russia Unite to Target Islamic State's Revenue Sources</a></strong><br />In a rare show of unity, the United States and Russia on Thursday led 13 nations to unanimous approval of a United Nations plan to choke off revenue sources for the militant group.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/10/europe/russian-middle-class-putin/">Russia's Middle Class Doesn't Blame Putin</a></strong><br />Russia's middle class is seeing shrinking variety in the goods they can buy - from tourist packages to food. But people don't revolt due to lack of selection. These goods, in more limited variety, still exist in Russia and can be easily obtained.</p>
<table border="0" align="left">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<table style="width: 167px; height: 64px;" border="1" align="right">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"><strong><span class="col1" style="font-size: 12px;">Study Abroad<br /> in Eurasia!</span></strong><br /><a href="http://sras.org/program_internship"><img src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="Internship in Russia" width="150" height="375" /></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: right;"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/12/03/do-crimeans-see-themselves-as-russian-or-ukrainian-its-complicated/?postshare=8841449225327549&tid=ss_fb-bottom">Do Crimeans see Themselves as Russian or Ukrainian? It’s Complicated.</a></strong><br />Many observers have suggested that since most Crimeans were ethnically Russian, they were therefore loyal to Russia, and therefore welcomed annexation. But is it true?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://russialist.org/what-is-going-on-in-russia-the-views-and-values-of-ordinary-russians/">The Views and Values of Ordinary Russians</a></strong><br />Karen Hewitt has spent the last 26 years trying to explain Britain to the Russians and – to a more hesitant extent – Russia to the British.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://rbth.com/politics_and_society/2015/12/29/russians-call-most-important-events-of-2015_555929">Russians Recall Most Important Events of 2015</a></strong><br />According to Russians, the top story of 2015 was the terror attack on a Russian airliner in Egypt.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-syria-idUSKBN0UB0BA20151229">US Officials Positive on Russia in Syria</a></strong><br />Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved his central goal of stabilizing the Assad government and, with the costs relatively low, could sustain military operations at this level for years, U.S. officials and military analysts say.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a class="col1" href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/28/too-early-for-optimism-on-russia-growth-analyst.html"> Too Early for Optimism on Russian Economy</a></strong><br />"The November data shows that it is far too early to be optimistic that the worst is over for the economy; it certainly is not for the beleaguered consumer."</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>If you have views or material you would like to contribute to the newsletter, please <a href="http://www.sras.org/mailto:jwilson@sras.org">contact us</a>. <br />Want the newsletter?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a id="subscribe_colorbox" class="subscribe" href="http://sras.org/subscribe_popup.php"><img style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="cid:cd419578645ff1686ec2a16da6f5d93d@hampshire.edu" alt="" width="68" height="21" border="0" hspace="6" /></a></strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left">To subscribe to our free newsletter, <a href="http://www.sras.org/subscribe.php">click here</a></td>
<td align="right">To unsubscribe from ALL SRAS mailing, <a href="http://www.sras.org/unsubscribe.php?email=RRUBINSTEIN@HAMPSHIRE.EDU&code=dde5e5bc8bd63e9a2aeb3ca80b36db7c">click here</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: 8px; border-top-color: #cd0000; border-top-style: solid; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: #999999; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 20px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px;" align="center" valign="top">
<p style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><img src="cid:d1d52eae7b16e8b0ec6849d5693741ff@hampshire.edu" alt="The School of Russian and Asian Studies" width="150" height="62" border="0" /></p>
<p>The School of Russian and Asian Studies<br /> 117 Marva Oaks Drive, Woodside, CA 94062<br /> 1-650-206-2209 <br /><a style="color: #999999;" href="http://www.sras.org">www.sras.org</a> | <a style="color: #999999;" href="http://www.sras.org/mailto:study@sras.org">study@sras.org</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><img style="display: block;" src="cid:5209a4cd9b9f9db8315f3ae74e3ec4cd@hampshire.edu" alt="" width="640" height="17" /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</body></html>