Saint Louis University's Russian studies minor requires at least three years of Russian along with a study of literature and culture. It prepares students for the immersive study of Russian or conducting research in this language, which has a significant global presence with as many as 150 million native speakers worldwide.
With a range of electives from which to choose, the Russian studies minor is a strong career asset for students pursuing careers in disciplines such as international business, computer science, political science and history. Lectures and excursions in St. Louis supplement the curriculum, and past students have successfully obtained scholarships for summer and study abroad programs.
Graduates from SLU's Russian studies program have gone on to prestigious graduate programs in Russian and East European studies, diplomacy, social work and medicine, and to serve in the armed services.
The minor in Russian studies explores the language, literature, and culture of this vast region of the globe with the completion of 18 credits (six courses) at the 3XXX and 4XXX levels. No single course may fulfill more than one Russian studies minor requirement, and coursework is distributed as follows:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| RUSS 3010 | Communicating in Russian: The Arts | 3 |
| RUSS 3020 | Communicating in Russian: History and Politics | 3 |
| RUSS 3250 | Russia From Peter to Putin: Imperial, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Culture | 3 |
| Russian Literature in Translation | 3 | |
| Select one course from the following: | ||
RUSS 3320 | Dostoevsky Through the Centuries | |
RUSS 3340 | Serfdom and Liberation: Challenging the Legacies of Forced Labor | |
RUSS 3350 | Chekhov as Dramatist: Performance, Adaptations, and Intermedial Transpositions | |
RUSS 3360 | In Prisons Dark: Confinement Literature in the Russian and Soviet Empires | |
RUSS 3440 | Art, Media, & Power in Post-Soviet Russia | |
| Russian Elective Courses | 6 | |
| Select two additional courses from the following for a total of 18 credits not chosen elsewhere to fulfill minor requirements (at least 3 credits must be at the 4xxx level): | ||
RUSS 3270 | Soviet and Russian Cinema: Traditions and Innovations | |
RUSS 3320 | Dostoevsky Through the Centuries | |
RUSS 3340 | Serfdom and Liberation: Challenging the Legacies of Forced Labor | |
RUSS 3350 | Chekhov as Dramatist: Performance, Adaptations, and Intermedial Transpositions | |
RUSS 3360 | In Prisons Dark: Confinement Literature in the Russian and Soviet Empires | |
RUSS 3390 | Putin's Idiocracy | |
RUSS 3440 | Art, Media, & Power in Post-Soviet Russia | |
RUSS 4010 | Presenting Research in Russian | |
RUSS 4510 | The Russian Orthodox | |
HIST 3280 | Russia to 1905 | |
HIST 3290 | Russia Since 1905 | |
PHIL 4740 | Philosophy of Karl Marx | |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Continuation Standards
All Russian studies courses for the minor must be completed with a grade of C or higher in order to count for the minor. If a student earns a grade of C- or lower in a course, the student may retake the course or take an additional course in the minor in which the grade earned is a C or higher.