Russian Studies

Davidson's Russian Studies Department prepares future leaders for this new era when Putin’s Russia poses an aggressive threat on the world stage, most recently with the unprovoked war against Ukraine.

The U.S. State Department designates Russian a Critical Need language, underscoring the need to train a new generation of Russia experts after decades of neglect since the fall of the Soviet Union. Our graduates enter a world that needs their service in foreign policy, diplomacy, national security, energy, business, NGOs, publishing, and the arts.

In addition to teaching Russian language, history, and politics (in partnership with the Political Science department), we also introduce students to Russian culture and literature, including composers, dancers, directors, literary theorists and artists: literary giants like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Akhmatova; the musical genius of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky; the dance revolutions of Diaghilev, Vaganova and Balanchine; the groundbreaking films of Eisenstein and Tarkovsky; the pioneering theories of Jakobson and Bakhtin; the revolutionary canvasses of Kandinsky, Chagall, Popova and Malevich; and emerging artists and writers.