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Russian Studies, Minor

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:

Required Courses
RUSS 3010Communicating in Russian: The Arts3
RUSS 3020Communicating in Russian: History and Politics3
RUSS 3250Russia From Peter to Putin: Imperial, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Culture3
Russian Literature in Translation3
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 3370
World Soul in the Silver Age: Literature in a Revolutionary Era
RUSS 3440
Art, Media, & Power in Post-Soviet Russia
Russian Elective Courses6
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 3370
World Soul in the Silver Age: Literature in a Revolutionary Era
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 Credits18

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.