Russian is one of the world’s major languages, spoken by 280 million people, used widely in the other countries of the former Soviet Union as well as in Russia itself. Expertise in the Russian language, especially when combined with a deep understanding of Russia’s history, culture and society, has never been more vital for careers in sectors including government, diplomacy, international business and non-governmental organisations.
Russian and Slavonic studies at Nottingham encompasses an exceptionally broad programme of study across two main language areas, Russian and Serbian/Croatian, with options also to learn Slovene as a second or third Slavonic language. Russian can be studied from beginners’ level and post GCSE/AS, as well as post-A level. We teach Serbian/Croatian from beginners’ level to degree level. Our modules on Russian society, culture and language span the medieval period to the 21st century, and our students can choose to specialise in topics in history, cinema, literature and cultural studies. Students can also opt to take modules in South-East European cultures and histories.
Russian studies can be taken as a single honours subject or as a joint honours subject with another modern language, and as a joint honours subject with history; it is also available in the degree Economics with Russian. Serbian/Croatian can be studied as a joint honours subject alongside Russian, and students on Russian Studies single honours degree who opt to study Serbian/Croatian from year one or two have the exciting opportunity to graduate in Russian with Serbian/Croatian.
Both Russian and Serbian/Croatian are offered within Modern Languages Studies, Modern European Studies, Modern Languages with Translation and Modern Languages with Business. History and East European Cultural Studies is a three-year joint honours course with no compulsory language study, focusing on the histories, literatures and cultures of the region.