scholarly journals Establishment of Russian Studies at the Victoria University of Manchester and Russia Abroad

Author(s):  
P.A. Tribunskii ◽  

This paper considers the formation of Russian studies at the Victoria University of Manchester and the participation of A.S. Mindel, a representative of Russia abroad, in it. Teaching the Russian language at the Victoria University of Manchester started in 1907 in the wake of interest in the events in Russia (the war with Japan, the revolution). However, the exotic and difficult language lessons taught by the teacher of English W.J. Sedgefield quickly began to fall out of the public’s favor. Another “Russian boom” in Great Britain occurred during the World War I, when the two countries became allies in the fight against Germany. Due to the increasing interest in Russia in that period, A.S. Mindel, a clerk of the commercial firm, was in demand as a teacher of the Russian language. In addition to teaching, A.S. Mindel gave lectures on Russia, mainly on economic topics, because the Manchester business community, which financially supported the development of Russian studies at the university, was willing to forge contacts with Russia. The pinnacle of A.S. Mindel’s achievements as a teacher was the preparation and publication of a reference book on Russian commercial correspondence (1918). The funds collected by the university authorities in conjunction with the business community of Manchester made it possible to organize a chair of the Russian language, a post for which A.S. Mindel, with his level of education, could not apply. He was not involved in the subsequent development of Russian studies in Manchester.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-170
Author(s):  
Szilárd Tibor Tóth

The scientific views of the famous Estonian linguist, public figure and politician, legendary professor of the University of Tallinn, Mati Hint (1937-2019), cover a wide range of Estonian philology, from phonetics to linguistic politics and the research of linguistic landscape. The number of his scientific works is well over 300. Mati Hint was characterized by a constant opposition to the mainstream. He popularized the South Estonian Tartu literary language, which had become extinct at the beginning of the 20th century, by publishing several scientific articles on this subject. Hint provided an innovative description of the phonological system, morphophonology and the grade alternation of the Estonian language. According to his concept, in the Estonian language, three longitudes of phonemes cannot be distinguished. Three longitudes can have a syllable. Thus, Estonian is not an unique language that differs from all other languages of the world, but on the contrary, it fits perfectly into all languages of the world. In many works he explains the problems of contacts between the Estonian and the Russian languages. Hint indicates the consequences of bilingualism, which may result in semilingualism, and in extreme cases in a language shift. A large language can be pidginized and creolized. According to the current period, professor Hint attributed to the English language similar roles in relation to Estonian, which he attributed to the Russian language during Perestroika.


Author(s):  
Mariya Vadimovna Vyrodova

The period of last quarter of the XIX – beginning of the XX century in France after the World War I receives a name “Belle Epoque”. It is the time of development of entertainment industry, origination of mass culture, where women play a special role. The object of this research is the life strategies of women of the bohemian circles of Paris of “Belle Epoque”. The subjects is the women in French theatricality of the late XIX – early XX century. The goal of the work consists in determining the role played by thre women with a new female life strategy in formation of the phenomenon of French theatricality of “Belle Epoque”. Methodology is based on the sociocultural approach towards the problem, and suggests detailed analysis of the rare memoires of the performers, actresses and dancers, which were not published in Russian or translated into the Russian language. It is noted that women in the bohemian circles reconsidered their strategies in achieving life goals, putting the questions of career and personal growth to the forefront. They also were able to respond to the desires of audience of the late XIX – early XX century, attracting attention to the art of dance, pantomime, theatre, bringing their personal outlook upon the manner of performing. Women performed equal to men, often superseding them in some fields of art due to their natural femininity and talent.


2015 ◽  
Vol 97 (900) ◽  
pp. 969-983

Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter and the author of more than twenty-five books on the age of the World Wars and European dictatorship, including The Bombing War: Europe 1939–1945. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.Airpower has been used in armed conflicts since World War I. Aircraft have been deployed in support of the army on the ground and the navy on the surface. However, the twentieth century, with two World Wars, has also seen aerial bombardment of cities that fell outside the traditional use of airpower. During World War II, as part of the ideology of “total war”, cities were deliberately selected as targets of such attacks with the purpose of undermining the morale of the enemy's population and “winning the war”. Nowadays, although the deliberate bombing of entire cities is prohibited, it is still believed that aerial bombardment can produce certain political dividends for belligerents. In this interview, Richard Overy provides a historical perspective on the evolution of aerial bombardment since the World Wars, and puts in context the use of airpower in contemporary armed conflicts.


Author(s):  
Robert M. Seltzer

This chapter discusses O. O. Gruzenberg's Yesterday: Memoirs of a Russian-Jewish Lawyer (1981). This book is a nostalgic reminiscence of selected episodes from the life of Oskar Gruzenberg (1866–1940), a noted Russian-Jewish attorney whose courtroom successes in a wide range of political trials during the last two decades of the tsarist regime culminated in his brilliant defence of Mendel Beiliss in the notorious 1913 ritual murder trial in Kiev. Gruzenberg recounts scenes of his youth and of legal dramas in which he was a participant. He also describes some of the well-known writers he knew and relates several successful interventions with Russian bureaucrats during World War I in order to avert miscarriages of justice. Gruzenberg comes across in these memoirs as a skilful lawyer, eloquent advocate, humanitarian liberal, and passionate lover of the Russian language and literature.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-719
Author(s):  
Rafael Guzman Tirado ◽  

The article analyzes the activities of MAPRYAL aimed at the development of Spanish Russian studies. The first part of the article provides a brief description of the genesis of Spanish Russian studies and the key stages of its formation related to geographical, historical and political factors. The second part is devoted to the role of MAPRYAL in the spread of the Russian language in the Spanish-speaking world, in particular, measures to support Russian studies at the University of Granada. The article notes that, in many respects, thanks to close and fruitful cooperation with MAPRYAL, Spanish Russian studies took the leading positions in the world, as evidenced by successfully hosting the XIII MAPRYAL Congress in Granada in 2015. The article analyzes some of the contributions of the University of Granada to Russian studies in the world. An important role in the fate of Russian studies at the University of Granada was played by the creation in 2004 of the research group HUM 827 “Slavistics, Caucasian Studies, Typology of Languages”, which became a collective member of MAPRYAL and actively participated in organizing many events dedicated to the dissemination of the Russian language and literature. Particular attention in the article is paid to the personal contribution to the development of Spanish Russian studies by Lyudmila Verbitskaya — not only as President of MAPRYAL, but also as a person who has passionately loved the Russian language and devoted her life to promoting it in Russia and in the world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-163
Author(s):  
Eseohe Glory Okoedion ◽  
Ugo Chuks Okolie

Learning a new language comes with its own set of challenges, even the brigh-test students can find the new language to be difficult to understand. Looking at the progress already made in the field of studying Russian in Nigeria in the last fifty-nine years, the language presents some noticeable challenges. This paper is aimed at examining the difficulties of learning the Russian language in the University of Nigeria. A descriptive method was used, and the data were collected as a result of the survey of 36 students studying Russian. The findings revealed that different social and economic factors affect Russian language learning in Nigeria. Also, there was no significant difference in the answers of male and female students about the difficulties in learning the Russian language in Nigeria. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that different factors (especially level of education, parents occupation and level of income) are among the major difficulties of learning Russian in Nigerian universities. Thus, the study recommends that Nigeria government should encourage the respective universities to teach Russian with better funding and sponsorship of some programs, such as conferences and seminars.


2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-82
Author(s):  
Mirko Grcic ◽  
Rajko Gnjato

Michael I. Pupin was a professor at the University of Columbia, member and the president of Academy of Science in New York; one of the esteemed members of USA National Academy of Science; member and president of many experts and scientific institutions and societies in the USA; member of State Council for Scientific Research by president of the USA during the World War I. Of the great importance for political geography and geopolitics was his activity in Paris during the Peace Conference after the World War I in 1919 also as his great contribution to establishment of state borders of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians (later Yugoslavia), which helped those nations to establish their national borders at maximum level. Pupin claimed that he was Yugoslav patriot and American citizen. Role of M. Pupin in battle for national interests and Yugoslav borders after the World War I is shown in this article.


Gerundium ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-105
Author(s):  
Sándor Király

Proposal for the Introduction of the Trimester System – Proposal by Faculty of Law of the University of Debrecen to Earl János Zichy, Minister of Religion and Public Education. The Faculty of Law of the University of Debrecen in the last period of the World War I. made a proposal in order to divide the school year to three semester. It was a strange source of the history of the Hungarian higher education. Based on this document can be cognizable the real life and thinking of the students of the university who came back from the war and of the professors who met with them the first time. The trimestrial system of the higher education was favoured by the students too, but it wasn’t able to come to real because the collapse of the Monarchy.


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