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The relationship between Russia and the West has
been central to the history of the twentieth century. Beginning
with the Russian Revolution in 1917, the West’s response to
communism has shaped relations between America, Europe, and the
Third World. The Treaty of Versailles, the rise of fascism, World
War II, the postwar settlement, the Cold War, and the war in Vietnam
cannot be understood apart from the West’s relationship with
the former Soviet Union.
Within the past two decades, enormous changes have occurred in Russia,
once again shaking the global order to its foundations. The disintegration
of the USSR, the emergence of more democratic forms of government,
and the development of new "free market" economies have
led not only to greater openness and stronger ties with the West,
but also to a host of new questions in the areas of business, science,
technology, national defense and international security. The end
of the Cold War allows for exploration of new issues in fascinating
ways that were formerly forbidden. The proliferation of exchange
programs, the increased accessibility of libraries, archives, and
information, and the development of a free press all open untried
and exciting possibilities and opportunities for students and scholars.
Young, talented people with a broadly-based knowledge of Russian
history, language and culture are needed to fill jobs in international
law, education, diplomacy, business, journalism and computing, as
well as in economic, scientific and technical consulting.
Russian Studies aims to give students a solid background in the
fields of Russian history, language, culture and politics, by offering
a major and minor specialization to interested students. It is jointly
administered by the Departments of History
and Modern Languages in
the College
of Humanities and Social Sciences. It is designed for students
from all the Carnegie Mellon undergraduate colleges. It may be taken
as either a primary major, additional major, or minor.
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