Bella Feliksovna told us that some of her most prized possessions come from former students or international fellows. This includes a crocheted whale, geometric origami, and lots of photos--including one of a small group of students with the famous Russian animator Yuri Norstein!

Natalya told us that in her office she has pictures of the mountains of Kazakhstan and some of her own children’s drawings. She loves teaching RUSN 310 Advanced Conversation. One of her favorite memories is when she went on an expedition in the Dzhungarian Alatau Mountains, where she visited some unnamed peaks which she got the privilege to name. 

Fred Corney, a professor of history, told us one of the most interesting things in his office is a KGB Colonel's greatcoat. We also learned that his favorite signers include Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. Professor Corney mentioned that during his time in Moscow in the 90s, his apartment in Moscow was owned by Sasha Prokhorov's tutor. What a small world!

Elena Vasileva, REES's newest addition, told us she has a tuxedo cat named Lorien, named for the woods from Tolkien’s universe. She loves fantasy, and has read books by Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, and Andrzej Sapkowski. She told us that one of the best Russophone fantasy authors is Maks Fraj – Макс Фрай. She also advised us to check out the Ukrainian band, Odyn v Kanoe (Один в каное), one of her favorites. 

Lena told us that during college she was actually a Spanish linguistics major. She also told us that she used to have a pet chinchilla and that her favorite object in her office is a tiger. 

Sasha’s prized possessions in his office include a photograph of Lena, a Ukrainian flag, an icon of Mother of God, and a samovar. His favorite city in the US is Pittsburg, PA and he loves to teach Russian Myths and Legends. 

Professor Maliniak from the government department told the committee that he has illegally crossed into Azerbaijan without his passport. He also told us that his daughter, Ilana, has embarrassed full-grown Georgian men by eating more khinkali than them in a single sitting. He told us that his most prized possession in his office is a painting of the United Nations building, done by his grandfather.

Professor Pickering told us a bunch of stories about her time abroad in Leningrad, Serbia, and Turkmenistan. While living in Serbia in the 90s, people worried she was a spy, until they realized she was too “absent minded” to be a spy. They “instead decided [she] was a feminist, which some considered similarly nefarious.”

Professor Galmarini loves to go to the mountains and loves listening to classic Soviet bard music. She told us that her favorite classes to teach are reading seminars with graduate students.