Staff Articles 

20 Days in Mariupol: A Call to Confront Russian Aggression

Monica Sullivan and Carina Shalkivski

The documentary 20 Days in Mariupol and the accounts of retired Ukrainian diplomat Volodymyr Shalkivski provide a harrowing insight into the brutality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a diplomat stationed in Australia during the invasion, Shalkivski experienced the shock of seeing images of the war and the tragedy unfolding in Mariupol, a city still occupied by Russian forces. The documentary highlights the plight of civilians, many of whom witnessed and suffered atrocities, with Mariupol becoming one of the deadliest places in the conflict.

One particularly poignant story shared by the diplomat was that of an Australian man with a Russian girlfriend, whose mother received documents for 700 women and children forcefully deported from Mariupol to Novosibirsk. The women and children were given Russian passports and documents, while the men were separated from their families and forced to fight in Donbass against Ukrainian forces to prove their loyalty to the Moscow regime. This forced deportation and conscription illustrate the cruel tactics employed by the Russian government in its pursuit of control over Ukraine.

The documentary, following the story of an Associated Press team of international journalists, including the director of the film, Mstyslav Chernov, shows terrifying scenes of babies and young children being killed due to Russian shelling, while parents watch, helpless, as doctors and nurses are unable to save them. Hospitals, houses, and civilian stores were destroyed, killing countless Ukrainians - so many, in fact, that mass graves needed to be dug. People, left without food and water, live in fear, waiting for the next Russian strike. While all of this was happening, Russian media outlets claimed that Ukrainians had hired actors to fake the devastation happening in the city.  

The documentary and Shalkivski's accounts underscore the need to fight against fake news and Russian propaganda. It is crucial to carefully select sources of information and make sound judgments to counter the misinformation spread by the Russian government.

The Russian government's actions in Ukraine are nothing short of evil. The invasion, occupation, and brutal treatment of civilians in Mariupol and other parts of Ukraine reveal a callous disregard for human life and international law. Russian citizens must confront the reality of their government's actions and stand up against this crime. By remaining silent or complicit, Russian citizens are responsible for the suffering of innocent people in Ukraine and contribute to the erosion of democracy and human rights. It is time for the world to unite against Russian aggression and support Ukraine in its fight for freedom and sovereignty.

When a Russian Professor Learns a Spanish: Interview with Sasha Orlova

Sarah Lage

In this article, I interview Aleksandra “Sasha” Orlova, the Russian House international fellow and former instructor of Advanced Russian I and II (I had such fun taking that class with her!). During her time in the United States, Sasha took up learning Spanish. Here are the language-learning insights of an experienced teacher of Russian as a foreign language, as well as a former English learner!

Sarah: Tell me about the experience you have teaching Russian as a foreign language.  

Sasha: Wow. Alright, it all started many years ago, when I was getting my master's degree in St. Petersburg. So, it started as a way to practice teaching during my second year being there. So I started teaching at Herzen State Pedagogical University which was, at that time– in 2017, was still a partner with the College of William & Mary. So, I started working there and teaching mostly Asian students. We would have 400 Asian students… like 500 in total, and 400 of them would be Asian students. The other 100 would be students from all over the world, and I just loved it. Once I started getting to know all these kids, which were mostly my age, actually, at that point, from all over the world, I just– I loved it, and I realized that it's something I want to do. So it started there and that was also the place where I got to know my first students from the College of William & Mary, actually, because they used to do their summer program there. And after two years working there at this school, I was invited to come to the College of William & Mary to be an international fellow here. And of course, I happily accepted the offer. I came here and [had] a great year. And unfortunately, the pandemic happened, so I had to move somewhere else– and I got a job in Singapore, where I continued teaching, also working with students from all over the world: expats, and of course some locals too, some Asian students from different Asian countries. And it was a great experience as well– completely different, of course, from my experience here at the College of William & Mary, and from my experience at the school in St. Petersburg too. Also, I had an opportunity there to work with kids. It was also something different! And actually, I think that it was the time when I realized that I want to work with adults! So I spent another, like, year and a half there… teaching and then I was invited to come back to the College of William & Mary to be an international fellow and also a teacher. Of course, I had to accept the offer again. And so I've been here already for an amazing, almost two years. 

Sarah: Why have you decided to learn Spanish, specifically? Why did you want to?  

Sasha: It all started in 2018. When I came here as an international fellow, and I was actually thinking between French and Spanish. But then I just realized that I would have more opportunity to practice Spanish here. Because as far as I know, it's the second language here, right (it is!)? So, I was thinking that it would be good if I took Spanish and I would always have an opportunity to practice it. Because there are so, so many Spanish speakers surrounding me, actually. It didn't take long to decide [that] actually, it [would] be better (than French). 

Sarah: And why were you between French and Spanish initially?

Sasha: Initially, I don't know, I love French. 

Sarah: Yeah, me too.  

Sasha: It sounds nice. You know, I'll always want to speak French. And before that, actually, before coming to the United States, I did a big trip in France. So, I visited a few regions there, and I just loved it. So I really wanted to come back and be able to understand what these people, what these beautiful people are talking about… so, that's why. 

Sarah: How long have you been trying to learn Spanish?  

Sasha: It's been a long journey. But I've been on and off. Yeah, I started in 2019. I took a semester of Spanish, so Elementary Spanish in 2019. And then COVID happened, so I had to stop. It was terrible. We didn't have time. And then, it was a like a year[-long] break, I think. I didn't take any Spanish after this first semester and then I resumed taking Spanish with a personal tutor in Singapore. But it would be like once a week… not very often because I didn't have time. It was also not very cheap, so I was thinking I would just resume taking Spanish with the tutor, like review everything that I know and also don't know with one of these language learning apps. I think it's called Babbel. So, I remember that once I moved to Singapore, I had like two weeks of quarantine there. So I was like, 'okay, I have these two weeks in a hotel; I'm gonna use this time.' So I started learning. I started from the very beginning, actually. I started retaking Spanish in this app and then I continued with the tutor. And then after that, I came back here and I retook the elementary course again and now I'm continuing with the intermediate. 

Sarah: Have you tried only Babbel before?  

Sasha: No, I used Babbel and then I do Duolingo now, actually.

Sarah: Which one (language-learning app) do you prefer?  

Sasha: It's a good question, because, actually, Babbel takes more time. And then Duolingo is more playful, and it takes like 10-15 minutes. It's perfect for me, because now I just need to review vocabulary. I know grammar, and Duolingo doesn't give any grammar. This is its problem, but it works for me because I don't need that. I just need to review vocabulary and only a few grammar forms, so it works great for me for now. But I would say if you want to start learning Spanish, I would start with Babbel. 

Sarah: Along those lines, what does your study plan look like right now for learning Spanish?  Do you have a rigid schedule or not? 

Sasha: I do take the intermediate course. So yes, I do have Spanish every day: five days a week, basically. So before the class, I would review everything that we did the day before, just to refresh the words, I would write them down, like some of the, some of the new vocabulary, I would write it down just to review it. I would review the grammar forms too, because, maybe it's just me, but I forget things very, very, very quickly. So I have to review them all the time. So after the class, if I have time, I might go over the vocabulary. And because this is not something we do in class, writing in class… we usually focus on grammar, explanation, something like that, but not on vocabulary. So I feel like I have to spend a lot of time on my own just to learn these words, to memorize these words. And I think it applies to every language, of course. Like, you have to spend a lot of time just to memorize these words. And that's the way to remember them and use them. 

Sarah: And how do you personally memorize words? 

Sasha: So, Duolingo helps a lot. Repetition. Repetition is key, really. So that's actually the thing about Duolingo. Because Duolingo would give you the same words all the time, so you can review them– and this is good about this app. So you would review all the time, you would review the words that you learned like two weeks ago, a month ago, so this is a good thing! Also, this app has flashcards and there is– you can review your mistakes, too, so it's also a good thing. And this is something I do also on my own; I would look at these flashcards, I would look at the words that I learned two weeks ago. I always would have them in front of me and come back to them. It's very important to come back to these words.  Also, I would try to use them in sentences. This is something I started to do recently. Actually, I started to keep a diary in Spanish. I would write… it might get boring, so that's why I try to keep it short. I would write a few sentences. I would use these new words that we just studied. I would use them in this, I would try to use them in these sentences just to know how to use them, to see that, ‘yeah, actually this is something useful; this is something I can use daily.’ And also the fact that I have this diary now– it also helps me to look for new words that I really need for my vocabulary that I really use. So this is something that helps me too!

Sarah: How has your experience learning English helped you in learning Spanish, or has it?  

Sasha: So my experience with learning English was completely different because I haven't taken any courses in English. This is the thing. I've learned all my English being here on the spot, basically. When I started, I was just listening to people, what they say, repeating what they say, repeating it in my head, writing it down. Also, I was pretty lucky because when I was here in 2019, the German fellow who was here was also an English teacher, so he would correct my every mistake. He would drive me crazy, but he would correct me– every mistake. It helped a lot, too. So, I'm not sure how my experience of learning English helped me in learning Spanish, but actually this is the language that I use to learn Spanish now. I use English, not Russian, because it's easier for me to compare since now I know the grammar, so it's easier for me to compare Spanish grammar with English grammar. I think that has helped, the comparison.

Sarah: And has your experience teaching Russian to foreigners helped you at all in learning Spanish?  

Sasha: Learning Spanish? Yes, I would say yes, and also the comparison, I'd say, because some of the grammar forms that I know from my experience of teaching Russian, sometimes they apply to Spanish too. For me, structure is very important; this is the way I learn. I have to have this structure in my head. Without this structure, I would not be able to speak. And, if we look at the Russian grammar, it's– it's very structured. Like, it's very, if you know… the rule, if you know how to apply the rule, it would be really easy to use it to create sentences to speak. And I feel like the fact that I know the structure… how the Russian language is structured– I know it's easier for me to learn Spanish because I look at the structure and I also compare it. I can see some of these things that help me to understand certain things in Spanish. And I would say that actually taking Spanish classes and learning Spanish helps me to teach Russian sometimes, because I've taken Spanish already with many different, professors and I appreciate this opportunity to be able to do that, actually, also because of my selfish reasons– because I learned different teaching methods from them because, you know, every professor is different, so they all have different teaching methods. This is amazing because I can use– I can learn from them what actually works; I can look at the teaching process from a different perspective. So I would say that it works both ways, actually!

Sarah: Last question: how would achieving proficiency in Spanish impact your life? Would you ever want to live in an area with a high Spanish-speaking population?  

Sasha: So actually, since I started learning Spanish, I've been traveling a lot to Mexico. It happened that it's easier to get to Mexico, of course, and one of the reasons why I go there is to practice Spanish. And it's so much easier to be in a foreign country knowing the language that they speak. And it's way more fun, too, because you can immerse yourself into the culture. For me, traveling somewhere else, it's not only visiting places… like some museums or monuments. For me, it's also immersing myself into the culture! This is the main thing for me. The way I do it, I do it through people, through meeting people, through talking to people. And knowing the language helps a lot. And besides being able to talk to people and being immersed into the culture, thanks to this ability to be able to communicate to them… I think, who knows what's gonna happen after this year? I might end up in a Spanish-speaking country. The fact that I'm able to speak already, I'm able to communicate already, and I know that I'll be way more fluent by the end of the semester. It would help me a lot to have more opportunities in terms of my future job, too. You know, just in general, knowing different foreign languages helps a lot in life, and a lot of job prospects, too. And the ability to speak to your friends here in their native language is also great. So, I feel like it connects, it connects me to people and to this life.