Staff Articles

I. Стивен Далил: <<Looking Forward to Summer Weekends >>

II. Джед Бурк : << Спорт в Грузии >>

III. Кэйт Беллами: << Интервью: Познакомьтесь Пожалуйста, с Нашей Преподавательницей Натальей Васильевной! >>

IV. Алина Узак: << Fall: Here and in Kazakhstan >>

V. Лорен Бреннан: << Growing into the REES Department >>

VI. Aлдрин Яшко: << The Role of Samizdat in the Soviet Union >>

VII. Сэмми Дженнингс: << How the Dialect of Surzhyk fits into Present and Future Ukraine: A Path for Peace or Division? >>

Looking Forward to Summer Weekends

Стивен Далил

Fortunately for me, learning about Ukraine became a routine part of my summer. Through a program called ENGin, each weekend I spoke virtually in English with two students who lived in Ukraine: Vlad and Nina. Both students were around my age and eager to practice their English. Since April, I have spent an hour speaking with Vlad every Saturday morning possible. Vlad loves to code, lives in Western Ukraine, and has many cats. I always try to check up on his cats during the start of our hour together. During these hours, we speak about a wide assortment of topics. One session we spent talking about Ukrainian fashion, during which I learned about the вишиванка, a traditional Ukrainian garment. My calendar is now marked for вишиванка день on the third Thursday of May, which falls on May 15th, 2025. In another session, I learned that Americans and Ukrainians alike love hot dogs in all forms. Rarely did we ever miss a session together because Vlad eagerly wanted to practice his English for his professional development.

The few times we missed sessions were memorable. The first time was for a celebratory reason; Vlad had gotten a job as a programmer! Hoorah! He was celebrating so hard that he missed our session. The next time was due to power outages in his town. The most recent time, in early August, was because Vlad had surgery. Fortunately, he was able to recover quickly and we were back on it. Currently, our weekly conversation hour revolves around films and movies. While I have been having weekly conversation hours with Vlad since April, I have only recently started to get to know Nina. Nina is a university student who is currently enrolled in a law program at a Ukrainian university. She has a cat that she likes to hold during our sessions, and she loves to listen to many of the same American artists that I listen to. When I signed on to begin tutoring Nina in July, I initially was met with many scheduling difficulties. Power outages wreaked havoc on the town where Nina lived, and Nina was one of the main providers for her family, so her family responsibilities took priority.

On a Sunday morning in August, two weeks after I had signed up to begin speaking to Nina, we had our first session. Quickly, Nina awed me with her English proficiency. She often used slang and loved to talk about social media. Each Sunday following, I learned more and more about pop culture in Ukraine. In one session, I was introduced to the Eurovision finalists Go_A and their song ШУМ, which you can listen to via the link below. In another session, I learned that American and Ukrainian eating habits are not all that different. Across all sessions, Nina often reminds me how awesome walkable communities are because Ukrainians do not need a car to go places. As I continue learning from these two students, the more I admire them. Despite the reminders of the war, both of my students have infectious smiles that make our hours spent together marvelous. Their smiles shine brightly even in the darkness from power outages. As I have more sessions with my students, I hope to share with everyone not just the cultural facts I learn about Ukraine, but also the spirit and joy of my students.

Спорт в Грузии

Джед Бурк

Этим летом, мы с несколькими сокурсниками ездили на стажировку в Тбилиси, Грузия, и всё было удивительно! В то же время (At the same time), когда мы находились в Грузии, произошел (occurred) очень важный момент в истории грузинского спорта. Сборная Грузии по футболу впервые квалифицировалась на чемпионат Европы UEFA. Мы смотрели матч чемпионата по телевизору, а также немного посмотрели игру вживую (live). Теперь, я расскажу вам немного о популярных видах спорта в Грузии.

Как в большинстве стран мира, самый популярный вид спорта в Грузии - футбол. Это не трудно понять, почему футбол так популярен: оборудование недорогое (inexpensive equipment), а правила простые. У Грузии есть своя национальная футбольная лига - Эвронули Лига. Самая успешная команда в этой лиге - Динамо Тбилиси, а ее соперник (opponent), Динамо Батуми, выиграл лигу в 2023. Но лучший грузинский футболист, Хвича Кварацхелия, играет за Наполи в Италии. В чемпионате Европы, в ночь 26 июня, сборная Грузии неожиданно (unexpectedly) победила сборную Португалии. Мы вместе с жителями Тбилиси пели, танцевали, и праздновали победу на улицах до 4 утра, и это было очень весело.

Когда мы на выходных ездили в город Батуми, у нас была возможность пойти на матч по регби между Грузией и Фиджи. Я играю в регби здесь, и был очень рад побывать на своем первом профессиональном матче. Фиджи выиграло, но все равно было весело сходить на матч и увидеть страсть грузинских фанатов. Это интересно, потому что регби не очень популярен в других бывших (former) странах СССР. Мой начальник мне рассказал, что регби напоминает традиционную игру под названием “лело бурти”. Сборная Грузии по регби стала умеренно (moderately) успешной в чемпионатах мира по регби после распада СССР, и я в будущем буду болеть за Грузию в международных чемпионатах!

Контактные виды спорта, как бокс, джудо, и ММА тоже популярны в Грузии и по всему Кавказу (Caucasus). В Тбилиси, я видел много реклам с Мерабом Двалишвили и Илией Топурия, так как они известные и удачные (successful) спортсмены по ММА. Мы с друзьями посетили (visited) чемпионат по ММА в Тбилиси, и увидели 12 боев (fights). Было интересно, но, честно говоря, я предпочитаю смотреть другие виды спорта. Интересно, что все медали, что Грузинские спортсмены выиграли на летних Олимпийских играх были по борьбе, джудо, боксу, и тяжелой атлетике (weightlifting). Может быть, это говорит что-то о грузинском спорте!

Летом, я узнал много о Грузинском спорте, культуре, политике, еде, вино, и т.д. Всё было очень весело, и я надеюсь на то, что я смогу вернуться когда-нибудь. Если вы будете путешествовать по Грузии, то я очень советую вам, сходить на спортивный матч. Культура и страсть (passion) там не сравниться (compared) ни где на земле!

Интервью: Познакомьтесь Пожалуйста, с Нашей Преподавательницей Натальей Васильевной!

Interview: Get to know Natalya Peretyatko, our new adjunct Lecturer!

Кэйт Беллами

Natalya Peretyatko is currently teaching Advanced Russian Conversation this fall, and in the Spring 2024 semester she taught her first course at William & Mary, Russian Media Culture.

Interviewer: Can you tell us a little about yourself, for those who may not have met you yet?

Natalya Peretyatko: I grew up in Almaty in Kazakhstan, and then later lived for three years in Heidelberg, Germany, and then moved to the US. I currently teach ages 2-17 at the Russian School of Hampton Roads, on both weekday and Saturday classes.

Interviewer: How did you end up teaching the Russian language?

Natalya Peretyatko: By accident, I had met a lady who had a daughter around my son’s age who was like “Oh you are Russian! We are starting a group for little kids, would you like to come?”, and I came and we started teaching them, and then when we moved here [to Hampton Roads], well, we had to continue teaching.

Interviewer: Could you tell us about where you went to University and what you studied?

Natalya Peretyatko: My first degree is an MD from a Medical State University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I studied basic medical topics and then went to specialize in pediatrics. I also have a degree in teaching for elementary school, but from Russia–so a Russian certificate.

Interviewer: Did you ever want to be a Pediatrician?

Natalya Peretyatko: Oh yes, a lot! That is why I recently did a certification for speech therapy for the Russian language because we have a lot of kids with speech problems. There is definitely a satisfying overlap between pediatrics and teaching. Even now we have kids coming [to visit the Russian School] who are not even one year old, but they will come to see the school since their parents are interested in joining.

Interviewer: How long have you been teaching at the Russian School?

Natalya Peretyatko: I have been teaching at the Russian school for 17 years now, and the first kids with whom we started, when they were three years old, graduated two years ago.

Interviewer: Do you have any important family traditions or cultural traditions that you celebrate?

Natalya Peretyatko: Well the New Years celebration for sure, and Mother’s Day (which is International Women’s Day), which we grew up with and is important for my children to know. The beginning of the school year (September 1st) was also important for them to know–a lot of these kinds of “feasts” which go together with the culture.

Interviewer: Do you speak any languages other than English and Russian?

Natalya Peretyatko: I am fluent in Italian, and I know some German but I have been forgetting how to speak because I have no one to talk with.

Interviewer: Have you ever been to Italy?

Natalya Peretyatko: Oh yes, we have relatives there. My husband is Italian and from Milan, and he came here for work, but he still has relatives in Italy.

Interviewer: Change of subject–since we talk a lot in class about films, do you have a favorite movie?

Natalya Peretyatko: I don’t really have a favorite film, it depends on my mood and with whom I am watching. I would maybe say the Russian Three Musketeers, or the Soviet Sherlock Holmes movies (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson), or children’s movies, because they have a lot of songs and action.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite book?

Natalya Peretyatko: Well, I don't really have a favorite one, but I have been recently reading a book about doping written by a former Soviet specialist who held a high position in a doping control committee in Moscow who then recently immigrated. In the book he writes about everything that was happening in that system both in the Soviet Union and internationally.

Interviewer: Are there any particular places in Almaty that you miss visiting?

Natalya Peretyatko: Yes! The mountains are my life basically–I suffer here a lot without the mountains around. The weather [in Almaty] is not similar to here at all, it is very dry and cold in winter, and also very hot in summer but with dry heat.

Interviewer: If you had any free time, what would you do with it?

Natalya Peretyatko: Probably go to the mountains! We have been camping in the Shenandoah several times, and if we go to another state we try to find mountains or a national park where we can hike and be in nature.

Interviewer: Do you have any advice for students currently studying Russian language?

Natalya Peretyatko: Try to find a group with which you can talk, try to use the language as much as you can. Of course reading and listening to music, podcasts, and watching movies are important, but talking is the main point.

Fall: Here and in Kazakhstan

Алина Узак

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. Growing up, I never had the appreciation for it that I have now, because it usually signified the end of the carefree summer. September 1st marks the beginning of the school year for all students in the Post-Soviet space. One interesting cultural and scientific difference I have noticed to seasons in the US and the Post-Soviet countries relates to the calendar. In the US, the change of seasons is tied to the most common equinox and solstice dates, which are March 20, June 21, and September 22. In the post-USSR countries, however, seasons change on the first of the month. The first day of spring is March 1, the first day of summer is June 1, the first day of fall is September 1, and the first day of the winter is December 1. I still think of seasons in this way because I grew up like this and also feel that weather changes align better with these calendar dates of seasons. Regardless of the debated start date, now that I have grown up, fall isn't as dreadful of a season as it was before, so I wanted to reminisce on what fall felt like for me growing up in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is a place with all four seasons, so the weather in the fall starts cooling down rather quickly in preparation for the winter. People start to wear jackets around the middle of September. Leaves start to turn yellow around the same time. All summer activities slowly come to an end, specifically gardening and harvesting. The culture of a dacha, which can be thought of as a secondary home where people spend summers, is very big in the Post-Soviet space. Dachas are usually a home with a rather big piece of land attached to it for purposes of gardening and small-scale farming. My grandparents are very involved in their dacha; fall is therefore a busy season for them with the clean-up process post-summer and harvest collection/storage. Nowadays, with improved technology and world-wide logistical channels, fresh fruit and vegetables are more easily accessible in the winter months around the world. However, back during the Soviet times, there was almost no access to fresh fruit and vegetables during the cold months, making people attempt to preserve and store fresh produce from the summer. Many, including my grandparents, still can vegetables and make homemade pickles, pickled tomatoes, as well as all sorts of fruit preserves and jams. Similarly, lots of people have a pogreb, which is essentially a man-made underground storage unit used for storing fresh fruit and vegetables to last into the winter time. The underground tends to be cooler and has no direct sunlight, making the storage conditions more favorable. The fall, as you can tell, can be a very busy season for Post-Soviet folks. After moving to the US, I have come to appreciate the fall spirit of pumpkins, seasonal food items and Halloween, which is not something I grew up with. I really appreciate the opportunity to see fall from two different perspectives, on two different sides of the globe and celebrate one of my favorite seasons in so many ways.

Growing into the REES Department

Лорен Бреннан

The process of finding one’s particular niche is unique to every individual. For me, it came through being involved with my high school newspaper. Although I had been involved in newspapers since middle school, I began to take them much more seriously in high school. I worked my way up from a staff writer in my first year to editor-in-chief in my senior year. My niche at that point was world events. I constantly read the news, trying to make sense of an ever-changing world. I remember focusing on the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and watching the humanitarian efforts that are still active today. I chose William & Mary for various reasons, especially the prestige of the Government department. However, little did I know that the department I would become the most involved in would be the one that paralleled my high school news stories: Russian.

I first dipped my toe into the Russian department via Beginner Russian 101. While the language itself is fascinating, what sealed the deal for me was the cultural events that Bella Feliksovna had us attend. The cooking classes with Sasha Orlova, the movies from upper-level students, and the guest speakers led me to declare Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies as my second major. The department doesn’t include only one topic of study. I’ve now taken classes in almost every subsection of the department: History, Politics, Language, Culture, and Film. While my specific area of interest within the department is the political side, taking classes in every section has allowed me to understand the motivations of different political actions occurring in the region.

It’s not often that you have classes with the same people every semester, but when you do, it turns into a family. I’ve met some of my best friends in the REES department, and I’m proud to say that this department has turned into a home for me and many students alike.

The Role of Samizdat in the Soviet Union

Aлдрин Яшко

How can ideas be spread in a heavily censored society? Despite the best efforts of authoritarian governments, individuals often find ways to facilitate the free transmission of information. In the Soviet Union, dissidents and intellectuals cultivated an underground intellectual environment through the creation and distribution of samizdat texts. Samizdat became a critical conduit for Soviet thinkers to express their creativity and opinions away from the scrutiny of the state.

Information restrictions came into force soon after the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917. A “Decree on the Press” was announced to restrict media organizations that “incited open resistance or disobedience” or spread “a calumnious distortion of the facts” (Zaslavsky, 288). In 1922 the Soviet government created the General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press, with the Russian acronym shortened to Gavlit (Zaslavsky, 288). The Directorate maintained surveillance over all types of publishers and used a combination of ideological and legal pressure to ensure compliance (Zaslavsky, 290).

This pressure would be maintained for most of the Soviet Union’s existence. However, Soviet writers found a novel method of circumventing official censorship soon after the death of Stalin in 1953 (Komaromi, “Samizdat”). Authors began to secretly circulate their manuscripts among friends. If a person enjoyed the manuscript, they would make a copy on their own typewriter and disseminate that copy among their own social network. Thus, compelling works could enjoy widespread dissemination among networks of intellectuals and dissidents (Von Zitzewitz 12). This practice came to be known as samizdat, which combines the Russian words sam, or “self”, and izdatelstvo, or “publishing” (“Samizdat”). Samizdat literature was characterized by its “unofficial” nature; copied manuscripts were often rife with errors made by individual typists. Such errors came to be valued by readers as they distinguished the literature from its official censured counterpart (Ryan).

Samizdat quickly became an outlet for all types of written expression, including famous literary works (Komaromi). Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago was originally repudiated by Soviet press authorities, who refused to publish the book. Instead, Pasternak’s work was secretly smuggled into the Soviet Union in piece-meal sections (“Doctor Zhivago”). Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s exposé on the Soviet prison system, The Gulag Archipelago, was originally distributed as samizdat in the early 1970s before being published internationally in 1974 (Applebaum). Underground publications were also established to comment on societal and political issues. Natalya Gorbanevskaya founded the Chronicle of Current Events, a secret samizdat bulletin dedicated to exposing human rights abuses by the state. Poets also “self-published” their work and experimented with styles beyond those approved by the government (Komaromi).

After the collapse and breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, information environments in former Soviet countries generally became more open, at least temporarily, and the need for samizdat receded (“Samizdat”). In its time, samizdat served to challenge official narratives and introduce fresh literary and sociopolitical ideas in a heavily restricted society (Ryan). However, the need to maintain the flow of censorship-free information still exists today wherever government repression remains entrenched.

Works Cited:

Applebaum, Anne. “Inside the Gulag.” 15 June 2000, www.anneapplebaum.com/2000/06/15/inside-the-gulag/.

“‘Doctor Zhivago’ Wins Nobel Prize, Soviets Force Author Pasternak to Refuse the Honor | October 23, 1958.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pasternaks-dr-zhivago-appears-in-the-united-states.

Komaromi, Ann. “About Samizdat.” Project for the Study of Dissidence and Samizdat, samizdat.library.utoronto.ca/content/about-samizdat.

Ryan, Sean. Samizdat, Macalester, www.macalester.edu/russian-studies/about/resources/miscellany/samizdat/. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

“Samizdat.” Encyclopædia Britannica, www.britannica.com/technology/samizdat#:~:text=samizdat%2C%20(from%20Russian%20sam%2C,practices%20of%20the%20Soviet%20government.

Von Zitzewitz, Josephine. The Culture of Samizdat: Literature and Underground Networks in the Late Soviet Union. Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.

Zaslavsky, Victor. “Censorship in the Soviet Union.” Society, vol. 59, no. 3, 26 May 2022, pp. 288–294, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-022-00721-z.

How the Dialect of Surzhyk fits into Present and Future Ukraine: A Path for Peace or Division?

Сэмми Дженнингс

The dialect known as Surzhyk or “суржик” is a language spoken in certain regions of Ukraine that simplistically combines features of both Russian and Ukrainian. It has long been considered a dialect spoken solely within the home or close-knit villages. This is because of two reasons. Firstly, this language isn’t as commonly spoken as Ukrainian or Russian, although its prevalence varies by region. A study done at Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that only around 11 to 18 percent of people in Ukraine were able to speak Surzhyk. In 2003, it was further recorded that the central and northern regions of Ukraine had a greater number of Surzhyk speakers than the western, eastern, and southern regions.

The second reason that this dialect isn’t very commonly spoken is due to the stigma around the history of using this dialect as a primary form of communication. In fact, researchers have stated that the numbers of Surzhyk speakers could be much greater than recorded due to underreporting in surveys. But where did this stigma come from, and why is this dialect considered so controversial?

Simply, even the name “Surzhyk” hints to this controversy; “surzhyk” was the name to describe a lower-quality flour used in cooking. It was widely understood that speaking any sort of “mixed language” or Ukrainian was less worthy than speaking Russian pre-independence. What is known as “village Surzhyk” arose due to Russian imperial influence in some Ukrainian regions, typically as Russians took positions of authority in these communities. Speaking Surzhyk was a way for Ukrainian villagers to communicate with these Russians, while also adapting to what was considered the more “civilized” language. During the 19th century, this “mixed language Surzhyk” became common due to the heavy assimilation of Russian language and culture into Ukraine. Ukrainian continued to be spoken at home and around town inconspicuously, but it was never an official language. After the collapse of the Russian Empire, Ukrainians pushed for true independence, but these efforts were curbed after Ukraine forcibly became a part of the Soviet Union in 1922. During the Soviet era, a “sovietized Surzhyk” dialect became common across many regions due to the mandated learning of Russian in schools and businesses, especially after Stalin’s Russification policies in the 1930s mandated changing Ukrainian words to make them sound more Russian. Lastly, the concept of “post-independence Surzhyk” came out of a newly independent Ukraine; Ukrainian was finally made the official language but many continued to speak Russian and Surzhyk.

As we can see from the history of Surzhyk, the story of Russian influence trying to dismantle Ukrainian sovereignty is not a new consequence of Putin’s attempt to reestablish Russian control over Ukraine. In fact, the politics behind the Surzhyk dialect are just as relevant today as it ever was. The historical narrative behind Surzhyk is all about the battle for Ukrainian language and legitimacy. This dialect could have the potential to serve as a powerful force of unity through the acceptance of Ukrainian dialects in a post-war world. However, as we could see from historical legacy, the use of Surzhyk could simultaneously serve as a marker of everything Ukrainians have been trying to fight since the beginning – the right to language, independence, and identity. In this light, it is understandable that some would want to leave Surzhyk in the past. More realistically, this dialect isn’t going away anytime soon due to decades upon decades of its use in the home and among close-knit communities. The true power lies in recognizing the significance of the relationship between language and identity and respecting a country’s sovereignty and culture, while understanding the choice to value one’s traditions.

Figure 1.1: Regional Breakdown of Surzhyk (2003)

Figure 1.2 Stalin’s Russification of Ukrainian Words

Works Cited:

Areta. “Forgotten Galicia - The Vanishing Galician Lexicon and How It Lingers in the Diaspora.” Forgotten Galicia (blog), August 14, 2017. https://forgottengalicia.com/the-lexicon-of-the-third-wave-ukrainian-diaspora/.

Khmelko V. E., “LINGUISTIC AND ETHNIC STRUCTURE OF UKRAINE:

REGIONAL FEATURES AND TRENDS OF CHANGES OVER THE YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE”, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, https://kiis.com.ua/materials/articles_HVE/16_linguaethnical.pdf

“Surzhyk: The Sociopolitical Significance of Ukrainian-Russian Mixed Language | Wilson Center.” March, 10, 2002. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/surzhyk-the-sociopolitical-significance-ukrainian-russian-mixed-language.

The Kyiv Independent. “How Russia Has Attempted to Erase Ukrainian Language, Culture throughout Centuries,” May 9, 2023. https://kyivindependent.com/how-russia-has-attempted-to-erase-ukrainian-language-culture-throughout-centuries/.

Regional Breakdown of Surzhyk (2003)

Stalin’s Russification of Ukrainian Words