Russian Studies   Tags: foreign_languages, russian, russian_language, russian_literature, slavic, slavic_languages, slavic_literatures  

Know a site or book that you'd like to share? Add your suggestion below and help improve this Subject Guide.

  

Submit

Welcome to the Slavic Languages and Literatures research guide. Although Washington University no longer has an SLL program, language and comparative literature courses continue to be offered. This guide can help you access article databases, electronic resources, and Slavic-language materials in the library.

Like most library databases, Wash U’s online catalog cannot easily support searches using the Cyrillic alphabet (although steps are being taken in that direction). Most Slavic-language titles, therefore, are represented in Roman characters. In order to find information in Cyrillic, users must search in Roman characters using a consistent transliteration system. Most library resources in the United States use the Romanization tables developed by the Library of Congress.

Racism, unemployment, aggression, excess—the USSR’s animation studios frequently took aim at these aspects of American culture. Representing five decades of animated Soviet propaganda, this program features short films that blast the United States and its perceived evils. Black and White and Mister Twister extol the absence of bigotry in Soviet society, while Someone Else’s Voice portrays jazz as an enemy of the people. Ave Maria condemns America’s presence in Vietnam and the influence of the Catholic church, and The Shooting Range underscores the violence behind economic and class divisions. Seven films total, plus commentary from Russian State Film School professor Igor Kokarev, director/artist Vladimir Tarasov, and Dr. Sonia Marshak, great-granddaughter of the acclaimed Soviet poet. (106 minutes) Portions are in Russian with English subtitles.