HSE International Student Support

Orientation Session for Freshmen FAQ Contacts

Culture Café: Russia

On February 6th, at the beginning of the new semester, we have resumed our regular Culture Cafes events. Traditionally, members of the ESN HSE Moscow told foreign students about their home country — Russia.

After briefly touching on the history of the country, our presenters, who are from different parts of the country (from Krasnodar Krai on the South to Sakhalin on the Far East) presented their own regions to the audience. The most popular talk was, of course, of Siberia. How to survive in the frost weather from 30 and below? Well, that was also answered during the presentation, so now, if our international students decide to visit this beautiful region in the winter, they will be able to survive. The information about the main places that everyone who goes to this harsh land should visit, like lake Baikal, was also provided to the students.

Then, we had a quiz. Students were asked to guess what is true about Russia and what is not. The audience did pretty well, what about you? Let’s check. Did you know that Russia and America are only 4 kilometers apart? Or that in Russia you can meet a wild bear at the entrance of a residential building? The winners took home some traditional sweets as their prizes.

It is hard to talk about Russia, without mentioning its history and nature, and it is even harder not to talk about it for hours, but we managed to touch on the main points of the Russian historical heritage from Russian Empire to the USSR and modern Russia, and also to show the most picturesque places of our country. And, of course, we did not forget to talk about the diversity of our flora and fauna.

This Cultural Cafe was not only informative, but also spiritual. Could it be any different when talking about Russia? It seemed to us that every listener, just for a minute, have been imbued with a mysterious Russian soul. Culture Café: Russia was great, but this is not the end of our travels to different places on Earth. Next time — other countries, other cultures, other presenters; the only thing that remains the same is the place — see you next time at HSE!

Text: Anna Malygina