Russian

High-level knowledge of Russian will give you a distinct advantage on the job market, whether in the UK, in Europe or elsewhere in the world. The changing geopolitical role of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 calls for expertise in the Russian Federation, Russophone regions and diasporas. Russian will give you access to the variety of cultures within the Russian Federation. Russian is also a Slavic language widely used as a means of communication throughout Eastern Europe, Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan) and in the South Caucasus region (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan). Those who have insight into these other cultures are in demand.

Our students develop a range of skills, in addition to the language, that are highly valued by employers, including communication, critical thinking, team-working and adaptability to a different culture.

Russian at QMUL is ranked  4^th in the UK for student satisfaction according to the Complete University Guide 2024.

Studying Russian at Queen Mary:

• Gives you a high level of spoken and written competence in the language
• Develops your ability to read analytically and write lucidly – fundamental transferable skills.
• Enhances your capacity to think deeply about cultures that are very different – this is interesting, enjoyable and sometimes surprising!
• Provides you with the opportunity to spend a semester or year abroad, in a country where Russian is widely spoken (Kazakhstan, Latvia and Estonia), which, as well as developing your knowledge of Russian, will give you interpersonal skills and demonstrate your adaptability and flexibility.
• Helps you, paradoxically, to understand yourself and your native language better through studying the structure of a different language and culture.

Graduates of Russian at QMUL have worked for Amnesty International, Ernst and Young, the British Council, secondary and higher education, the Civil Service etc. Among them are an immigration lawyer, a fiction writer, and a BBC journalist.

Find out how you can study Russian as part of our new BA in Modern Languages.

Our Russian undergraduate programmes also include:

Film Studies and Russian

Russian with Business Management

Russian and Comparative Literature

Russian and Linguistics

Russian and Politics

Liberal Arts

Russian Play

Every year students of Russian at QMUL produce a Russian language play, a tradition which has been on-going for more than fifty years. Usually students take care of everything, from directing and acting, to designing the sets and preparing publicity. Even students from the Beginners pathway are involved in acting. Performing lines is a great way to develop pronunciation and intonation, and it helps develop confidence in speaking. Students receive coaching from staff on how to articulate their lines. And of course, the play gives students a chance to put their leadership, interpersonal, and organisational skills to good use, all things that come in handy on the job market. Participating in the play also enables students to get to know one another across the year groups and creates a sense of community. Indeed, former students often return to watch the show.

In the academic year 2023-2024 we are staging a classic satirical novel "The Twelve Chairs" by Ilf and Petrov. If you are interested in coming to this year's play on the 21st or 22nd of March 2024, or bringing a group, please email Dr Nadezda Bragina n.bragina@qmul.ac.uk

Find out more

Ukranian Academic Visitors Scheme

From September 2023, we are introducing a Ukrainian Visiting Scholars scheme, to help students and the wider public to understand the issues surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Find out more

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