Russian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, is the largest language in the Slavic language family. More people have Russian as their native language than any other language in Europe, and Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Today Russian is spoken by 170 million people, primarily in Russia, but also in former Soviet Republics such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakstan, Moldavia and Ukraine. There are sizeable Russian-speaking groups in several other European countries, as well as Israel and the United States. A number of classics of Western literature have been written in Russian, such as Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.
Russian is a relatively new subject at Högskolan Dalarna, which currently offers several courses at the preparatory level/beginner level/:
Russian for beginners I (7.5 higher education credits)
Russian for beginners II (7.5 hec)
Russian for beginners III (7.5 hec)
From Autumn 2011 Russian for Beginner I and II are offered as a 15 credits university course, RY1010.
After finishing Russian for beginners I &II and Russian for beginners III, a student is qualified to apply for the previously A-level courses, today's Undergraduate level I courses.
Business Russian for beginners I (7.5 hec)
Business Russianfor beginners II II (7.5 hec).
These courses are presently offered as halftime courses, both on campus and online. Russian for beginners I and II are offered fulltime during the summer term. Both English and Swedish are used as languages of instruction, making it possible for international students who do not know Swedish to take our courses.
We also offer several courses at the Undergraduate level I /formerly A-level/:
Russian I (15hec)
Russian I: Grammar (5 hec)
Post-Sovjet Russian Society (7.5 hec)
Introduction to Russian Film (7.5 hp)
History of Russian Culture and Ideas (10 hec)
Undergraduate Level I/formerly B-level/: (the courses are offered during the Spring term 2011 for the first time)
Russian II (15 hec)
Russian II: Grammar (5 hec)
Undergraduate level II /formerly C-level/: NEW COURSES!!! AUTUMN 2011
Russian III: Syntaxis (5 hec)
Russian III: Stylistics (5 hec)
Our courses in Russian focus on active, communicate language use. We select course material that is varied, up-to-date and gives insight into modern Russian culture and history. Upon completion of the course Russian for beginners III, you will be able to conduct simple conversations on a number of everyday topics. You will also understand enough grammar to be about to read simple texts with the help of a dictionary. Russian for beginners III is one of the prerequisites for study in Russian at the G1 level (formerly A-level).
Our online courses are comprised of scheduled online seminars in combination with recorded lectures and independent study. As there are no meetings on campus, it is possible to take these courses from anywhere in the world. The only technical equipment needed is a computer, an Internet connection, headset and web camera. You can read more about our online courses in Russian by clicking on the link Web-based courses – FAQ to the left.
Högskolan Dalarna does not grant Bachelor of Arts degrees with Russian as the main subject, or teaching degrees with a concentration in Russian, but we are in a constant process of development and more couses will come.
