Tysyachi_po_anglyskomu

We must save russian culture

"The great aim of culture is the aim of setting ourselves to ascertain what perfection is to make it to prevail. "

The development of culture is inseparably linked with the development of a country. It is known that there is no genuine culture without an appreciation of both beauty and its content. An artist, a sculptor, a writer should be a fighter for the lofty ideas of the day. At present when commerce has penetrated into all spheres of mass culture leading to actual destruction of national culture it is necessary to protect and to develop it (national culture). It is vital to preserve an art and culture of a high standard, to care for national culture. No cultural, historical and other monuments of a nation should be destroyed. One must defend national culture from the corrupting influence of mass pseudoculture and develop one's own cultural values. There should be a cross-cultural exchange giving way to human nature of the Russian culture opposing the penetration of the so-called Western mass culture to this country.

There are many theatres in our country.Modern theatres are mainly concentrated in Moscow, St.Petersburg and other big cities. Outside these big cultural centres a lot of small towns have playhouses. Some theatres receive a government grant.

Provincial "music hall" or variety theatre has had a difficult time because of the crisis in economy. Some town authorities manage to support them. Although provincial towns provide rather slight opportunities for going to the theatre, amateur dramatics are flourishing. Orchestral concerts are given regularly in big cities by several first-class orchestras, which are based there. For example, in Moscow there are the State Symphony Orchestra, the President Orchestra and "Virtuosi" conducted by B.Spivakov. In summer in big parks of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg they organize "promenade concerts" each night outdoors so as to allow a very large number of people to hear the concerts sitting or standing in the "promenade" without any charge for admission. Many famous orchestras give regular concerts abroad and visit other places to give concerts.

Local authorities have been responsible for the development of festivals of art in recent years. The well-known Chaikovsky's musical festival is held in Moscow, Shalapin festival of the best Russian operas is held in Kazan. M.Plisetskaja festival is held every year in St. Petersburg to find talented ballet dancers.

From about 1930 until very recent times the cinema enjoyed immense popularity in Russia. More recently the rapid spread of TV has brought a great change. During last 15 years many cinemas were closed. Most films shown are from Hollywood. It may be difficult to go to the theatre or to the cinema, but people, who stay at home, have an opportunity for seeing good plays produced for TV. Dancing is very popular with our youth nowadays.

IN THE END.The optimist about the Russians says: "Hope for the best!" The realist expects something else entirely. It is beyond doubts Russia will overcome all difficulties. There will be no failure, this is not to be. There must not be a shadow of a doubt. Russia went through many hardships. We shall overcome all hardships.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

RUSSIAN STATE INSIGNIA

As a state symbol two-headed eagle first appeared in Russia, those times Moscovia, in the XVth century. It came from Byzantium with Sophia Paleologue, member of the last Byzantine Emperor dynasty, who became the wife of Ivan III, the Great Duke of Moscow.

Two-headed eagle remained the symbol of the Russian Monarchy and the Russian State for more than four hundred years, till the October Revolution of 1917, and regained its status in 1993 according to the order of President Boris Yeltsin of November 30, 1993.

There are different interpretations of this symbol. The most common version says that two heads of the eagle symbolize that Russia consists of two parts- European and Asian, and that they are of equal importance for the country.

The State insignia survived some changes during the pre-revolutionary history of Russia, though these changes were not too much significant. When the old Rurik dynasty ended in the XVIIth century and Romanovs came to power,the two-headed eagle remained the symbol of Russia, though three crowns were added to its top. They were to embody the unity of the three nations - Russians,Ukrainians and Belorussians.

The existing three-color Russian national flag was adopted by the Order of President Boris Yeltsin of December 11,1993, replacing its Soviet-time red and blue predecessor. According to the Constitution, "the national flag of the Russian Federation consists of three equal horizontal stripes - white, blue and red'.

This is for the third time this three-color flag has become the national symbol. The first ruler to introduce it was Peter the Great, who on January 20, 1705 ordered to raise this flag as a trade banner on all Russian ships on Moscow,Volga and Dvina rivers. In those times the lower red stripe symbolized the Earth, the blue stripe - the sky, and the upper white stripe meant the realms of the God. At the same time, according to the Russian tradition, white color meant nobility, blue -honesty, red - courage and love.

In the XlXth century the three stripes on the flag were thought to embody the unity of three dominant Slavic nations of the Russian State - Russians,Ukrainians and Belorussians. Beginning from the middle of the century the three-color flag gradually acquired the status of the national symbol. In 1856 during the Paris Congress, where the peace treaty to formalize the end of the Crimea war was negotiated, the red, blue and white banner was used as the national flag of the Russian Empire.

But it still had to come through a tough competition with a black, yellow and white Emperor's banner, which was proclaimed the Russian national flag by the order of the Tsar Alexander II of June 11, 1858. For the following 25 years like throughout the entire XVIIIth century the red, blue and white flag was used only as a trade streamer. But after Alexander II was assassinated,the new Emperor, Alexander III, reconsidered the matter. Before the Coronation ceremony the Interior Minister Count Tolstoy submitted both flags for the Emperor's consideration, and Alexander chose the red, blue and white one. So, this banner regained the status of the national flag and retained it till the October Revolution of 1917.

After the Revolution it was replaced by the Soviet Red Banner. Russian Federation, as the part of the USSR, got its own flag, which was, however,very much alike - red with a thin blue vertical stripe, and gold star, hammer and sickle in the upper left comer. Only 76 years later the old three-color flag became again the national flag of the Russian Federation.

COAT OF ARMS OF RUSSIA.

The Russian coat of arms had been changed many times during the last century, as well as the state banner. Now there is a golden double-headed eagle on the red field. Above the eagle's heads there three crowns symbolizing the sovereignty of the Russian Federation. The eagle is holding a sceptre and an orb - the old symbols of the state power and unity. In the centre of the coat of arms one can see a horseman striking a dragon. This is George the Victor, who is considered to be the saint protector of Russia.

The Russian Coat of Arms comes from the old Russian Empire, and it was restored after the fall of the Soviet Union. Even if it has undergone several modifications since the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505), the current Coat of Arms is directly derived from the various precedent versions. The general chromatic layout corresponds to the early XVth century standard. The shape of the eagle can be traced back to the times of Peter the Great (Peter I). The two major symbolic elements of Russian state symbols (the two-headed eagle and St. George slaying the dragon) predate Peter the Great. The Great State Seal of Ivan III,Duke of Moscow, featured a horse rider slaying a (or struggling with) a dragon.The figure was not officially identified as Saint George until 1730, when it was described as such in an Imperial decree. The older form (a mounted dragon slayer known as Saint George the Victory-bearer) was always associated with the Grand Duchy of Moscovy, later becoming the official arms of the city of Moscow. The earliest graphic representation of a rider with a spear (1390) figures in a seal of the prince of Moscow, Vasiliy Dmitriyevich. The serpent or dragon was added under Ivan III. Saint George henceforth became the patron of Moscow (and, by extension, of Russia). Today, the official description does not refer to the rider on the central shield as representing Saint George, mainly in order to maintain the secular character of the modem Russian state.

The double-headed eagle was adopted by Ivan III after his marriage with the Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologue, whose uncle Constantine was the last Byzantine Emperor. The double-headed eagle was the official state symbol of the late Byzantine Empire, spanning both East and West. It, amongst other aspects, symbolized the unity of Church and State. After the Fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, Ivan III and his heirs considered Moscovy (Moscow) to be the last stronghold of the true, orthodox, Christian faith, and in effect, the last Roman Empire (hence the expression "Third Rome" for Moscow and – by extension - for the whole of Imperial Russia). From 1497 on the double-headed eagle proclaimed a Russian sovereignty equal to that of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The first remained evidence of the double-headed eagle officialised as an emblem of Russia is on the great prince's seal, stamped in 1497 on a Charter of share and allotment of independent princes' possessions. At the same time the image of gilded double-headed eagle on red background appeared on the walls of the Palace of Facets in the Kremlin.

Under the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Feodorovich, the image of the coat of arms changed. In 1625 the double-headed eagle was adorned with three crowns for the first time. Through time, the latter have alternatively been interpreted at the conquered kingdoms of Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia, or as the unity of Grand Russia (Russia), Little Russia (today's Ukraine) and White Russia (Belarus). Today, the imperial crowns stand for the unity and sovereignty of Russia both as a whole and in its subdivisions (republics and regions). The orb and sceptre are traditional heraldic symbols of sovereign power and autocracy. It has been decided to retain them in the modern Coat of Arms of Russia despite the fact that the Russian Federation is not a monarchy,which led to objections by the Communists. However, after having lost both the blue band of the Order of St. Andrew supporting the three crowns and the corresponding Chain surrounding Moscow's shield, the modern Coat of Arms of Russia was (re-)instated by decree in 1993, and the corresponding law act was paraphed by President Vladimir Putin on December 20, 2000.

MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY (MSU).

MSU is one of the oldest Russian institutions of higher education, it was established in 1755. In 1940 it was named after Academician Mikhail Lomonosov, an outstanding Russian scientist, who greatly contributed to the establishment of the university in Moscow.

Moscow State University is a major traditional educational institution in Russia, it offers training in almost all branches of modern science and humanities. Its undergraduates may choose one of 57 qualifications, while doctoral students may specialize in 168 different areas. The total number of MSU students exceeds 40,000; besides, about 10,000 high school students attend various clubs and courses at MSU.

Among those who teach at MSU there are 2,500 higher doctoral degree holders and almost 6,000 holders of doctoral degrees, almost 1,000 full professors and 2,000 associate professors. The total number of full members and correspondent members of the Russian Academy of Sciences is about 300. About 5,000 scientists and scholars are currently involved in 310 research projects in various fields.

The Moscow State University comprises 29 faculties and over 350 departments,15 research institutes, 4 museums, the Science Park, the Botanical Gardens,the Library, the University Publishing House and printing shop, a recreational centre and a boarding school for talented children.

From the engineering and operational point of view Moscow University campus, with its 1,000 buildings and structures, 8 dormitories and 300 km of utility lines, is an extremely complex system. Nevertheless, this system is being modernized and developed. According to the plan, approved by the government, a number of new buildings are to be erected in the area adjacent to the campus on Vorobievy Gory. There will be new blocks for a few faculties and research laboratories, a library, a swimming pool, a stadium, a recreation centre, some services.

The historical, philological, sociological faculties and the faculties of economics, journalism and psychology offer programmes with evening classes;the Faculty of Journalism offers a correspondence degree programme. Undergraduate students complete 5- or 6- year course of study, which varies at different faculties and for different programmes.

The students in most MSU programmes do not pay their tuition, but 15% of students whose tuition is not covered by the government funding have to pay fees. Accommodation in MSU dormitories is provided for those students who are not residents of Moscow.

According to the MSU Charter, The MSU Student Board is a form of student government, coordinating various aspects of campus life and activities.

THE BAUMAN MOSCOW STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY,BAUMAN MSTU.

Bauman MSTU sometimes colloquially referred to as the Bauman School or Baumanka is a public university located in Moscow, Russia. Bauman MSTU is one of the oldest and largest Russian technical university offering B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in various engineering fields and applied sciences.

University today. Founded in 1830 as an Emperor's Vocational School and located almost in the heart of Russia's capital, Moscow State Technical University n.a. N.E. Bauman (MSTU) was always known as an Engineering University of educational excellence, having a potential for real greatness. A longterm history of University provides many examples of creating a number of the world-known scientific schools which contributed to developing in different fields such as space engineering, heating engineering, biophysics, aerodynamics, radio physics, radio electronics, optics, laser technology, dynamics and strength of machines. The University has an outstanding faculty of 3,500 men and women, many of whom are recognized for their scholarship. It numbers 350 Doctors of Science and 1,800 Ph.D.s. Presently there are approximately 18,000 students, concentrating their studies in science and engineering, and 1,000 post graduates, working on their Ph.D. thesises at MSTU. The most-stated reason for them to enter here was the University's academic reputation.The University provides close cooperation activities with Russian Academy of Sciences and Industry. Opportunities offered by MSTU attracted more than 300 international students from 20 countries all over the world. According to MSTU curriculum, its academic offerings are: bachelor's degree programs,master's programs, Ph.D. programs, pre-University programs, and internship.All training programs meet state educational standards and carry national accreditation. Graduates of all degrees earn appropriate certificates. MSTU curriculum offers a distinctive approach to education by combining the academic studies with fundamental and applied researches and design and experimental works, using a potential of appropriate Research Institutes set up for each Faculty of the University. The oldest Russian Technical University, one of today's leading centers of higher education invites you to study and offers a mutually advantageous cooperation in many fields of science and technology. From 1918 to 2007 more than 140,000 students graduated with different engineering degrees. Most of them chose to become scientists or engineers in the leading research centers, Universities, private and government owned companies.Some of the specialized departments of BMSTU are located outside Moscow in cities of Moscow County: Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Korolev. There is also a largest branch of the University in Kaluga.

History. The university was established in 1830 as Imperial Vocational School by a decree of Emperor Nicholas I. It was renamed in 1868 as Imperial Moscow Technical School, then after the 1917 revolution to Moscow Highest Technical School (MHTS). A number of research institutes such as TsAGI were created from laboratories and departments of MHTS in 1930. The remaining school was named Bauman Moscow Mechanical and Machine Construction Institute. The name MHTS was revived in 1943. The current name was given in 1989.

Faculties and their Departments. There are radioelectronics and laser technology, fundamental sciences, materials and technology, special machinery,power engineering, informatics and control systems, engineering business and management.

Special facuties include:

• radiotechnology

• rocket and space technology

• opitico-electronic equipment

• instrument engineering

• air and space

MOSCOW STATE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (MGIMO-UNIVERSITY).

The Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia — MGIMO-University — is a large university complex which preserves its role of a unique study centre, the authority of which is high not only in our country, but also beyond its boundaries. The training in the fields and specialities in the sphere of international relations,political sciences, global economy, law, management, journalism and public relations is provided by 54 departments of six schools and four institutes and is given by more than 150 professors (holding a "Doctor of Sciences" degree),more than 400 holders of "Candidate of Sciences" degree, 300 associate professors and almost 400 highly skilled faculty and members, including over two dozen full and correspondent members of the Russian Academy of Sciences and various specialised Russian and international academies, nine Merited scientists of Russia. All this is sure to provide a high pedagogical and academic level of student training.

At present MGIMO has completed the transition to the multi-level system of education accepted world-wide, including a four-year training of Bachelors allowing for further education towards a Master's degree.

The system of teaching at MGIMO is based on a curriculum, the fulfilment of which is a mandatory condition for receiving a higher education diploma for all students. Such curricula have been worked out for each section, field and specialisation in which training is provided. They include the study of two foreign languages and courses in general humanities, socio-economics, mathematics and sciences in the field of studies forming the basis of our graduate's university education, as well as those in the field of specialisation chosen by the students.

Besides this mandatory curriculum, provided it is fulfilled, the student may opt for elective courses or study additional languages. There are the most extensive possibilities for comprehensive education — in the course of studies the students use the shared university training facilities and laboratory base; the Scientific library of MGIMO, 7 computer classes, Internet class, multimedia class, linguaphone rooms, chair laboratories.

Starting from 1994 the number of educational programs at various levels has increased by more than three times, while the number of students (including post-graduate students, interns and part-time students) has doubled. In 1994 the University had only 8 programmes of higher professional educations.By 2004 there were 24 educational programmes of professional training – a total of 63 specializations.

Further growth of the whole spectrum of educational programs is expected due to the creation of new Master's programmes, courses of further training,"second higher education" joint educational programmes with foreign universities, including those belonging to the European University Association, as well as due to new BA programmes.

MOSCOW AVIATION INSTITUTE (MAI).

Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) was founded in 1930 when institutions which specialized in aviation became advanced enough to join into one aircraft engineering education center.

Until the present time, the development of Russian aviation and astronautics was based mostly on the activities of institute professors and alumni.

The designers Tupolev A.N. (class "TU" aircraft), Mikoyan A.I. (class "MIG" aircraft), Jakovlev A.S. (class "JAK" aircraft) were the first Institute professors. Well-known academicians, scientists and several astronauts number amongst MAI alumni.

Moscow Aviation Institute is a large scientific research center. Significant scientific ideas are developed here; new technological principles are discovered; new devices are invented and constructed. Five fundamental scientific discoveries for dynamic systems have been patented; the optoelectronic device "Photon" designed here is now operating in outer space; innovative power sources based on new principles invented and constructed here are currently used in aircraft and aerospace system units, etc.

All University staff and students can join this work in the creation or the design of new devices, and even new flying vehicles; 14 types of them are wide world known for 6 records in aviation sports. Recently the new superlight small-size aircraft " Aviatica" was designed and constructed in MAI by staff and students. This aircraft is now indispensable for certain conditions and thus is in very great demand in this country and abroad.

The total of Moscow Aviation Institute alumni number in the hundreds of thousands. They work in design offices, plants, repair shops, scientific research institutes, universities, laboratories, aviation companies, in the Center for Cosmonauts Training and other aircraft and aerospace engineering and technological institutions.

Currently MAI is a large educational and scientific center with approximately 2,000 professors and tutors, 4,000 research officers, engineers and personnel, and 14,000 students.

In 1993 Moscow State Aviation Institute was given one more name "University of Aerospace Technologies".

MOSCOW INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY [MIPT].

MIPT is the leading Russian university, originally established in the Soviet Union. It prepares specialists in theoretical and applied physics, applied mathematics, and related disciplines. It is sometimes referred to as "the Russian MIT."

MIPT is famous in the countries of the former Soviet Union, but is less known abroad. This is largely due to the specifics of the MIPT educational process (see "Phystech System" below). University rankings such as "The Times Higher Education Supplement" are based primarily on publications and citations. With its emphasis on practical research in the educational process, MIPT "outsources" education and research beyond the first two or three years to institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences. MIPT's own faculty is relatively small, and many of its distinguished lectors are visiting professors from those institutions. Student research is typically performed outside of MIPT, and research papers do not identify the authors as MIPT students.This effectively hides MIPT from the academic radar, an effect not unwelcome during the Cold War era when leading scientists and engineers of the Soviet arms and space programs studied there.

History. In late 1945 and early 1946, a group of prominent Soviet scientists,including in particular the future Nobel Prize winner Pyotr Kapitsa, lobbied the government for the creation of a higher educational institution radically different from the type established in the Soviet system of higher education. Applicants, carefully selected by challenging examinations and personal interviews,would be taught by, and work together with, prominent scientists. Each student would follow a personalized curriculum created to match his or her particular areas of interest and specialization. This system would later become known as the "Phystech System".

In a letter to Stalin in February 1946, Kapitsa argued for the need for such a school, which he tentatively called the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, to better maintain and develop the country's defense potential. The institute would follow the principles outlined above, and was supposed to be governed by a board of directors of the leading research institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences. On March 10, 1946, the government issued a decree mandating the establishment of a "College of Physics and Technology".

For unknown reasons, the initial plan came to a halt in the summer of 1946.The exact circumstances are not documented, but the common assumption is that Kapitsa's refusal to participate in the atomic bomb project, and his disfavor with the government and communist party that followed, cast a shadow over an independent school based largely on his ideas. Instead, a new government decree was issued on November 25, 1946 establishing the new school as a Department of Physics and Technology within Moscow State University. November 25 is celebrated as the date of MIPT's founding.

Kapitsa foresaw that within a traditional educational institution, the new school would encounter bureaucratic obstacles, but even though Kapitsa's original plan to create the new school as an independent organization did not come to fruition exactly as envisioned, its most important principles survived intact. The new Department enjoyed considerable autonomy within Moscow State University. Its facilities were in Dolgoprudny (the two buildings it occupied are still part of the present day campus), away from the MSU campus. It had its own independent admissions and education system, different from the one centrally mandated for all other universities. It was headed by the MSU "vice rector for special issues"- a position created specifically to shield the department from the University management.

As Kapitsa expected, the special status of the new school with its different "rules of engagement" caused much consternation and resistance within the university. The immediate cult status that Phystech gained among talented young people, drawn by the challenge and romanticism of working on the forefront of science and technology, and on projects of "government importance," many of them classified, made it an untouchable rival of every other school in the country,including MSU's own Department of Physics. At the same time, the increasing disfavor of Kapitsa with the government (in 1950 he was essentially under house arrest), and anti-semitic repressions of the late 40's made Phystech an easy target of intrigues and accusations of "elitism" and "rootless cosmopolitanism." In the summer of 1951, the Phystech department at MSU was shut down.

A group of academicians, backed by Air Force general Ivan Fedorovich Petrov, who was a Phystech supporter influential enough to secure Stalin's personal approval on the issue, succeeded in reestablishing Phystech as an independent institute. On September 17, 1951, a government decree reestablished Phystech as the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Apart from Kapitsa, other prominent scientists who taught at MIPT in the years that followed included Nobel prize winners Nikolay Semyonov, Lev Landau, Alexandr Prokhorov, Vitaly Ginzburg; and Academy of Sciences members Sergey Khristianovich, Mikhail Lavrentiev, Mstislav Keldysh, Sergey Korolyov, and Boris Rauschenbach.

The Phystech System. The principles of the Phystech System, as outlined by Kapitsa in his 1946 letter arguing for the founding of MIPT:

• Rigorous selection of gifted and creative young individuals.

• Involving leading scientists in student education, in close contact with them in their creative environment.

• An individualized approach to encourage the cultivation of students' creative drive, and to avoid overloading them with unnecessary subjects and rote learning common in other schools and necessitated by mass education.

• Conducting their education in an atmosphere of research and creative engineering, using the best existing laboratories in the country.

In its implementation, the Phystech System combines hquot;Times New Romanighly competitive admissions, extensive fundamental education in mathematics, as well as theoretical and experimental physics in the undergraduate years, and immersion in research work at leading research institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences starting as early as the second or third year.

Departments. The institute has ten departments, with an average of 80 students admitted annually into each, namely: Radio engineering and cybernetics, general and applied physics, aerophysics and space research, molecular and biological physics, physical and quantum electronics, aeromechanics and flight engineering, control and applied mathematics, problems of physics and power engineering, innovation and high technology, nano technology and informatics.

Admissions. Most students apply to MIPT immediately after graduating from high school at age 17. Child prodigies are occasionally admitted at a younger age after skipping grades in school. Because admission is competitive, some of those who are not admitted reapply in subsequent years.

Traditionally, applicants were required to take written and oral exams in both mathematics and physics, write an essay, and have an interview with the faculty. The interview has always been an important part of the selection process. Sometimes an applicant with lower exam grades could be admitted, and one with higher grades rejected, based solely on the interview results.

In recent years, oral exams have been eliminated, but the interview remains an important part of the selection process.

The strongest performers in national physics and mathematics competitions and IMO/IPhO participants are granted admission without exams, subject only to the interview.

In accordance with the traditions of the Soviet education system, education at MIPT is free for most students. Further, students receive small scholarships (as of 2006, $40-$50 per month, depending on the student's performance), and effectively free housing on campus, which allows them to study full time.

Education. It normally takes six years for a student to graduate from MIPT.The curriculum of the first three years consists exclusively of required courses, with emphasis on mathematics, physics, and English. There are no significant curriculum differences between the departments in the first three years.A typical course load during the first and second years can be over 48 hours a week, not including homework. Classes are taught five days a week, beginning at 9:00 a.m. or 10:30 a.m., and continuing until 5:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m., or 8:00 p.m.. Most subjects include a combination of lectures and seminars (problem-solving study sessions in smaller groups) or laboratory experiments.Lecture attendance is optional, while seminar and lab attendance affects grades.

MIPT follows a semester system. Each semester includes 15 weeks of instruction, two weeks of finals, and then three weeks of oral and written exams on the most important subjects covered in the preceding semester.

Starting with the third year, the curriculum matches each student's area of specialization, and also includes more elective courses. Most importantly, starting with the third year, students begin work at base institutes (or "base organizations," usually simply called bases). The bases are the core of the Phystech system. Most of them are research institutes, usually belonging to the Russian Academy of Sciences. At the time of enrollment, each student is assigned to a base that matches his or her interests. Starting with the third year, a student begins to commute to their base regularly, becoming essentially a part-time employee. During the last two years, a student spends 4-5 days a week at their base institute, and only one day at MIPT.

The base organization idea is somewhat similar to an internship in that students participate in "real work." However, the similarity ends there. All base organizations also have a curriculum for visiting students, and besides their work, the students are required to take those classes and pass exams. In other words, a base organization is an extension of MIPT, specializing in each particular student's area of interests.

While working at the base organization, a student prepares a thesis based on his or her research work and presents ("defends") it before the Qualification Committee consisting of both MIPT faculty and the base organization staff. Defending the thesis is a requirement for graduation.

Degrees and reputation. Before 1998, students could graduate only after completing the full six-year curriculum and defending their thesis. Upon successful graduation, they were awarded a specialist degree in Applied Mathematics and Physics and, beginning in the early 90s, a Master's degree in Physics.

Since 1998, students have been awarded a Bachelor's degree diploma after four years of study and the defense of a Bachelor's "qualification work" (effectively a smaller and less involved version of the Master's thesis). An estimated 90% of students continue their education after receiving this diploma to complete the full six-year curriculum and receive the Master's degree.

The complete course of education at MIPT takes six years to complete, just like an American Bachelor's degree followed by a Master's degree. However,MIPT graduates usually view their training as effectively higher than an American M.S. in Physics. The MIPT curriculum is, indeed, considerably more extensive compared to an average American college. In addition, American M.S. programs usually focus more on classroom education and less on research.There is an opinion that an MIPT specialist/Master's diploma may be roughly equivalent to an American Ph.D. in physics—possibly an undue generalization which, however, may be true in some cases.

Traditional university rankings are based on the universities' research output and prizes won by faculty. In contrast, many distinguished professors teaching at MIPT are officially on staff at the base institutes rather than MIPT itself.Student research work is also typically carried out outside of MIPT, and published research results do not mention MIPT. In effect, many MIPT professors are not considered as such for the rankings, and student research is not earning any ranking points for MIPT.

There are no reliable statistics on the careers of MIPT graduates. Prior to the collapse of Soviet Union, most MIPT graduates continued research at their base institutes or found jobs in OKBs. Nowadays, many graduates become business people or software engineers. Some, especially high-performing students of prestigious departments, go on to get post-graduate degrees from foreign universities. In the past, some students were known to have been admitted into Ph.D. programs of American universities as early as after their 3rd year of education. Many MIPT alumni hold faculty positions in the world's top Universities, including Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Brown, and University of Chicago.

SAINT-PETERSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE AND ARTS.

It was founded in 1918. The University offers studies in a wide range of faculties, namely:

- Faculty of culture study;

- information-library faculty;

- faculty of world culture;

- faculty of information technologies and mediadesign;

- faculty of history of russian culture;

- faculty of management and economics;

- faculty of museum management study and excursion study;

- faculty of modern art and communication;

- faculty of direction-and producer skills;

Famous scientists, University teachers and Honored Art Workers lecture at University.

There are 34 Departments and 3 postgraduate committees (scientific councils). International seminars "Culture on the Eve of XXI century", "Internet and Education" are held regularly and attract a great number of specialists from Russia and foreign countries.

Annually foreign students are accepted for study at the University.

In addition to full-time education it also offers part-time education and correspondence study.

There are 3 state-supported and 24 commercial faculties and departments.

Entrance exams set up for the applicants depend on the chosen faculty and qualification.

S.P. PAVLOV STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY.

It is one of the leading Medical Schools in Russia. It was founded 110 years ago in 1897 as first Russian Medical Institute for Women. More than 60 years University was known all over the world as the First Leningrad LP. Pavlov Medical Institute. The present name,St Petersburg State S.P, Pavlov Medical University was given to University in 1994 by the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The University contributes considerably to the development of Medical Sciences and Health Care Services in Russia and it is recognized in the World as a big center for training specialists in various medical areas, The University has a great scientific -teaching potential and has good relations with many Medical Schools and Institutions in different countries.

The University is a State Educational Organization, having a state license and state accreditation from Russian Federation Ministry of Health. The University has a round stamp with imprint of Russian Federation emblem, its own headed paper and other University symbols.

ST. PETERSBURG ELECTROTECHNICAL UNIVERSITY "LETI".

Electrotechnical university has an outstanding reputation as a higher education institution with strong traditions. ETU is considered as one of the world largest education and research centres in Radio Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Computer Science.

ETU has more than 1,000 highly-qualified staff, 30 of them have Russian and international prizes. Over 30 academicians and members of the Russian Academy of Science work at ETU.

The Nobel Prize Winner in physics Zhores Alferov is the head of the department of optoelectronics.

Over 8,000 students and 400 postgraduates attend 82,000 sq.m. ETU campus located just in the downtown of Saint Petersburg.

Annually over 2,000 prospective students attend pre-university courses.ETU has state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. Research in Microelectronics, Solid State Physics, Parallel Computer Networks is carried out using unique technological and computer equipment.

There are a lot of institutes and universities in Saint Petersburg, but this university is one of the most popular and prestigious.

RUSSIAN SOCIETY IN CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY.

Everybody knows about Cambridge, one of the oldest universities in Great Britain. And you of course surmise that some our nationals leam there.

In the early 1920s, the renowned novelist Vladimir Nabokov, an undergraduate at Trinity College, established Cambridge University Slavonic and Eastern European Society (CU Slavonic Society, for short) - possibly the first international student society in Cambridge.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Cambridge has been attracting an increasing number of students from the former Soviet Republics, and the growth of national identity among such students has lead to establishing new societies: CU Russian Society, CU Ukrainian Society, and CU Belarusian Society. Perhaps broad scope of CU Slavonic Society played a trick with it, as it struggled to attract new members and finally deceased in 2006.

Cambridge University Russian Society was established in 2001 by a group of ambitious students who realised that there was a need for a Russian Society in Cambridge.

There are several usual appointments within the executive committee such as president, vice-president and others.

The Russian Society in Cambridge University has its own Internet site. They regularly have some events such as Conversational Evenings (weekly), etc.

RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [RAS].

Moscow is known as one of the most important science centres in Russia.The headquarters of the Russian Academy of Sciences are located in Moscow as well as numerous research and applied science institutions.

The Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading research and development institution in the field of nuclear energy, where the first nuclear reactor in Europe was built, Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Kapitza Institute for Physical Problems and Steklov Institute of Mathematics are all situated in Moscow.

The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals.

Headquartered in Moscow, the Academy is incorporated as a civil, self-governed, non-commercial organization chartered by the Russian Government.It combines members of RAS and scientists employed by institutions.

Membership. There are three types of membership in the RAS: full members (academicians), corresponding members and foreign members. Academicians and corresponding members must be citizens of the Russian Federation when elected; however, some academicians and corresponding members had been elected before the collapse of the USSR and now are citizens of other countries. Members of RAS are elected based on their scientific contributions and election to membership is considered very prestigious. There are under 500 full members of the academy and a similar number of corresponding members at present.

Structure. The RAS consists of nine specialized scientific branches, three territorial branches and 14 regional scientific centres. The Academy has numerous councils, committees and commissions, organized for different purposes.

Member institutions are linked by a dedicated Russian Space Science Internet (RSSI). The RSSI, starting with just 3 members, now has 3,100 members,including 57 of the largest research institutions.

Moscow University, St.Petersburg University, or Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, etc. do not belong to RAS (they belongs to Ministry of Education of Russian Federation), but the leading universities use many institutes of RAS (as well as many others institutions) as educational centers ("Phystech System").

Awards. The Academy gives a number of different prizes, medals, and awards:

Demidov Prize

Lomonosov Gold Medal

Bogolyubov Gold Medal

Markov Prize

Pushkin Prize

History of its foundation. Original headquarters of the Imperial Academy of Sciences - the Kunstkammer in Saint Petersburg.

The Academy was founded in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, inspired and advised by Gottfried Leibniz, and implemented in the Senate decree of January 28,1724.It was called Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences between 1724 and 1917.Those invited to work there included mathematicians Leonhard Euler,Cristian Goldbach,Georg Bernhard Bilfinger,Nicholas and Daniel Bernoulli,botanist Johann Georg Gmelin,embryologists Caspar Friedrich Wolff,astronomer and geographer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle,physicist Georg Wolfgang Kraft,and historian Gerhard Friedrich Muller.

Under the leadership of Princess Ekaterina Dashkova (1783-96),the Academy was engaged in compiling the huge Academic Dictionary of the Russian Language.Expeditions to explore remote parts of the country had Academy scientists as their laders or most active participants.These included Vitus Bering’s (Second Kamchatka Expedition of 1733-43),and Peter Simon Pallas’s expeditions to Siberia.

USSR Academy of Sciences.In December 1917,Sergei Fedorovich Oldenburg,a leading ethnographer and political activist in the Kadet party met with Lenin to discuss the future of the Academy.They agreed that the expertise of the Academy would be applied to addressing questions of state construction,in return the Soviet regime would give the Academy financial and political support.By early 1918 it was agreed that the Academy would report to the Department of the Mobilisation of Scientific Forces of the People’s Comminissariat of Enlightening which replaced the Provisional Government’s Ministry of Education.

In 1925 the Soviet government recognized the Russian Academy of Sciences as the “highest all-Union scientific institution” and renamed it the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

In 1934 the Academy headquarters moved from Leningrad (formerly Saint Petersburg) to the Russian capital,Moscow,together with a number of academic institutes.

During the Cold War the Academy acted as the KGB’s strategic think tank.

The USSR Academy of Sciences helped to establish national Academies of Sciences in all Soviet republics (with the exception of the Russia SFSR),in many cases delegating prominent scientists to live and work in other republics.

Culture,art and music.

The world-famous Moscow’s museums and galleries with their collections,are some of the largest and most important ones in the world.Frequent art exhibitions thrive on both the new and the classic,as they once did in pre-Revolutionary times,and are derived from diverse branches of the arts-painting,photography,and sculpture.