Dear returning student - WebLearn

THE YEAR ABROAD IN RUSSIA

Name: Rupert Benzecry

e-mail: rupert.benzecry@univ.ox.ac.uk

College: University

RUSSIAN TAUGHT COURSES

Location and institution: Language Link, Moscow

Length of course: 13 weeks

Organising body: RLUS

Cost of tuition: £1,327

Cost of accommodation: --- in family: 20000 roubles / month (~£385)

Cost of travel and insurance (especially if more than one trip necessary):

~£315 return (this was an RLUS group flight, though was no cheaper than the flights I booked on returning to Moscow in the New Year). Insurance: n/a.

Any unexpected additional costs: n/a

Possibilities of picking up part-time work, e.g. English language teaching, or finding longer-term jobs e.g. for the second half of the year.

Nothing concrete, though teachers would recommend friends and family as casual tutoring clients. In any event, Moscow is the centre of an enormous, inflated English language teaching bubble, and finding teaching or tutoring work is not hard. Finding other work will be a challenge without contacts.

If you have any contacts for finding casual teaching work, would you be willing to pass on their names to others? n/a

Comments

Quality of teaching:

Very good, with little substantive variation between the six classes. Moscow benefited from having a large cohort of Language Link students, so I was placed in a set of equal ability and teaching progressed quickly. I understand this was not always the case on

RLUS-sponsored courses in other cities.

Reliability of teaching:

Very good.

Value for money of a) teaching good b) accommodation moderate (for Moscow prices)

Advantages of this particular course, location, living arrangement:

The location of both the course and my accommodation was very decent (around the circle line of the metro, by Novoslobodskaya); most, but not all, homestays were located close by. Having said that, proximity to a metro station is more important than proximity to the city centre, especially when it starts getting colder.

Language Link is fantastic for your Russian: this aside, the biggest advantage has to be all the English people. This may sound counter-productive, but there’s a logic to it. A far larger initial social group in Moscow means comparatively more (and easier) opportunities to meet Russians – provided you can then resist the temptation to spend all your time with your English-speaking friends. It’s also a useful support for when you first arrive.

Homestays are also a good idea while you acclimatise.

Disadvantages of same:

That aside, homestays are an appalling idea. To attack them on their merits: the amount of practical Russian speaking they afford has been overstressed. If the Language Link experiences were anything to go by, our hosts were split down the middle; half wanted nothing to do with their foreign charges (rent aside), and half were so outgoing that their lodgers soon learnt to appreciate the semi-permeable sanctity of their rooms.

There is scant middle ground.

I was in the latter category. My host was very kind, and more than happy to chat; however, my slow adaptation to the much-maligned Russian mothering instinct soon turned to a mixture of frustration and deep personal offense on her part. This was most keenly felt when it came to the mountains of food she would regularly and repeatedly attempt to force into me (oddly, since I was cooking for myself); avoiding the fights that she would pick over this was a difficult and ultimately futile affair, but tended to put a downer on conversation.

In retrospect, I would have done better to stay in a hostel, and subsequently rented my own accommodation. The students who opted for this route were soon firm friends with the hostel staff and, complete with a flat to invite them round to, achieved considerably more Russian exposure than the rest of us.

If you are still tempted to opt for a homestay, please do go through Language Link, who at least have a reliable vetting process. Aside from the horror stories you hear from those arranged outside of the language school (one girl found herself staying a flat with no front door, and no fridge), I had my own ‘horror story’ when my landlady suffered a stroke and her family asked me to move out at three hours’ notice. Language Link were fantastic about this, and had found me a new host family by the time I’d been told they were evicting me.

I can think of no clear disadvantages with Language Link, except perhaps that 13 weeks felt like enough for the ‘full week’ of RLUS-arranged classes – some started to feel repetitive towards the end.

Other comments:

I returned to Language Link after Christmas, this time without RLUS, so as to be eligible for a student visa (while I worked; see below). Their ‘normal’ group English language classes were of a similarly high teaching quality – I was learning with three

other post-university students who taught English in Moscow professionally – and I’d thoroughly recommend them.

To be eligible for a visa, I had to buy at least three months’ worth of lessons, at two three-hour lessons per week.

(UN)PAID WORK

I could not be paid for visa reasons (though I understand CAF have now applied for whatever visa slot is necessary to employ ‘low-earning foreigners’). I would still recommend this placement, as it was useful, interesting, and getting paid nothing is still cheaper than actively paying for RLUS.

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: two months (though I could have stayed for as long as I wanted)

Employer(s): CAF [Charities Aid Foundation] Russia

Were the arrangements for this work made before you went to the FSU?

Yes.

Is the post/casual work of this type likely to be available in future?

Yes.

If so, would you be prepared to put people in touch with your contacts?

Yes (they have expressed explicit interest in taking further students).

Advantages:

I was largely researching, website-building and translating. These were all relevant and interesting tasks, meant a fair exposure to Russian; the whole office is Russianspeaking and very friendly. Working hours could be very flexible (there were certainly no problems with working around my Language Link classes).

Moreover, a genuinely good cause in the much-beleaguered Russian third sector.

Disadvantages:

Unpaid.

Costs:

What costs did you face in the course of the year?

Language Link classes, visa costs, food, rent (NB: my rent costs were slightly lower when I left the homestays and rented a flat with a friend after Christmas), commuting, flights (return x2).

Were you easily able to find employment to meet this costs?

Yes – but I cut the hassle and did so in England. In retrospect, finding a teaching job would not have been hard, but unfortunately I had already ‘block-booked’ my time with Language Link and CAF (in an effort to have everything organised before leaving the country in September).

Any particular advice or warning:

It is far easier to arrange casual work (translation, teaching, unpaid internships, journalism, etc.) once you are already in Russia. You’ll find that very few people respond to your emails while you are still in the UK and don’t have a visa. For all

Oxford’s desire to know your plans before you leave, it is probably far healthier to book a couple of Language Link classes, turn up on a wing and a prayer, and be proactive about finding several small jobs.

Are you willing to be contacted by second-years for further details?

Yes.

Additional comments:

You’ll need an HIV test for the student visa – if I remember correctly, the certificate will then need to be taken back to your local surgery and signed. However, for the squeamish amongst you, the visa authorities don’t seem to require the full blood test – I was fine on just the ‘finger prick’ test certificate.

Name: Thomas Clarke

e-mail: Thomas.clarke@seh.ox.ac.uk

College: St Edmund Hall

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: 3 months minimum

Employer(s): Lucullus Education


I applied around the end of November as I was in Moscow for the second half of my year abroad. I had one skype interview after I submitted my application/cv before hearing I got the offer.


Lucullus are always keen for undergraduates, especially from good universities to do tutoring for them.


I should be able to help with putting people in contact with the relevant employees at

Lucullus.

Advantages:

Flexible working hours as you have to fit the schedule of the children. Well paid enough to get by in Moscow (which I wouldn’t have been able to do on some of the wages/stipends offered by companies for internships).

Good fun if you enjoy working with kids.

Get to speak a lot of Russian both with the kids and their parents.

Disadvantages:

Working hours, while flexible, can be quite anti-social – Sunday morning work not uncommon.

Have to travel around Moscow a lot, sometimes the journeys are over 45 mins which can be inconvenient for just a one hour lesson for example.

Costs:


Rent was what I spent most of my money on. I did have a good flat in a good location, but I think this is worth going for as it makes life much easier. Mine was about 600 pounds a month. Food and drink is expensive if you eat out often. I cooked in my apartment most of the time, so prices were comparable to the UK.

There can be quite a lot of unexpected costs, such as a concierge fee I had to pay in my block of flats, so be aware of this.


Finding employment was slightly easier for me as I inherited my job from another student at my college who was in Moscow for the first half of the year abroad. Overall though I would say yes, finding employment in the tutoring area is quite straightforward.


Moscow is a relatively dangerous city in parts, so just don’t be too naïve.

Don’t expect to live a relaxed lifestyle, Moscow is quite hectic compared to rural

England for example, and obviously Oxford.

Read all the terms/fine print when getting a flat. There can be hidden costs or certain rules about when you can arrive back at your block.


Yes

Name: Carmella Crinnion

e-mail: carmella.crinnion@wadh.ox.ac.uk

College: Wadham College


Location and institution: Echo Eastern Europe Language School Kyiv

Length of course: 1 month

Cost of tuition: 100 euros per week for 20 hours

Cost of accommodation: school – around £400 for a month a) in hostel – flat share organised by the language

Cost of travel and insurance (especially if more than one trip necessary): return flight from London to Kiev around £120

Comments

Quality of teaching: Very good, varied, engaging, lovely teachers

Reliability of teaching: Very reliable

Value for money of a) teaching – very the good, the best value for money I could find in Kiev, Moscow or St Petersburg.

b) accommodation – reasonable; it could probably be done cheaper than £400 per month in Kyiv but I was living the historic and central area of

Podil.

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: 4 months

Employer(s): Lucan Education – tutoring agency

Is the post/casual work of this type likely to be available in future? Yes


Yes

Advantages: Very well paid

Disadvantages: You will be required to speak in English for the tutoring so it is not good practise of Russian.

Costs:


Half university fees, flights, visas, accommodation and language school fee in Kyiv.

Were you easily able to find employment to meet this costs? In Moscow yes, in

Kiev, no.

Are you willing to be contacted by second-years for further details? Yes, of course.

Additional comments: If you wish to spend more than three months in Russia I would advise thinking very carefully about your visa options. You will most likely need to get a student visa.

Name: Nicola Dockray

(add me on facebook) e-mail: Nicola.dockray@merton.ox.ac.uk

College: Merton


Location and institution:

Russian Language Centre at Moscow State University www.mgu-russian.com

Length of course:

01.10.12-31.08.13

Cost of tuition: Intensive Group course 9 euros per academic hour (45 minutes-usually each class is an hour and a half). Private Russian lessons 20 euros per hour.

Cost of accommodation: a) in hostel b) in family

Living in a hostel or in a family is probably the best option if you have never been to

Russia before, especially for the first bit of your stay, as you need a bit of help. I would particularly recommend living in a family. What this tends to mean is living with an older widow. This can be great as you have someone to talk to and practice your

Russian in the evenings. This is a key “Russia year abroad” experience for most foreigners. The ladies who do this have usually a lot of experience at having foreigners, yet will speak no English-a great combination. In the summer, sometimes they even go and live at their dacha-leaving you the run of the flat. Some experiences with this can not be so great though, in terms of little niggles about living far out in a suburb and having to commute, or cockroaches, for example. But if you need an initial base from which to branch out, I would say this is your best option. Until you know what’s what about Russian life, this is a great way to feel safe and welcomed on your first day. Also to try Russian food. Kasha (porridge) anyone?

I would say that the best option if you’re going to be there long term is to get a flat, especially with someone else from oxford/Cambridge who will be staying there, as this is the nicest living arrangement. Contact the year abroad officers at the British universities that do Russian to send out adverts for flatmates. Once I was there it was no problem to find people staying in Russia in the short term from Oxbridge who could replace my flatmate when they were leaving. I include the email addresses I used, they were all very helpful:

Oxford University

Catherine Pillonel

Faculty Year Abroad Officer

Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages

University of Oxford

41 Wellington Square

Oxford OX1 2JF

Phone: 01865 2 (70736)

E-mail: year-abroad@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk

Office hours: Monday to Friday 9.30 / 2.30

Durham University

Kathleen Lowson, Year Abroad Administrator,

School of Modern Languages & Cultures,

Durham University, Elvet Riverside,

New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3JT, England.

Tel: +44 (0) 191 334 3437

Fax: +44 (0) 191 334 3435

Departmental Year Abroad Officer for Russian

TAYMANOVA M. [marianna.taymanova@durham.ac.uk]

University of Cambridge:

Amanda Law

Year Abroad Office

Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages

University of Cambridge

Sidgwick Avenue

Cambridge

CB3 9DA

Email: aml41@cam.ac.uk

Tel: 01223 335008

Fax: 01223 335062

UCL- University College London

Zusi, Peter [p.zusi@ucl.ac.uk]

----------------------------------------------

Dr. Peter Zusi

Lecturer on Czech with Slovak Literature

Co-Editor, Central Europe

School of Slavonic and East European Studies

University College London

Gower Street

London WC1E 6BT

020 7679 8817


BA flights to Russia can be very expensive but from January of this year you can fly with Easyjet which is much more affordable! Return trips around 100-150 pounds as I recall from Heathrow.

Any unexpected additional costs:

Make sure you pay online for baggage before you fly-paying at the airport can be very expensive, especially as you will be likely to have a lot of extra weight!


English language teaching is very well paid in Moscow, especially because we have the

Oxford cachet. Note that this applies to teaching children mostly, especially through the firms that help Russian children get into British schools. No TEFL course or anything needed. Although I didn’t do this myself, this is essentially how everyone funds living in Russia, and the pay for the hours you do is extremely good. I am not sure about the visa situation with them though. A lot of people had study visas through institutions where they studied part time (Moscow State University, Moscow State Institute of

International Relations.)

Value for money of a) teaching

All Russian language lessons are expensive, but I would say, essential. If you think you will be basing your career on knowing Russian, really perfecting this language is a must. I would aim to go up one level on the European language framework (say B2-C1 to a comfortable C1 in a year.) You can take Russian State exams in knowing Russian with a language school. Please note that living in the country and speaking the language without having a teacher will not suffice if you have this aim! This is because really learning to use Russian properly demands that you have someone who is willing to correct you, often, over a long period of time, and work on your increasing knowledge of this difficult language! Otherwise you will end up being the Russian speaker who uses the cases incorrectly all the time in speech-Russian people who meet you will never correct you as they assume that learning their tongue is impossible. And secondly, Russian has a never-ending amount of complexities, you can never tease them all out without working on it in a concentrated manner. If the price of these language lessons looks incredibly steep to you (understandably), do not despair! They are prohibitive prices because mostly people’s companies pay for them when they move to Russia. If you work for a western company they will more than likely have

Russian teachers and you can have an hour or so a week for free. If not, and you are mainly working in Moscow, of course finding an individual teacher by yourself will be a lot cheaper, you will be able to find better prices when you are there! My teacher Irina was fantastic, I can give you her number or skype details even, if you wish to do this route. As I was not working, I was tied to this company and their prices in order to get a student visa. But I would encourage you to use this year for your language above all, it is a priceless experience. Also, if you choose to go for the “Real Russia” experience and don’t live in one of the capitals, tuition at a university is much cheaper (check out

Petrozavodsk State University-I would personally recommend their teaching and they have a group of ab initio students from Birmingham every summer which is lovely. I went back to Petro this summer and it has a few western malls now which it didn’t even

3 years ago-Accessorize and Burger King etc. Also Karelian nature is wonderful but that’s another story, please email me for more details.)

Book recommendations for advanced level

It is a strange fact, but buying these books and finding them is not always easy, even in

Russia! In Moscow, I would recommend Dom knigy on the New Arbat, or

Biblioglobus. I took my “using Russian synonyms” and “using Russian” books to

Russia-don’t bother, they are far too heavy! The same goes for a Russian dictionary.

You can buy one there!The Oxford dictionary app is very good.

Изучаем глагольные приставки А.Н Барыкина

Как образуются прилагательные (same author)

Лексика русского языка (Русский язык как иностранный- a range of great books in dark green covers)

Глагольный вид в русском языке: значение и употребление (same range)

Современная русская проза- век хрестоматия (Руский язык курсы 2009) My best find of the year-a collection of contemporary Russian prose (that difficult colloquial language!! With extensive vocabulary and cultural notes to help you learn! b) accommodation

I would say that the hostels are very cheap but not a great standard of living (no fridgehang your food out the window?), although possibly living on the central campus of

MGU is not bad all in all, you are near where you study and in the centre. Please note that if you are at a university in one of the capitals, you will be put with all the foreign students, so you might not meet any Russians. Also, sharing a room can be a bit hazardous. Especially if they want to study or skype their mum at 2am and you have to sleep next to their typing.

As I have said before, families come highly recommended, although for a whole year they may drive you crazy.

If you get a prestigious law firm contract in Moscow, they have some amazing studio flats on offer for interns to live in. Not all flats in soviet blocks are in soviet style, there is remodelling! 4 or 5 people from Cambridge last year lived in one amazing flat that was sort of on rotation between them….

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow in your pocket magazine

Length of employment:

3 months

Employer(s):

Bonnie van der Velde [bonnie@inyourpocket.com]

Were the arrangements for this work made before you went to the FSU? no

Is the post/casual work of this type likely to be available in future? yes


Yes

I entirely stumbled into this employment opportunity because a more enterprising girl from Cambridge had already been working there and was leaving. It was for free but I have got great CV experience in journalism which I never intended to have, purely on the basis of being a native speaker. Please note that Moscow is amazing for journalism, you can pick up work for the Moscow Times and the Moscow News (now a supplement), for example, as well as many more. The people who did this will tell you about it, but it offers the variety of Russian life in a way you will never expect-you get to meet an interview people for example if they are coming to Moscow, purely on the basis of your language skills.

I was writing small reviews and articles for the main Russian magazine for tourists in

English. They are a worldwide brand and you can also work for them in St Petersburg.

I went to interview people building new hotels and restaurants, got a free tasting session at an amazing restaurant and met the chef, got a free holiday in Petrozavodsk as they paid my expenses, (and so on.) Also went to a great number of museums and so on and covered them. Fantastic experience, they constantly need new writers, they don’t pay you but you do get expenses to go to restaurants and write a 100 words on it (not even a review…just a description).

On a more general note I would definitely say that as well as studying something like this is one of the best things to do on your year abroad. If you work for a western company you will be asked to translate some legal documents on the rare occasions that you get given something to do. If you do journalism, you get to go to shows, interview people at Moscow fashion week and western singers that are arriving, and all practicing and using your Russian and making great contacts! I would say this is what added to my level and confidence the most-I had to turn up at places such as an international school and carry out the entire interview/conversation in Russian, and in such a variety of situations that my Russian is much more fluent and I have more real “work experience.”


Yes.


Advice on the Climate and Clothing

I would aim to go to Russia in the summer/early autumn period before it snows, say late august or September, purely because this is much more convenient in terms of you arranging your lifestyle in an entirely different country, with a very different climate.

Also it will be hot/warm hopefully, as Russia has a fantastic Indian summer. Autumn is brief but beautiful and not to be missed! Actually, the earlier you go the better, summer in Russia is perfect, with the white nights of St Petersburg in June and so on.You can stock up on things for the winter for example. You can also walk around freely (not in the snow and freezing cold) to get used to your area, local neighbourhood, where everything is, Russia itself.) Note that ladies winter coats and shoes are pricey. There is an enormous price gap in buying things in Russia between the things imported from

China and those imported from European brands. Brands such as Zara and so on have a definite foothold now in the capitals, but are doubly as expensive as they would even be in Europe (let alone in Spain). I bought my coat on a trip to Finland, as they have similar winter weather and the Scandinavian things are more stylish…a very good idea

is to splash out on a winter coat which has feathers in the lining as these are completely insulating and really what you need. Of course you can also get thing in Russia, including fur-lined coats. If not, get the thickest winter coat you can find in Britain

(note: our coats are not even suitable for British weather, let alone theirs,) and then wear thermal underwear/vests and a real wool jumper-m and s men’s collection is very good, although, as ever, pricey. I would say though, that the pressure to look good in

Russia is very high and getting a good coat means you can wear normal clothes underneath-the buildings are heated to the max, never fear being cold inside! Leggings and thermal tights/leggings are also a must. M and S again do a very good pair of black thermal heat insulating leggings. For shoes, if you really need to find something in

Britain I would recommend tough walking boots and several pairs of woolly/thick socks just to cope with the weather. When you get to Russia you will realise that the trade in shoes is one of the biggest there is-every shop seems to sell ladies boots, made of real leather and with fur or fleece lining and that they are also pricey (upwards of

100 pounds.) I would recommend the Centro brand, these are cheap but fashionable and the last I looked there was one in the Okhotny Ryad shopping centre in the middle of

Moscow. Although they are also all over Russia, check out their website.www.centrofashion.ru. They have autumn boots on there now from 1299 rubles (25 pounds.) Note that footwear for the winter is an extremely important concern-having holes in your shoes, they will get damp and wet in the cold and the slush. If you thought getting your feet wet and then getting a cold immediately was just an old wives’ tale-think again! In the cold Russian climate your body’s immune system is lower-if it has to fight you having cold feet for some time, you’re much more susceptible to colds. Take vitamins (buy them in Britain), even better, invest in one of those solar lamps that help you produce vitamin d over the winter (they imitate natural sunlight.)

Notes on living in Russia

Food shopping-especially in central Moscow be very very price savvy. A jar of something imported can cost literally any price you can think of. I saw some toilet paper for sale on the arbat area for 10 pounds…I’m not joking. The ashan shopping discount store is the best, everything there is much much cheaper than anywhere else and they have a great range of products: auchan.ru

Notes on Visas

I would definitely recommend getting a student visa immediately or some link with a

Russian university or language course. Getting the visas is half the struggle with

Russia. If you get a work visa you need to be sure that you would like to work in this place, just because if you change your mind and then don’t have a visa extension, your plans for living in Russia will have to change. Although going through the bureaucratic process of registering your visa with a university is a hassle and confusing (the language class businesses are better), having to go to different offices in the university building and so on, once you’ve got it they pretty much won’t take it away-even if you stop going to classes. And you get a Russian student card, which often means you can get Russian citizen or at least student price entry to museums and so on. You do need to register your visa once you get to Russia, in order to have the registration document, this is very important in case you get stopped by the police. They are particularly antsy about migration from the CIS countries for example. Note however, that a lot of people

are not registered to their flat in Moscow (non Muscovites who rent) and that this is a political problem there-last year they claimed to be doing door-to-doors to check that people had the right documents. However, many people don’t and this kind of legislative wrangling is not designed to trap rich westerners. It is designed to deal with the enormous problem of illegal/legal immigration to Russia from poorer countries in the CIS for example. They say that you have to re-register your visa at every town you go to for more than 24 hours, I think this is the current regulation. In practice however, unless you are staying at a hotel/hostel where they will do this for you, my conclusion is that you don’t really need to bother. (I went to stay with some Russian friends in a different town.) Please note that*in general* with Russia-no one can follow all the rules, even Russians. Especially Russians. Not all bureaucratic systems are designed for the user.

On a secondary note, many people come across problems with the administration of the institutions that give you your visas. For example, the administration of a language school. When I was on my gap year for example, in Petrozavodsk, I had a multi-entry visa and decided to go home to Britain for a week. I hadn’t realised that as well as informing my teachers that I would be away, I had to inform the administration of the language school that I would be exiting Russia for a time. Now technically such things may be “infringements” of the Russian visa procedure, in that the administration was supposed to give some government department a warning of this. When such little problems occur, the administrative people will immediately try to badger you and frighten you, and make this seem like it is all your fault. BUT if they incur a fine for such things, it is their problem and not yours. Occasionally various Russians in such departments can try to make it seem as if extradition from the Russian Federation is something that can actually happen to you. This is extremely unlikely and another of their mendacious claims. This is just their terror tactic to try and cover themselves from their employers higher up the chain-for a mere bureaucratic error. I heard of another year abroad person having similar problems when dealing with a Russian school she worked for. “Office plankton” can and will be unpleasant to you if they think they can blame you for a problem. If such a situation does occur, please remember that these are mostly empty threats. This is why I would say it is best to enter an employment situation with a western firm, or a western-run English tuition company. Such opportunities abound, especially in Moscow. I hope that this hasn’t scared any of you too much, as living in Russia is one of the most brilliant opportunities I have ever had in my life, and Russian people are the most fantastic, wonderful and warm people on the planet as you all know. But when you haven’t seen these things before, people may try to take advantage of your naivety, and I have (in my personal experience) seen this reoccur. Essentially the Russian bureaucratic system is so unfathomable that if a worker makes an error (which is often the case, and often unavoidable on their part) and thinks their bosses will blame them (and fire them, or whatever), they will certainly try to shift it to you. Once you understand this, it becomes a lot easier to deal with the situationultimately it’s the system’s fault, not theirs, or yours. Similarly with flat problems-if you sign a contract and your landlord decides to unfairly blame you for something and demands money or some sort of dubious legal claim from you-if you leave the flat, there is nothing they can really do if you think about it. Please save yourself some “I am trapped in Russia and might be extradited” angst. Russia can sometimes be very frightening, but try to remember that expatriates can always leave.

Also, get all of your visa arrangements done way in advance of you leaving or even buying your flights. It will take more than a couple of months to do this initial irritating visa process. Talking of incompetence, I waited until midday until the day before I was leaving to get an email with the address of my host family. In addition to this, they were very unhelpful about telling me when my visa invitation would arrive, it is always “oh, next week.” This meant I had to cancel one set of flights. You will never get an apology.

Additional Advice

Firstly, please decide to go to Russia for the year abroad, it will be one of the best things you ever do. Not just language/culture wise, becoming a grown up (if you can deal with Russia, you can deal with anything), but finding job opportunities there is so easy if you even have a smattering of russian, as all the western companies desperately need people and it may be your foot in the door. One of the only places on earth where being british/from oxford means you can fall into easy and remunerative, and elite employment.

In terms of meeting foreigners/Russians. You ideally want to have a balance between the times you speak Russian and the times you speak English. If you are too much in a

Russian environment, the psychological pressure can be a bit much. In Moscow there are too many opportunities to speak English so you need to find somewhere to meet

Russians of your own age (studying at a university). Once you have made friends with one, you can meet all their friends. Also Russians love getting to know foreigners, much more than we do. If you miss being able to use your own language, go to the

Anglican church in Moscow. Built in the 1880s by expats, it looks exactly like a C of E church, and you can be in an English language environment of 200 plus peopleamericans working for companies or embassies, people from Mozambique studying physics in Russia, and the list goes on. I find that if people talk about having a work/life balance, for expats in a tough environment it is about having a Russian/English balance. Talking to your mum on skype doesn’t cut it. You need to have some time to relate your Russia experiences to others in your own language who know what it’s like and can be a support network for you. I managed to find this Russian/English balance this year and the whole experience was amazing.

Take spices before you go, especially packets of fajita mix, they are impossible to find!

Go for the summer if nothing else-Russia at its very best! Go ice skating outside in the winter in one of the parks and buy your own skates-about 20 pounds from Sportmaster!

See Russian life for yourself, not through a textbook or guardian articles! The cheapest place on earth to go to the theatre and the ballet! See Moscow modernize-interactive maps and yoga lessons in parks, whatever next? Discover that Russians can sing the blues in convincing American accents! Go to an American diner where they do cheerleader routines and don’t speak English!Meet the amazing “global russians” who speak Chinese and know more about International Relations than you ever will! And many more of the best impressions and experiences ever. Please facebook me for more details/advice, as there is little about Moscow that I have not come to know and love.

Name: Toby Fisher

e-mail: toby.fisher@univ.ox.ac.uk

College: University


Location and institution: Kazan Federal University

Length of course: September – May

Organising body: KFU

Cost of tuition: 85000 RUB for the year

Cost of accommodation: nominal like £10/month a) in student hostel: almost free (something b) in family: 13000 rubles/month inc breakfast

Cost of travel and insurance (especially if more than one trip necessary): £150



Very easy to find teaching work: paid from 500- 800 rubles per hour (goes a long way in Kazan)

Other paid jobs are unlikely, although possible to find translation work

If you have any contacts for finding casual teaching work, would you be willing to pass on their names to others?

Yes

Comments


Some classes were good others bad, it depended entirely on the teacher. Good diversity of learning, films, literature, almost everything. There’s also the chance to sit in informally on any classes in the university – always very welcoming and interested in you


Good

Value for money of a) teaching ok b) accommodation good


Kazan is cheaper than Moscow/St Petersburg so cost of living is less. Reasonably big city with an interesting Tatar/Russian culture. Easy to meet people/difficult Good for spoken Russian as less people speak English. Locals are friendly and always want to meet English people. Climate is about the same as Moscow. Would definitely recommend.


No direct flights from England, smaller city so inevitably less to do.


There’s no point going somewhere provincial if you are going to spend time there with other English students – try to branch out from an ‘expat clique’ as soon as you can

Name: Maximilian Gill

e-mail: maximilian.gill@sjc.ox.ac.uk

College: St. John’s

PAID WORK –

UNPAID!

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: 3 Months

Employer(s): Moscow Times, Russia Today


No


Unsure, most likely though.


Contacts have since left but I’m sure they would be open to enquiries sent to general addresses. Bear in mind that emails in Russia are not responded to with the same dedication as in UK, so don't be afraid to pester.

Advantages:

Chance to see a lot of Moscow and practice Russian in interviews. Good journalistic experience. They throw you into the deep end, so a steep learning curve but enjoyable work and opportunity to meet lots of interesting people and be involved in cultural events in the city. Having a journalistic pass comes in handy in more ways than getting into the office. No previous experience seemed necessary so be bold!

Disadvantages:

Unpaid.

Costs:


Very large costs as living in Russia is expensive. Be aware that there is most likely no support from the university or your college financially, particularly in comparison to other languages. At St. John’s, year abroad students are actively excluded from Travel

Grants. You may find it more difficult to fund yourself in Russia due to the lack of

support as Russia is not included in Erasmus etc. so make sure you look at all possible sources of funding before departing.


Tutoring – some agencies take enormous cuts out of your salary and charge large administration costs. If you do not have the time to work many hours a week you can actually lose money. They are unfortunately necessary for visa invitations however.

Carfax education can make visa invitations, which is useful. Lucan Education are very friendly and approachable. Tutoring is a very good way to earn money, but obviously if you spend all your time doing this you will not get the chance to improve language much. Be picky with students, there will always be more, and in terms of your language improvement it is often better to be with an older child, adult, rather than a very small infant who doesn’t yet speak any language at all.


There is nothing that Oxford can offer you with help regarding opportunities, visas, accommodation, funding if you do not have the finances to be on a language course, which are sometimes simply unaffordable for many on top of living costs and lost paid opportunity costs (and half your tuition fees in Oxford!). For those in this position it can be very stressful to organise the year abroad in Russia, and you can end up in a

Catch-22 situation where you can’t get a job/visa because you don’t have a visa/job.

Having said that, once you get into Russia, opportunities present themselves very quickly and more easily than they would in Western Europe. Don’t commit to any accommodation before you have had the chance to see it in person, people end up in hairy situations from online viewings. Expat.ru does yield successful finds, even if it seems a bit suspicious. Obviously do not part with any money until you have seen a flat and met the tenants, there are scams online, but these are luckily quite transparent.


Yes.

Name: Max Glanz

e-mail: Maximilian.glanz@spc.ox.ac.uk

College: St Peter’s


25000 roubles a month in Piter, $500/month in Kiev, 35000 roubles a month in

Moscow. Prices are for flats I rented on my own.



PAID WORK

Location: Plaza Lotus Group (St Petersburg), Vasil Kisil and Partners (Kyiv) Sollers

(Moscow) M:Communications (now rebranded to EM) Moscow

Length of employment: СПБ 3 months, VKP 2 months, Sollers 2 months, M: 5 weeks

Employer(s): see above


Yes, with the exception of M: I quit my previous job in Moscow (Sollers) and then had an interview in Moscow for the final job.


Yes, I very much enjoyed working at M: in financial PR and doing translations and proof reading, they told me I could get a job there in the future if I want.


No. However, M: do send e-mails to Oxford students I believe.

Advantages:

Surrounded by Russians (Ukranians) and therefore the vast majority of conversation and other forms of correspondence etc. are in target language. My CV now looks a lot better than it did.

Disadvantages:

Quite a lot of the work is correcting English, proof reading etc.

Costs:


Rent, food etc


Yes

Name: Cecylia Grendowicz

e-mail: cecylia.grendowicz@sjc.ox.ac

.uk

College: St. John’s


Location and institution: Russian Language and Culture Institute (linked to St

Petersburg State University)

Length of course: 5 months

Organising body: Independently organised

Cost of tuition: can’t remember exactly but can be found here http://www.russian4foreigners.com/node/335

Cost of accommodation: I stayed in a flat with 2 other flatmates, owned by a

Russian lady called Masha who has hosted Oxford students before. Rent was 380 euros a month

Cost of travel and insurance (especially if more than one trip necessary): Flights were about £300 I think?

Any unexpected additional costs: Visa can end up being quite expensive (I had to pay

£60-80 for an HIV test on top of cost of visa itself)


Whilst at language school I met a man whose wife ran a tourist agency and he offered me work teaching English to their staff twice a week, which was a great experience! In

Russia there are loads of people keen for an English teacher.


Yes, although I’m not sure they will still want casual teaching as the staff were already very good at English!

Comments

Quality of teaching: Very good- teachers engaging and funny

Reliability of teaching: Very good

Value for money of a) teaching- since it is linked to the State University I would say quality of the teaching was very good. I’m not aware of any huge price difference between this school and, say, the Benedict School- I quite liked my school as people came from all over to study there (Japan, China, Colombia, France…) whereas at the

Benedict School there seemed to be a lot of English people- this meant I was speaking

Russian all the time, even in breaks.

flat was very spacious b) accommodation- very good as location was excellent and the

Advantages of this particular course, location, living arrangement: Masha’s flat was great, I would highly recommend it and would be happy to pass on her details. The location was great (Tekhnologicheskii Institut), and not far from school on Vasilievsky

Island. I really enjoyed the course, there is a good amount of grammar to keep it ticking over but plenty of fun current events/film etc discussions!

Disadvantages of same: Lessons were only 3 hours a day or so, so I had a lot of spare time- but I wouldn’t say this was necessarily a disadvantage as I did teaching as well

Any particular advice or warning: I went September-December and it was very cold and dark in December, as you’d expect- but I thought it was fun!

Name: Billy Henson

e-mail: billy.henson@lmh.ox.ac.uk

College: LMH



Liden and Denz language school, St Petersburg.


5 months (but it can be tailored to however long you’d like it to be)

Organising body:

Cost of tuition:

It depends on whether you choose individual or group tuition and on how many hours a week you choose to study. The price information is very easy to find on their website.


I am sure that they can offer you both forms of accommodation but I stayed in an apartment that I rented privately. Of my friends at the language school who used them to find accommodation, some fitted in very well with their Russian host families, but others found it more difficult and moved out to private rented accommodation or hostels. I think that the language school were fairly relaxed about people doing this.

Generally I think the view was that the accommodation provided by Liden and Denz was a little overpriced and a bit of a gamble.


Flights to St Petersburg are easy to find online (skyscanner.net). It is also easy to fly to

Moscow and then get a train to St Petersburg (this may be cheaper because easyjet now fly to Moscow). That said, the cost of baggage on easyjet can be a nightmare.

I used Post Office insurance which cost me around £100 for my whole stay I think.


Visa registration cost me about 40 euros to do through the language school.


At least two of my friends started working for Liden and Denz as English language teachers in the latter part of the year. I do not know how regularly it is done though.

There are other organisations such as Carfax (in Moscow and St P) and Lucullus (in

Moscow only I think) where it is very easy to get work as an English language teacher and also make a good amount of extra cash.


Yes of course. Two of my good friends in Moscow and St Petersburg work in admin roles for Carfax and Lucullus and I would be more than happy to put anyone in touch with them.

Comments


Good. I did both individual and group lessons. Individual lessons were obviously better for my Russian because they can be tailored to your strengths/weaknesses. Group lessons were also good but could be frustrating as you could find yourself knowing a certain aspect of the language much better or worse than other students.


Very reliable.

Value for money of a) teaching – it is expensive (more than most) but I think they are very good.

b) accommodation – from what others have told me, not great.


St Petersburg is an excellent city. The admin staff really know what they’re doing and will always try and help out with organising your trip if they can. You can really tailor the course to your needs, as it is a big language school with a lot of different options for classes (i.e. number of classes per week, group or individual etc). You will meet a lot of people around the language centre so company shouldn’t be hard to come by.


Like I said, you might be better off finding your own living arrangements so that could be a bit of a hassle.


Most teachers will only speak Russian to you because it is an international language school. This is a good thing in the end but can be a bit daunting at the beginning. You will get used to it very quickly though.

Other comments:

PAID WORK

Location:

Moscow


2.5 months

Employer(s):

Linklaters


Yes


Yes. A former Oxford University Russian student runs it and I believe he finds interns from English universities every year.


Yes I would.

Advantages:

Your flights (both ways), visa (90 day, 6 month business visa – if you don’t know what this means, you’ll find out!), and accommodation are all organised and paid for by the company. The flat is very central and really nice. You will also get paid well in addition to this.

The job involves translating a fair amount of Russian, but it is not at all labour intensive so you will have plenty of time to do other things such as university work if you need to.

It is also a great name to have on your CV and gives you an idea of how corporate law firms operate if it’s something that you may be interested in doing in the future.

Disadvantages:

You might end up doing a fair bit of English proof reading but it isn’t that bad. It can be quiet at times so you might not have that much to do every minute of the day.

You can probably only do it for just over 2 months because they have others who want to intern there too.

Costs:

What costs did you face in the course of the year? Only buying my own food and drink. That was it.

Were you easily able to find employment to meet these costs? You could easily find teaching work if you wanted.


I would do this if you can because it is an excellent deal financially and allows you to spend a good amount of time in Moscow working.


Yes.

Name: James Hilton

e-mail: james.hilton@seh.ox.ac.uk

College: St. Edmund Hall

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow


Employer(s): Lucullus


Yes


Uncertain – new-ish company and they said they are looking to find graduates for the future


Yes

Advantages:

Quite flexible hours, although this was also because they didn’t have that many!

Decent pay

Disadvantages:

Very disorganised

Uncertainty about hours

Late payments

Costs:


Nothing out of the ordinary: visa, flights, accommodation and living costs.

Were you easily able to find employment to meet these costs?

The employment didn’t totally cover it, no. My parents had to help out.


Think long and hard about studying as opposed to working. Moscow isn’t cheap.

Be prepared for a culture shock!


Yes, if I’m not too busy!


Make the most of the freedom. Don’t just sit around in an apartment – go out and meet people, see things, do things and generally enjoy yourself!

Also, if you can, go get a job! CV-wise it won’t do you any harm!

Name: Sam Keeler

e-mail: samuel.keeler@new.ox.ac.uk

College: New



Perm State University (Пермский годусарственный исследовательский национальный университет), Perm, Perm Krai, Russia.


Approximately 5 months (one semester)

Organising body:

Perm State University


Free of charge.


 free of charge


Flights to and from Perm – about £900 (booked separately). A case went missing on my way home and was then returned after my return to England – I was refunded over

£300.

International health insurance purchased - ~£50


When I arrived, I was told that in practice this “international insurance” would most likely not be accepted locally. However I did not purchase local health insurance. I later found out anyway that English people are due to receive free healthcare according to an exchange system (whereby Russian citizens in the UK also have access to free healthcare).


I personally found that it was very easy to find a part-time job, seeing as rumour went round fast that there was a native English speaker at the university. A biology professor at the university heard about me, and employed me to correct his English in important texts that he was to send to a journal. He also wanted practice in speaking English. In this sense, finding language teaching work can be very easy. This is especially the case in a city like Perm where the number of native English speakers is very low. This does not seem to be as much the case in Moscow.


I would, yes. However I am not in contact with anyone who would need such help at the moment.

Comments


Overall very good quality teaching – I was especially pleased that my teachers were patient with me when I was speaking Russian, and encouraging me as my language got better.


Reliable.


Free b) accommodation

Free


The course covered 19 th century Russian literature and modern Russian language, as well as some poetry from the first half of the twentieth century. Thus, it tied in very well with my Oxford Russian course.

My Russian language learning was one of the best parts of my trip – I could practice what I had just learnt straight after the class with a Russian person. In Perm there are very few native English speakers (I in fact met only one who didn’t come from

Oxford), and therefore one is immersed in the language and forced to speak it as well as possible.

Hostel was very close to university.

Accommodation and tuition were free! And exchange course is developing between

Oxford University and Perm State University, run by Karen Hewitt.


The problem with the location is the weather, which is extreme for much of the year. It can go to less than -30 Celsius in winter, and reach +35 Celsius in summer. I bought mountaineering-type shoes and coat to deal with the Russian winter. This kind of special clothing is expensive. My coat was over £200. One minor problem I encountered was people simply reacting badly to me as a foreigner. This was a VERY

RARE occurrence, but being told “Yankee go home!” online is not very friendly!

However, I brushed off such insults, and on the whole people were very friendly indeed, more so even than in England, which I didn’t expect. Another problem is a considerable number of stray dogs, which I more than once saw gathered in a pack, which was very disconcerting.

There were several problems with the hostel (the «общежитие»). Firstly, the bed was terribly hard. It consisted of an extremely thin mattress on a wooden board (a second mattress didn’t particularly help). There was a serious problem with cockroaches, which become more common the warmer it gets. There were particularly many in the bathroom. They are not large, but they are everywhere. There were many on the upper floors of the building. This must have been due largely to the fact that, for instance in my bathroom, there were holes in the walls big enough for small mammals to crawl around in. The lift didn’t work. It was not under repair, it simply had been left, so that students now have to use the stairs. For me, this meant going up 10 flights of stairs. The water was often turned off randomly, so that I would be standing in the shower and suddenly the flow would stop, and I would have to use diluted water from the kettle to wash myself. What is more, the water often ran orange-brown, leaving sediment in the sink and the shower. I once had an orange shower which was a first. Needless to say, this is not acceptable for student accommodation. There was no double-glazing in the building. This wasn’t too much of a problem, but once in high winds a window in the smoking room was sucked out and fell 6 stories onto the street below. Needless to say this could have killed someone. The door to the room then slammed so violently that a whole wall of plaster was completely smashed and crumbling afterwards. In spite of the

“no smoking” signs everywhere, there were smoking rooms, and people would smoke in all the kitchens and everywhere. I would say this is actually a big problem, but it would make the hostel a no-go area for anyone with asthma or a dislike of cigarette smoke. Despite these negatives, I still would recommend my hostel, as living there is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience!


Do not drink tap water. Even use bottled water to brush your teeth (I think this is good general advice for being in Russia). Buy a 5 litre canister, for instance, and refill it for a very low cost at a water «Киоск». Do not walk alone at night.

Other comments:

PAID WORK

Location:

In the city centre, at the home of someone wanting help with English translation and

English language in general.


~ 2-3 months

Employer(s):

Personal


No


Without a doubt


I certainly would, only if I definitely knew that the Russian person was advertising or in need of someone.

Advantages:

Excellent pay for doing what is the easiest thing in the world for a native speaker of

English – speaking and writing in it. Very flexible when it is something organised through mutual contacts, and informal.

Disadvantages:

Often returning home late.

Costs:


Food shopping, transport costs (very low in Russia), flights to and from Perm.


My employment was not meant to cover costs, but it did help. Tuition and accommodation being free, I didn’t have any financial issues.


I recommend, on the money front, getting a Coop “Cash Passport”, which you fill with money in the UK (I put ~£2500 on for 5 months and it just about covered my costs). It will work at cash machines not only in Russia, but in many, many other countries! I really recommend that. You are NOT CHARGED to make transactions on the card.

The money you get in Russia will obviously be roubles, and how much this will eat into you number of pounds depends on the exchange rate at the time of the cash withdrawal.

I always told myself that 1000 roubles was about £20, although it’s a bit more than that.

Take appropriate clothing! A coat for English weather is not a coat for Russian winter weather, and the same goes for footwear – Perm has a very cold and snowy winter, with the ground incredibly slippery.


Yes n/a


Name: Joanna Kozlowska

e-mail: joanna.kozlowska@new.ox.ac.uk

College: New College

TAUGHT COURSES

Location and institution: Moscow State University, Institute of Asian and African

Studies – Mandarin Chinese course

Length of course: 1 semester (4 months)

Organising body: Moscow State University

Cost of tuition: 12 000 roubles per month – includes 8 hours of language tuition per week, optional seminars, access to all MSU lectures

Cost of accommodation:

Flat rental – about £600 per month


MSU issues student visas valid for up to one year so there is no need for multiple trips

– my insurance cost about £50 and a round-trip air ticket about £150. (This was before

Easyjet started flying to Moscow.)

Any unexpected additional costs: -


There are many tutoring agencies in Moscow but many require potential teachers to commit for at least 7-8 months. People have had positive experiences with e.g. Lucan

Education.


Yes – I would also recommend advertising on expat sites such as expat.ru and redtape.ru.

Comments


Professional and quite in-depth, teachers were usually happy to answer questions and give additional information.


Very reliable – teachers/lecturers always turned up on time and were well prepared.

Value for money of a) teaching – very satisfactory b) accommodation – expensive but the flat was spacious and


I cannot recommend studying alongside Russians highly enough - I chose to study

Mandarin rather than Russian to be in a group of native speakers, and found it a very good way to make Russian friends. I think this is especially important in large cities like Moscow and St Petersburg. Courses at the IAAS also have the advantage of offering a large number of seminars/classes in small, fairly-tight knit groups rather than just lectures.


Much less independence than at Oxford - courses sometimes felt overly structured and

'school-like', with some requirements (e.g. details of homework format) seeming unnecessarily strict. However, the course was also academically rigorous and challenging.


-

Other comments:

-

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: 2.5 months

Employer: EM Communications (formerly M:Communications) – a PR and IR

(Investor Relations) agency


Yes – I arranged the internship through the Oxford International Internship Programme.

comfortable, very close to the centre and three metro stations.


Yes – they are very much on the lookout for interns and I am happy to put anyone interested in touch.

Advantages:

Good opportunity to get an insight into Russian business and politics, an overview of

Russian media and exposure to a variety of Russian writing styles (journalistic, analytical, promotional copy.) Friendly office atmosphere – Russian and English are used interchangeably. Also great for getting contacts in journalism and business. Pay is decent and stable but hours tend to be long.

Disadvantages:

Fairly long hours and early morning deadlines. Exposure to spoken Russian may also be limited as everyone is fluent in English – but there are native Russian speakers in the office who should be happy to chat.

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: 3.5 months

Employer(s): The Moscow Times


No – I emailed the Arts editor with my CV shortly after arriving in Moscow.


Yes – the MT website now explicitly advertises two-month internships, as well as other opportunities for cooperation.


Yes, however the editor I worked for has moved to The Moscow News, another

English-language paper. They also have occassional openings and I could try to help.

Advantages:

Access to many interesting Russian and guest artists, activists and politicians – during my placement I got to interview a major Russian director and head of the Mosfilm studio, a leading polar explorer and former vice-chairman of the Duma, and several well-known writers. I also discovered various venues and events in Moscow I would probably not have heard of otherwise. Interns were very much thrown in at the deep end and offered major stories from the very start.

Great opportunity to use Russian in a variety of situations, including research, oral and written communications, and interviews. It was daunting at first but turned into an extremely enjoyable and motivational experience – by far the main highlight of my year abroad.

Fairly flexible hours – it should be possible to schedule assignments around any language classes or other commitments.

Disadvantages:

The work for the paper itself is usually unpaid or low-paid – however there should be opportunities to write and/or translate for various thematic supplements. These commissions usually pay decently, however they are not a stable source of income.

Costs:


The cost of living in Moscow is generally high, especially rent/accommodation. Visarelated costs can also mount if you want to stay in Russia for more than three consecutive months.


It's fairly easy to arrange Russian language lessons via websites such as expat.ru and redtape.ru. The pay in Moscow definitely exceeded my expectations – 6-7 hours per week were usually enough to meet living costs.


One way to save money is register your visa at the local migration office with the help of a Russian acquaintance rather than arrange it through an agency – despite various rumours, it's fairly straightforward and shouldn't take more than an hour.

If you are enrolled at a Russian university you should also be entitled to a 'social card'

(sotsiyalnaya karta) which gives significant discounts on transport. It's possible to arrange this at most metro stations in Moscow – you will need your student ID

(studencheskiy bilet) and a stamped form from your university. The 'International

Office' (Mezhdunarodnyi otdel) should be able to help with this. Universities will also be able to arrange a student multi-entry visa valid for up to a year, removing the need to renew a business/commercial one every three months. MSU will, however, usually send an invitation for just 20-30 days before they receive payment for the courses. They will then take care of extending your visa – you will not need to leave Moscow but they will need your passport for up to four weeks.

If renting a flat – it is possible to avoid commission/agency costs by using thelocals.ru or cian.ru. Services such as Airbnb, BeWelcome or HomeAway can also be helpful; there are also groups for people looking for rentals or flatmates in Moscow on

Couchsurfing.org. The expat websites Expat.ru and Redtape.ru are may be worth a look, too.


Yes. I could also try to put anyone interested in touch with Reuters journalists in

Moscow, however I am not sure if any work experience is available at the moment.

Name:

e-mail:

Alex Labrom

alexander.labrom@seh.ox.ac.uk

College: St. Edmund Hall

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: 1 month & 4 months

Employer(s): Moscow Times (unpaid) & Linklaters CIS (paid)


Moscow Times finalised after arriving. Linklaters organised before arriving.


Moscow Times Arts & Ideas desk is based upon unpaid students the majority of whom are on their year abroad. One of the partners at Linklaters formerly studied Russian at

University College so is very keen to get current Oxford students involved.


Yes

Advantages:

 Having a regular wage coming in is particularly useful in a city as expensive as

Moscow. It makes it much easier to cope with the typical costs of a year abroad such as accommodation, transport, visas, etc. In some circumstances the employers may even provide accommodation which was the case for my time at

Linklaters.



The year abroad is a good opportunity to get some valuable work experience and a chance to explore certain areas that you may want to pursue after Oxford.

A period of 3 or 4 months working in a reputable placement is a boost to any future job prospects.

 It is an opportunity to develop an understanding of vocabulary and terminology specific to the business area that you are working in.

Disadvantages:

 If you are working in an international business you have to make a conscious effort to speak as much Russian as possible. The chances are that most of your colleagues will be fluent in English, however, if you are explicit in your desire to speak as much Russian as possible this should not be a problem.

 If you have a regular working schedule you may not have as much time as you would like to explore the new environment that you are living in. I regret not making the most of the cultural opportunities that Moscow has to offer.

 You have to make sure that you stay on top of your Oxford reading lists while doing this work. Unlike studying abroad, any literature work that you do will have to be organised by yourself but there is plenty of time during lunch breaks and in the evenings to maintain this.

Costs:


Visa application before arriving, travel to and from Russia, travel in Moscow, food and living expenses. While at Linklaters, accommodation was provided in a nearby company apartment by Paveletskaya.


My employment fully covered the costs I faced during my time in Russia. But if this is not the case there are always tutoring agencies looking to hire part-time tutors and there are even opportunities to get into private tutoring.


 Be prepared for a stressful visa application process. Make sure you start this process as early as possible to avoid any last-minute panics.

 Try to have accommodation sorted before you arrive in Russia. It is quite an intimidating situation to arrive at the airport knowing that you do not have permanent accommodation yet. If this is not possible, try and arrange to stay with a friend for the first few days while you manage to sort everything out.

 I did not set up a bank account in Russia and I definitely think that this is the right way of going about it. Compared to some of the other countries that people spend their years abroad in, the Russian system is especially complicated and I have heard of particular difficulties when trying to close these bank accounts.


Yes


In the first week of my year abroad I met someone who was just finishing her year and she told me to cling on to every possible moment as it will absolutely fly by. Looking back on the past 16 months I cannot stress this enough. It is such an incredible opportunity to be able to live in these exciting, new environments so make the most of it as it will go by extremely quickly.

Name: Sophie Leane

e-mail: sophie.leane@worc.ox.ac.uk

College: Worcester

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow and Tbilisi

Length of employment: Four months

Employer(s): INTER RAO UES


Yes


Probably not


Advantages:

I did many of English to Russian (and vice versa) translations and now have a much better grasp of Russian legal and business language. My colleagues were very friendly and always happy to show me around the city or invite me to dinner, which meant that I had a chance to develop social relationships without doing a University course.

Disadvantages:

The hours were such that I did not have much time to do anything else on weekdays, which is obviously normal for the corporate world but did leave me, I felt, at a disadvantage in terms of the more “touristy” activities I could have done, also limiting me in terms of my ability to take trips to other places in Russia.

Costs:


Accommodation was the key one, as well as food and travel to and from work daily

(which was relatively cheap).


Yes


Check your visa specifications before you leave – in the case of a work visa like the one I was issued, you will only be able to spend 90 days in Russia out of every 180.


Yes.

Name: Alfie Lewis

e-mail: alfred.lewis@chch.ox.ac.uk

College: Christ Church


Location and institution: Moscow, MGU

Length of course: full academic year

Organising body: MGU

Cost of tuition: 120,000 roubles

Cost of accommodation: I rented a flat at 100,000 roubles a month

Cost of travel and insurance: Covered in my general insurance, so not indicative of a specific plan for Russia

Any unexpected additional costs: Costs of reprocessing visa within Russia, cost for damages when leaving a rented apartment (basically paying for a full house cleaning)


I worked freelance as an English tutor, advertising on expat.ru and similar sites. I earned the equivalent of £40 an hour, though there are numerous places, like Lucan, that offer more stable work.


I would just suggest advertising on sites for expats. You will probably find yourself inundated with requests quite quickly.

Comments

Quality of teaching: High, though was learning Chinese

Reliability of teaching: High, though was learning Chinese

Value for money of a) good, though still not inexpensive b) good, but I lived with other students from Oxford and

Cambridge, so only if sharing

Advantages of this particular course, location, living arrangement: I was in the direct centre of the city (Smolenskaya), it was safe, and I can now speak Chinese to a 1year in ab initio level

Disadvantages of same: High stress

Any particular advice or warning: If you want to do a similar course, make sure your

Russian is up to scratch (ie, you should find being taught in Russian by Mrs Keys doable, same for conversation class – listening skills more important than being able to reply for the sake of learning another language)

Other comments:

PAID WORK

Location: n/a

Are you willing to be contacted by second-years for further details? Yes

Name: Jonathan Lofts

e-mail: jonathan.lofts@oriel.ox.ac.uk

College: Oriel


Location and institution: St Petersburg, SPGU, Smolniy Insitut

Length of course: 3 months (14 weeks)

Organising body: RLUS

Cost of tuition: can’t completely remember.. possibly circa 1000GBP

Cost of accommodation: a) in hostel b) in family – 130£ a month


Travel (1 return): roughly 350GBP

Insurance roughly 70 GBP?

Any unexpected additional costs: none


Fairly easy – tutoring company Carfax Tutors hired many Oxbridge (and other) students living in St Petersburg. Longer term jobs harder to find on the spot.


Carfax Tutors. Not sure of a specific name but should be available online

Comments


Varying: some decent teachers, some certainly less so. Similarly some classes were very good (eg conversation), and others bordering on pointless (listening/phonetics).

Ability within the class was mixed. Thus probably not huge amounts of ground covered, but good for revision and solidifying knowledge of Russian


See above? Not sure I understand the intended difference

Value for money of a) teaching – adequate? Not great teaching, but certainly some use, and it did equate to roughly 16 hours a week, which is decent amount b) accommodation – fantastic. Was extremely lucky to get the price I did though (vague family friend who wasn’t really looking to rent – just had a spare room)


Good revision. It would probably have been best to arrange at a later stage, ie just before returning to Oxford, as improvement would already have been seen from having already lived in the country, and this could be consolidated well in a more formal learning environment.


Location of accommodation not ideal. Fairly far south – not near a metro station and far away from the centre of town and university.


It does, of course, get very cold. Once snow sets in, being near a metro is very useful, and being near the centre is too.

Other comments:

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow


Employer(s): Herbert Smith Freehills (law firm)

Were the arrangements for this work made before you went to the FSU? yes


Unlikely but possible – HSF do not tend to do internships (although other law firms do), but I emailed the company and got an interview in London which led to the internship.


I would probably feel slightly uncomfortable doing so as I would not quite know who to ask and feel it would be out of place

Advantages:

Great work experience. Structured days. Interesting look into office life, as well as expat life. Generally good fun and interesting. Pay, of course, is always welcome.

Disadvantages:

English office, most work completed with expats, thus possibility for speaking Russian during work hours (which constituted most of the day) was limited. There was however a Russian teacher at the office which was useful. Working a 9-6 is great experience but leaves less time for exploring the country and city, as well as being fairly tiring.

Costs:


In SPB – as described in first section. Food and general expenses not too costly.

In Moscow – accommodation (found a flat through someone at the office) 1000GBP per month (2 bedroom though, and I shared with a friend, so 500 each + bills).

Travelled for 2 weeks around Russia and Ukraine (cost around 500GBP). Flights to and from Moscow were covered by the firm. Living prices in Moscow, however, extremely high. Essentials and otherwise


In SPB not sufficiently – parents aided me financially.

In Moscow - yes


Are you willing to be contacted by second-years for further details? yes

Name: Maggie Lund

e-mail: maggie.lund@univ.ox.ac.uk

College: Univ



Group (2-4 people) classes two mornings a week. Discussion based.

Length of course: Rolling basis – I took the classes for about four months

Organising body: Language Link, Moscow



I rented privately, and we arranged rent with the landlord.


Travel costs were cheap using easyjet, student visa arranged through Langauge Link with roughly a one month turn around.

One-off extension of my existing travel insurance (through bank account) to cover

Russia cost around £120 for the period I was to be in Russia.



Language Link take on tutors to work both privately and in Russian schools and businesses. Qualifications needed probably, but I have a couple of contacts still working as teachers employed by language link who took casual group classes in

Russian as I did alongside their teaching work. Happy to put people in touch with these who could tell you more about the process.

If you have any contacts for finding casual teaching work, would you be willing to pass on their names to others? Yes - both at Language Link and ‘Tutors of Moscow’.

Contacts at tutors of Moscow also quite well versed in negotiating Moscow renting scene and might be able to advise.

I worked as a freelance translator/proof reader by approaching various agencies casually, which returned some good results and pays well, though work is not regular/reliable.

Comments


Excellent


Excellent

Value for money of a) teaching yes b) accommodation did not experience


Good location on circle metro line, classes fitted around my other work, lovely people.

Disadvantages of same: -


Other comments:

(PAID ) WORK – I volunteered full time for Charities Aid Foundation Russia, working on a research project they were carrying out for Coutts’ Bank.

Location: Moscow

Length of employment: four months

Employer(s): CAF Russia


I got in touch with CAF after I’d arrived in Russia


Probably depends on whether CAF have any specific projects they would like done, but in general yes, they would absolutely love to take Oxford Russianists and have a lot of contacts across the NGO network so could probably identify similar NGOs needing support.


Yes

Advantages: Great people, Russian-speaking professional environment, good experience, contacts.

Disadvantages: Unpaid

Costs:


In Moscow, rent is extremely expensive.


No, my paid work was not regular enough to cover rent.


Are you willing to be contacted by second-years for further details? yes

Name: Timothy Moyo

e-mail: timothy.moyo@univ.ox.ac.uk

College: Univ.



Benedict School, St Petersburg


Organising body: RLUS, Dr Bivon

Cost of tuition: a few thousand pounds

Cost of accommodation: a) in hostel

Perhaps a few hundred pounds a month. b) in family


RLUS sorts this and offers a reasonably cheap Endsleigh insurance deal.


NA


I taught English at a language school part-time – Educa language centre. However, I wouldn’t advise this school. When leaving, they didn’t pay me.


I would advise against working for Educa language centre.

Comments


Nothing taxing. I was the only Oxbridge student on my course, there were people from all universities, beginners and post A-level students so teaching was quite standard and not necessarily challenging.


Some individual teachers were particularly good – many were helpful if you had questions, I personally found ‘grammatika’ useful; others were not.


Teaching was decent, if unchallenging. b) accommodation

The hostel was quite cheap. Many people opted to live in the hostel for the first few weeks as they settled, then moved into their own flats after. This seems a pretty good idea, especially if you’re on a longer course. Reports from people in homestays could be very mixed – some Russian families seemed to be only after money and seldom spoke to their students; social tensions with families, necessary politeness, time curfews etc also impeded freedom and enjoyment of being independent abroad.

Advantages of this particular course, location, living arrangements:

The school’s a safe option and comfortable when starting off in Russia - it was structured and organised for you. Visas, accommodation, a decent work/free-time balance are all sorted for you.

It’s also secure with RLUS reps there to help you with any issues and it gives a guarantee of reliability as it’s been running for years.

There’s plenty of free time to take on part-time work eg translating/teaching/volunteering.


Large classes, around 8-10 in a class, meant it was very relaxed with nowhere near the individual attention from teachers or general pressure of oxford terms. Perhaps this is an advantage.

Other students may not necessarily be at the same level as oxford year abroaders and teachers needed to cater to the masses

Living in a hostel with Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester and St Andrews students ensured fluent English conversations daily.


Take care finding part-time work. There are some rouge companies who just take advantage of the constant churn of young English students looking to work – some overwork you, some don’t pay. I’m sure other Oxford students with a better experience can advise good places.

Homestays may limit freedom and not provide the beautiful all-loving Russian foster family people sometimes imagine

Other comments:



Middlebury College, Vermont, private liberal arts school, USA


Organising body: me

Cost of tuition: circa $10,000

Cost of accommodation:

College accommodation a) in hostel b) in family


Flights to America.


NA


NA


NA

Comments


Sometimes slow, spending too much time on simple things. But overall fair.

Students found daily feedback/consultation sessions with teachers, 8-9pm, were good to ask qus/go over corrections.


Teachers live with you and eat with you. They’re always there.


Fair. b) accommodation

Advantages of this particular course, location, living arrangements:

This is the world’s only (as far as I understand their PR work) full immersion language course. You sign a pledge not to speak any language other than Russian for 8 weeks.

And they take it seriously. All students and teachers speak Russian to each other 24/7, meal-times, library-times, break-times. At first it’s very weird hearing American accents stumble through Russian, however you soon get used to it.

In practice I spoke to home reasonably often and still improved my Russian.

Progress in speech and writing were particularly noticeable from weeks 3-4. By week 6 in my mind I was already done, happy with my progress. The last two weeks dragged with comparably less progress.

It is intense and exhausting like an 8-week oxford term. There’s an essay a week (500 words, Russian), 4 hours of classes a day and homework.

Extra-curricular activities are organised, football tournaments, choirs, one day out etc and you can organise your own if you want.


It costs a lot – though there are generous up-to-100% bursaries for those who qualify.

With an emphasis on fluency and just speaking, correctness sometimes lacked: people made mistakes (in grammar, phrases etc) and others would repeat mistakes and no one would get corrected

It is full isolation from friends/family, more psychologically/emotionally testing than expected

Even in the top group, there were some times when classes dragged/were too simple – obviously as with RLUS there were students of different abilities and teachers appeased the middle ground.

There was not much flexibility when I asked about changing topics/moving more quickly etc.

The school director is not particularly helpful. Sometimes you got the feeling the school had its reputation and had a set formula. If you fitted in, great. If you didn’t, they didn’t seem to put much effort into adapting to you


Other comments:

Getting a US study visa was a nightmare. Absolutely horrendous long process with a thousand forms, transatlantic coordination and visits to the US Embassy London.

Name: Alexander Wallace

e-mail: alexander.wallace@univ.ox.ac.uk

College: Univ

(Un) PAID WORK

Location:

Moscow News, Ria-Novosti building, Zubovskiy bul., Moscow


~ 3 months

Employer(s):

Moscow News (“Russia’s oldest English-language newspaper”)



Yes – Kevin O’Flynn, who works on the culture desk, would be happy to have anyone

– but it is an UNPAID internship (though with expenses etc).


Yes.

Advantages:

Working in an office environment with Russians/Russian-speakers; interesting assignments and activities, such as interviewing, attending press conferences etc. Very flexible schedule, can be fitted around anything else.

Disadvantages:

Unpaid! Not always speaking Russian – many who work on the Moscow News are not

Russian or are only part Russian, and prefer speaking English. Occasionally not much work…

Costs:


Accommodation, usual living costs (food etc.) – two persons sharing a flat in Reutov, just outside Moscow = 35,000 rub a month (17,500 each – approx. £350).



Rental prices in Moscow can be very very high, but looking for somewhere outside the ring road makes this a little more manageable – so long as it’s within reasonable distance still of a metro station. The only way to get private rented accommodation in

Russia is by knowing someone who knows someone… otherwise can be arranged in situ, I suppose.


Yes.


Even if everything isn’t fully in place and planned before actually arriving in Russia, there are usually plenty of opportunities to sort something (speaking re Moscow, that is). Private translation work is easy to come by, and Russians will generally pay very well for English teaching: there are a number of small conversation practice groups etc., who advertise online and in the Moscow Times – it’s worth looking out for this and making inroads.

Name: Hannah Willmott

e-mail: hannah.willmott@magd.ox.ac.uk/ hjwilmo@hotmail.co.uk

College: Magdalen

I spent half of the year in Moscow and half in Paris and worked full-time in both locations. I have only covered the Russia section here but am quite happy to be contacted with queries about France as well, including questions about how to split the year between 2 languages.

PAID WORK

Location: Moscow


Employer(s): Carfax Consultants and Private Tutors

I worked full-time in the Carfax office as an ‘Academic Co-ordinator’ which is also advertised as an internship. The role is varied and flexible depending on your interests, level of Russian and experience. I worked mainly on recruiting new tutors, coordinating pupil timetables, liaising with clients and organising events.

Were the arrangements for this work made before you went to the FSU? I applied for the job following a recommendation in March 2013, had interviews via Skype and then in person, and was offered the job in June 2013.

Is the post/casual work of this type likely to be available in future? Carfax Moscow and St. Petersburg will both require native English speakers with a strong command of

Russian to fill this type of ad-hoc role in the administrative offices. They also offer

freelance tutoring work. It goes without saying that the full-time role is much more secure in terms of guaranteed income.


There should be adverts in the round-up but if you cannot locate these then the respective offices would be pleased to receive speculative applications/ requests for the job description.

Advantages:

 The working language of the office is Russian and so you are constantly practising spoken Russian.

 The work is varied and you are given a decent amount of responsibility early on, which is helpful in terms of general professional development when applying for jobs/ internships in future.

 The office is warm and friendly, with lots of tutors passing through, so there is ample opportunity to meet people and make friends.

 The package is amazing – accommodation, travel, visa fees etc are all provided, in addition to a modest wage. The financial implications of this are obvious but it is difficult to overstate the advantage of having a contact in Russia who arranges everything for you. I found the year abroad daunting, but it made everything so much easier to arrive at the airport with a driver waiting to take me to a flat (which was much nicer than anything I would have been able to afford otherwise!). I felt very lucky to avoid the hassle of arranging visa documents/ the scramble to find accommodation on arrival in Russia, and other similarly stressful practicalities.

Disadvantages:

 There is limited opportunity to practise written Russian. I took lessons with a

Russian tutor to counter this, but you would probably get more opportunities for prose composition on a university course.

 As with many year abroad internships, you will have quiet days where there isn’t too much to do and you have to be disciplined to ensure you are still using your time productively.

 The application process is fairly drawn out (CV and cover letter, Skype interview, translation exercise, in-person interview in London) and the internship was confirmed fairly late in my case, which made planning the rest of the year abroad a little difficult.

 In future, applicants who can commit to the whole year (or longer, as the post is also suitable for graduates) will be preferred.

Costs:

What costs did you face in the course of the year? See advantages – my accommodation, travel costs (including a return trip to the UK to renew the visa after 3 months), visa fees and a monthly metro card were all covered by Carfax, in addition to a small wage. In addition to the UK student finance which I would have received already, I was able to manage everyday costs comfortably.

Are you willing to be contacted by second-years for further details? Yes

Name: Kimberley Wysocki

e-mail: Kimberley.wysocki@lmh.ox.ac.uk

College: Lady Margaret Hall


Location and institution: - Moscow, Moscow State University (ISAA)

- Kiev, Ukraine, Echo Eastern Europe School

Length of course: - Moscow – 3.5 months (September – December)

- Kiev - courses tailored to student’s needs (I did 4 weeks, and then another 5 weeks later in the year)

Organising body: Moscow State University / Echo EE School, Kiev

Cost of tuition: A t MSU – approx. £1500 per semester.

At the language school in Kiev - ~ €100 per week (depending on whether you choose group lessons or individual, and how many hours)

Cost of accommodation: a) in hostel b) in family – (Kiev) €100 per week c) rented apartment – (Moscow)~£650/month

- (Kiev) ~ €450/month

(Price dependent on area)


Russia – overall ~ £1000 (travel within in the country is relatively cheap)

Ukraine – approximately £500

Insurance covering the whole year - ~£300


Medical treatment and medication (that may not be covered by insurance).

Clothing – for example, buying a suitable coat for the Russian winter months.


Much easier to find English tuition opportunities in Moscow and St

Petersburg, and they will usually offer a higher salary per hour.


N/A

Comments


The teaching in Moscow was good, and quite useful – particularly useful for learning about (mostly Soviet) literature, film and music which has greatly influenced modern

Russian society.

In Kiev, the teaching was exceptional and my language and grammar improved very quickly.

(All teaching took place only in Russian, which was extremely helpful)


Both were very reliable.

Value for money of a) teaching – not bad, but I got a lot more out of my language courses in Kiev than in Moscow, and they were much cheaper. b) accommodation – Moscow accommodation is quite expensive (although, not sure about prices for staying with a family), and if you want to be in the centre, you will definitely be paying a lot more. Certainly, by comparison, your money will go a lot further in Ukraine, and from personal experience, the same budget will get you a bigger and nicer apartment in the centre of Kiev.


Moscow – the people at the international department of MSU were happy to answer any questions I had, no matter how seemingly trivial! There is lots to see and do, every day, all year. Being the capital of Russia, you’re in the centre of all current political events and can witness first-hand a lot of interesting incidents (should you choose to...). Getting to the centre from all of the Moscow airports is very simple – each airport has an ‘aeroexpress’ system, which is quite cheap and reliable.

Kiev – One key advantage of going to Ukraine, compared with Russia is that you don’t need a visa to go there. There is lots to see and do, and it is a beautiful city. Most things are very cheap (apart from branded clothing and such items), I don’t think I once spent over £20 on a weekly shop at the supermarket! The people are quite friendly and usually willing to help you out if you are lost or have any questions.

In terms of the language course and school, the director of the school is very welcoming and helpful, and they really go out of their way to make sure you’re happy with all aspects of your stay in Kiev.

Both Cities – the public transport is very cheap, efficient, and simple to use.

Theatre, ballet, opera, cinema, etc, are also extremely cheap. Buying a phone/sim card and making phone calls, texting (even abroad) is also very cheap (compared to the UK).


Moscow – It can get to be quite expensive. If you’re not accustomed to living in a big city, it can feel particularly cold and overwhelming. When using the metro and other transport, you may still have to walk another 20 minutes to get to places. The Russian visa process can seem quite convoluted and take a fair amount of time to organise.

Kiev – It could be said that a disadvantage of Kiev is the fact that there is a lot of Ukrainian around - for example, on advertisements, signs, etc - but the

majority of people do speak Russian, and most Kievans seem to use Russian as their primary language).


- I would say, as a general rule, if you have any particularly strong views on subjects that are controversial or even taboo in Russia – for example, LGBT rights, or other

‘non-traditional’ views – it may be best to keep them to yourself, until you’re sure that it won’t cause any issues.


The first half of my year, in Russia, was an invaluable experience and very insightful.

However, personally, I much preferred the time I spent in Kiev. I had been a little worried that I would be surrounded by too much Ukrainian, and not enough Russian, but almost all of the people I met there spoke Russian as their first language, including Ukrainians of all generations.

If anybody is interested in spending time in Ukraine for their Year Abroad, I would be more than happy to answer any questions about it.

Dear returning student - WebLearn

Name: Rupert Benzecry

Name: Thomas Clarke

Name: Carmella Crinnion

Name: Nicola Dockray

Zusi, Peter [p.zusi@ucl.ac.uk]

Name: Toby Fisher

Name: Maximilian Gill

UNPAID!

Name: Max Glanz

Name: Cecylia Grendowicz

Name: Billy Henson

Name: James Hilton

Name: Sam Keeler

Name: Joanna Kozlowska

Name:

Alex Labrom

Name: Sophie Leane

Name: Alfie Lewis

Name: Jonathan Lofts

Name: Maggie Lund

Name: Timothy Moyo

Name: Alexander Wallace

Name: Hannah Willmott

Name: Kimberley Wysocki

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Dear returning student - WebLearn

Name: Rupert Benzecry

Name: Thomas Clarke

Name: Carmella Crinnion

Name: Nicola Dockray

Zusi, Peter [p.zusi@ucl.ac.uk]

Name: Toby Fisher

Name: Maximilian Gill

UNPAID!

Name: Max Glanz

Name: Cecylia Grendowicz

Name: Billy Henson

Name: James Hilton

Name: Sam Keeler

Name: Joanna Kozlowska

Name:

Alex Labrom

Name: Sophie Leane

Name: Alfie Lewis

Name: Jonathan Lofts

Name: Maggie Lund

Name: Timothy Moyo

Name: Alexander Wallace

Name: Hannah Willmott

Name: Kimberley Wysocki

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