STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Exchange semester: Fall 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
Russia is a difficult country and I received my information quite late, but everything worked
out without any major complications. Just make sure to apply for your visa in time. And don’t
be stressed out if you receive little information. It will be given to you when you get there.
Applying for a visa
Visas are about 1300 NOK, and takes about a week to obtain. I would apply at least a month
in advance to make sure you get everything right. You need an official invitation from your
scool to obtain the visa, so stress that you get that in time.
Travel
Travelling to Russia is quite simple, and there is usually no problem getting flight tickets to
reasonable prices.
Housing
I lived in the university dormitory, and was very happy with my stay. I lived in a room with
two other girls, and shared a bathroom with four other girls. It may seem quite tight, but it is
very nice and a great way to make friends quickly. The dormitory kept a simple standard, but
it is clean, cheap, safe, and perfect location. I highly recommend staying there.
Costs
Per month (approx.):
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
300 NOK
50 NOK
3000 NOK
500 NOK
2000 NOK
Culture and language
You should absolutely know at least the Russian alphabet before going there. Russians are
very open and friendly people, but few know English. (Even at the university.) At Plekhanov
they have a great buddy system that makes it easy to get to know the city and Russian culture.
In addition you live in a dormitory with other international students (we were all gathered in
two floors), so you will experience culture from all over the world.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
STUDENT REPORT
Plekhanov is a university of economics, but they offer a wide range of subjects within culture,
business, marketing, strategy and more. It is located central in Moscow, and all buildings are
centrated around a campus.
Course registration
Registrating for the courses was a big mess to be honest. But as I have learned; in Russia
everything is difficult, but it all works out in the end. Make sure to have a good dialogue with
the deans office, and you will be fine. The courses are in two modules, some run just through
one, but some are continuing through both modules. This you must see from the course
information. Make sure you have as few overlaps as possible.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
28. August
1. September
26. December
19-30 October and 123 january
Exams can be moved
if nessecary. Just talk
to the deans office.
Arrival
The introduction week was very good. The buddy system takes very good care of you, and
though everything might seem very chaotic, it will work out.
The International Office
In Russia you have to fight for your information. They have very poor information channels,
so pay attention to the professors and ask if anything is unclear. They will not nessecarily
remind you of deadlines etc. so it is your own responsibility to be up to date.
Social activities
As I previousely mentioned, the buddy system of Plekhanov is very good. You will have
many activities to join and meet a lot of new people through them. They host events through
the entire semester and try to include you as much as possible. The buddys are mostly Russian
students who are volenteers and eager to get to know you.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
In the beginning the workload seemed very much because all lectures are obligatory. It is not
as much as it seems, and the academical level is definitely lower than at BI. The professors
have very different ways of teaching, and the methods differ quite a lot from course to course.
Make sure you have a good relationship to your lecturers. That will help you a lot.
Course materials
You will not have to bye much course material. Mostly they base their courses around powerpoint presentations which will be available for you. I used BIs library database to get a hold of
articles/books that were additional. In some subjects they have booklets, but they are very
reasonably priced and can be bought at campus.
STUDENT REPORT
Exams
The semester is divided in to two modules. Some courses last only one module, and some
during both. After the first module (end of October) we had exams in the ending courses, and
mid-term tests in the two-module courses. The examination and grades are set in different
ways in different courses, and mostly they base the grade on activity in the lessons, tests,
presentations and exams.
Library and technology
I did not use the library at all, and don’t know where it was. There are no facilities to study at
school, as the school consists only of classrooms and offices. There is no internet at school,
and the facilities are quite different than we are used to at BI.
Description of courses
There is next to no structure of the schedule, courses and exams. To me it seems like they
vary a lot from year to year, and nobody have any control. In IT they changed the examination
method from pass to exam during the semester without informing us, which was quite a
surprise at the end of the semester. I had the courses:
Institutional Economy – very good course. Lessons with structure and intererssant curriculum.
Can be seen as an extention to macroeconomics.
History of economic thought – also a good course, but very theoretic. Grade based on tests,
presentation and class activity. The course is in English, but the teacher spoke quite a lot
Russian. If you don’t know any Russian, I would not recommend this course.
Logistics – Interesting, but terrible teachers. This course was a great mess, and I don’t
recommend doing it.
Doing Business In Russia – obligatory course for all exchange students. Different lecturers
from different sectors makes sure you get hands on information from the Russian market,
work life etc. examination is a written report and a presentation of the report. Took quite a lot
of work, but was very useful.
IT - a joke in the beginning. We started by learning about windows, then word, then exel. The
first module was very easy, but as we started with exel it became more complicated and
relevant. Grade set based on tests, presentations, written reports and exam.
Russian – Very good teachers, and a very good course. Obligatory for all exchange students.
Grade set based on class activity and tests.
Exchange
I loved my time in Moscow. I would go back any day, and recommend strongly to go there.
The culture is very different in some points and very similar in others. I believe that Russia is
a subject to great alienification from the west, and I think it is important to see a more
neuanced picture in future politics and business.