Participants

Natasha Rulyova¹; Olga Kenton¹; Shamil Khairov⁴; Alex Krouglov³; Natalia V. Parker²;  ¹ University of Birmingham, UK;  ² SSEES, University College London, UK;  ³ School of Slavonic and East European Studies, UCL, UK;  ⁴ University of Glasgow, UK, UK

Discussion

This roundtable brings together scholars with extensive experience of teaching Russian to postgraduate students and researchers whose disciplinary focus lies in history, politics, society, literature, and culture. In a shifting academic landscape marked by declining undergraduate enrolments, changing patterns of postgraduate research, and increasing attention to interdisciplinarity and decolonisation the teaching of Russian to postgraduate cohorts presents both new challenges and opportunities.

The participants will share insights from their own teaching practices and publications, reflecting on the needs of postgraduate students whose research requires high-level Russian language skills but who may not be specialists in Russian linguistics or literature. Discussion will cover strategies for developing advanced reading, translation, and analytical skills; designing teaching materials tailored to research-focused learners; and integrating contemporary issues, media, and diverse genres into classroom practice.

The roundtable also aims to stimulate wider discussion within the BASEES community about how postgraduate Russian teaching can support the next generation of scholars, foster international collaboration, and ensure that postgraduate research into Russia and the Russophone world is grounded in robust linguistic training. The session will be of interest to academics involved in postgraduate supervision and training, as well as to those engaged with broader debates about the future of Russian studies in the UK and beyond.