East Carolinian

Issue date: 10/28/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Staff Photo

Students and faculty can get a second look at Russian culture this month as Joyner Library opens another Russian art exhibit.

Titled "Russia in Transition," the exhibit opened on Oct. 16 and will run until Februrary of 2009.

Yelena Francis, a Russian instructor at ECU, spear.headed the idea of the exhibit with the help of Mark Sanders, head of the reference department at Joyner Library.

"I am acting as a representative of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures by trying to show the local students diversity of Russian life and culture from different points of view," Francis said.

The exhibit consists of 38 photos that were taken in Russia, mainly in St. Petersburg and Moscow, from 2000 to 2004.

The exhibit is based around the late Perestroika times, which was the early period of President Putin's ruling. There are also featured photos of street life and events, along with portraits.

The actual photographs came from the Missouri Historical Society and Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, and were taken by an American journalist who lived and worked in Russia.

"The fact that these photos were taken by an American is very valuable due to the specific vision of Russia 'from outside,'" Francis said.

The focus of the exhibit is Russia's transition from a socialist system to capitalist system. For years, Russia was under strict prohibition of any private business and lacked basic consumer goods and services, but then began to transform. Soon, private enterprises starting appearing and new business such as street vendors and fast food restaurants became new to Russia.

"To know what change has happened to Russia during the presidency of Putin has changed the image of Russia, so this is a very important topic," said Elena Murenina, the director of the Russian Studies Interdisciplinary program at ECU.

The photos are sorted by subjects and grouped into certain categories such as religion, business and history in Russia. There is also a section depicting Russia's reaction to the events of Sept. 11.

In addition to these categories, the exhibit features photos that illustrate everyday life in Russia. Each photo has its own commentary.

This is the second Russian art exhibit to be showcased in Joyner.

The first exhibit presented pictures that were taken by amateurs while this particular exhibit contains photographs from the collection of the Missouri Historical Society.

The exhibit became possible due to the financial support of the ECU Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and with the support of several ECU professors.

"I think this [the exhibit] is a great opportunity to see how beautiful and diverse Russia is and I hope it will stimulate students to study abroad to Russia," Murenina said.

"I hope that it will be interesting and educational for the ECU students and everyone who is interested in Russian history, politics, and mentality," Francis said about the exhibit.

ECU offers several study abroad programs to Russia as well as a Russian Studies program. Student can major or minor in Russian Studies at ECU.



This writer can be reached at features@theeastcarolinian.com

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