Ledger

Issue date: 4/7/05 Section: Editorial

It was late morning on Friday, March 18 when the airplane descended from the thick layer of clouds to expose the bleak snow covered ground and sparse evergreens before touching down at the Sheremetevo airport just outside of Moscow, Russia. Thus began the most recent exchange of students from the University of Washington, Tacoma to Moscow State University's Department of Journalism.

I think that while my first introduction to Moscow seemed like some scene out of Dr. Zhivago or Anna Karenina, a quick history to this unique relationship bears repeating.

The program was begun in March 2003 through the collaborative efforts of MSU's Deputy Dean and Associate Professor, Dr. Maria Lukina, and UWT's Director of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, William Richardson and Assistant Professor, Dr. Chris Demaske.

This was the fifth exchange and the third team of American students to go to Russia with hotel/flight expenses paid by a special fund specifically set up for this program.

This year, Brooke Berard and I were selected to travel to Moscow to produce a joint newspaper. We would spend eight days working and interacting with a group of Russian students, seven this time, that taken together, would create a collaborative team.

Media Credit: Michele Brittany St. Basil´s Cathedral, located on Red Square, was one of the many Russian sights that will be remembered. [Click to enlarge]

As mentioned above, we arrived late Friday morning and were met by UWT's Demaske and MSU student Sasha Sheveleva at the airport and transported by car to the Rossija Hotel, the largest Europe hotel with almost 3,000 rooms. Not only was it a convenient walk to the Department of Journalism building, but it was right across the street from Red Square and the Kremlin!

From there, it seemed as though we were constantly on the go the entire weekend taking in the Old Circus, shopping at the GUM, the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as walking the Red Square where we could admire world famous St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Tomb, and the walls of the Kremlin which house the ashes of eminent individuals.

In the mornings, street vendors painted Russian scenes and we could hear the chanting from Kazan Cathedral drift on the cold breeze as the bells tolled the hour.

It wasn't all sightseeing of course, as we were there to produce a joint paper and learn about Russian media. We met Monday afternoon and discussed the next day's press conferences and determined what news we wanted to cover. We chose two: the War in Iraq and the launching of a new web site to inform the public about Russian immigration procedures.

We visited Voice of Russia, a state-run radio station with broadcasts to over 160 countries in 38 different languages. Demaske and Berard were interviewed for a broadcast scheduled for later in the week.

We also toured the Izvestia, one of the more liberal newspapers in Moscow. Both provided insight into just two of the many various media outlets.

On Wednesday and Thursday, all of us wrote our articles, discussed layout, and edited each other's writing. And by Thursday evening, we had a four-page newspaper, which has been reproduced on the following four pages.

Friday evening, the joint team met at Irina Tolstikova's home to have a beautiful meal prepared by her parents. We broke bread, we laughed, we toasted with vodka and beer, and reminisced over the past week.
It was an incredible time and for me, I thought about the bonds of friendship that had transcended culture, centuries of history and here we were, the next generation. I hoped that from each of our experiences, we would become vessels of peace and promotion of understanding, respecting each other as unique individuals, human beings sharing this island called earth.

A big thank you goes to Drs. Lukina, Richardson, and Demaske for this amazing opportunity and to the students of MSU, in particular: Masha Alekseeva for her enthusiasm for Husky Voices, Andrey Baranov who got us into the elite club, Irina Filatova for her guidance on our sightseeing outings, Sasha Sheveleva who held us all together for a fantastic issue, Ivan Tarasenko for all his efforts with production, Irina Tolstikova for opening her home to us, and Jura Vyssokov who displayed his passion for social and cultural understanding.

Also, a special thank you to three additional MSU students, having been involved in previous joint efforts, who also spent time and shared their friendships with us: Anton Manyashin, Rafael Saakov, and Galia Tischenko. Thank you one and all.

And with a week back home, I know for myself, eight days just whetted my appetite for an appreciation and interest in Russia. I know I will go back.

In the meantime, this November, several Russian students involved in this March collaboration will join the Ledger team here on campus to complete the sixth joint issue of the The Journalist/The Ledger.

Media Credit: Chris Demaske Part of the team involved with putting together The Journalist/The Ledger issue: Michele Brittany (UWT), Irina Tolstikova (MSU), Dr. Maria Lukina (MSU), Sasha Sheveleva (MSU), Andrey Baranov (MSU), and Brooke Berard (UWT).

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools