Jump to Teachers and teaching | Locations | Curriculum | Part-time work | Graduation and the following years
Here I've written what I saw and what I remember, therefore this text is subjective.
Entrance of the Main building. Source: Diplomat magazine (published by the Russian foreign ministry).
Organisation
I studied at MGLU during six years: one preparatory year (1988 - 89) and then five years (1989 - 94) of the standard programme of the Translation faculty.
At that time MGLU had four faculties: Translation (translators and guides), Pedagogical (teachers), Linguistics, and Further Education.
I was at the Translation faculty, group *03 English/Swedish (in the first year 103, then 203, etc.). See the list of my fellow students.
MGLU is a state institution, so the tuition was free. We even got an allowance of 2 - 10 dollars per month, which roughly covered our lunch expenses.
Remarks: There were only boys in our group. Originally most of us came after the preparatory department for former military servicemen. Our examination results were a bit lower than the passing grade, that's why in the beginning we did an additional year. In that year we studied English (reading, grammar and practice - all in one), Russian Grammar, History and Literature, i.e. the subjects of the entrance examinations. After we successfully passed exams in these subjects, we entered the first year of the Translation faculty.
At that time not only good grades were required to enter the University: we also had to bring recommendation from our district Komsomol (a communist youth organisation). I didn't do anything in Komsomol and for a few months I didn't even pay membership fees. Still, after some hassle, I got this paper.
There were also other groups in the same year with English as the "first language": English/French, English/Spanish, as wells as groups with the "first" language other than English (French, Swedish, etc.).
Teachers and teaching
The Linguistic University shared the drawbacks characteristic of the
entire Soviet/Russian system of higher education: emphasis on memorising rather
then developing thinking and creativity, no electives and extracurricular
activities, underpaid teaching staff, obsolete facilities and textbooks. Still,
on balance, it was a good and useful university experience, one of the best
available in the country at that time.
The end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s was a hard time for the University and the Russian educational system in general. Those were the last years of the Soviet Union and the beginning years of the new Russian statehood. Support from the government was very weak; the country's educational institutions were basically left to themselves.
Best teachers were being snatched up by the emerging private sector - foreign companies and private educational institutions which mushroomed in Moscow in the early 1990s. Demand for people with foreign-language skills was acute. At the same time salaries in state organisations, like MSLU, tumbled, especially after the liberalisation of prices in 1992.
Many teachers worked in several places and sometimes missed our classes. For example, most of our oral translation programme was scrapped for this reason.
Bad management was also apparent. The dean of the Translation faculty was seen drunk on the job. As for the University's rector, I saw her only a few times on television giving interviews and speaking at congresses. (P.S. See also the photo at the bottom of this page).
Little was done to modernise programmes, to adapt them for the needs of the market economy. Our textbooks were published in the Soviet times and were full of Soviet ideology. There was a course in computer science, where we studied an old Russian word processor Lexicon 1; afterwards I never used this software. The worst was the condition of our language lab: broken tape recorders, disorder in the catalogue and the phonoteque.
Still we had many outstanding, very experienced teachers, who continued the strong academic traditions of the former Moris Torez Institute. I would like to mention some of them: Viktor Lanchikov and Vladimir Usov (English translation), Gennady Tomakhin (Country study: USA), Vadim Titov (Philosophy). See also the full list of my teachers.
Remarks: There came also a few visiting lecturers. I remember two: Morton Benson, author of the BBI Combinatory Dictionary, spoke on English phraseology; and John Maisel, an American missionary, gave a lecture "Is Jesus God?"
As for foreign students, I remember a group of Swedes who came to study Russian at our University. We attended a few of their classes in Russian-Swedish translation and talked with them during the breaks.
That was all the exposure to native speakers which was available in the University. It was something, though far from enough.
In the 4th year (1992 - 93) a few students from various groups went on a one-year exchange programme to a sister institution - Monterey Institute of International Studies in the USA (Ca.). It was a free programme and, therefore, at that time it was a big privilege. The selection was done subjectively, there was no open competition. That resulted in severe disappointment for some and a few broken friendships.
There were a few teachers from abroad during my time in the University. I remember going to a few classes given by Lisa Nazarenko (USA) and a British teacher whose name I've forgotten. These teachers didn't give regular classes for our group. In the last year we were luckier: we got a native speaker from Sweden.
Locations
For the most part, classes were held in Ostozhenka St. (then called Metrostroyevskaya). This location was very convenient: just a 5-minute walk from the Garden Ring (Metro "Park Kultury").
In senior years, once or twice a week, we had classes also in Rastokino (10 min. by bus from Metro "Sokolniki"). Everybody disliked this place. Each time we had to wait 10 - 20 minutes for the bus, and both teachers and students often came late. The building itself was cold and empty. Fortunately, there was a snack bar in the basement where everyone gathered to warm up oneself.
The Rostokino building. Source: thorez_photos.
Remarks: Two well-known places in the main building: "Zhelezka" ("a piece of iron") - the entrance lobby with timetables, called so because of its metal floor, the usual place to meet someone, and "Lingua" - a refectory and two snack bars, the best area for socialising.
One more place for rubbing shoulders was (and still is) near at the main entrance, where dozens of students stood, smoked and chatted during the breaks. There also used to be a newspaper kiosk near this spot, where I remember buying cheap US News & World Report and The Economist.
(In the early 90s Western periodicals were sold in Moscow press kiosks at about 1/10 of the cover prices, that is in the same price bracket with the Russian ones. I think it was partially a form of humanitarian aid to poor Russians and partially a way to acquainting them with these publications. Now the Western press is sold at Western cover prices, while subscription prices are significantly higher than abroad).
The institute had two hostels with additional classrooms: one for foreign students (near Ostozhenka St.), the other one for Russian/CIS students (Petroverigsky pereulok, also the place of the preparatory courses).
The sports facilities were located at Ostozhenka (sports hall), Rostokino (skiing), Luzhniki (swimming pool) and the Gorky Park (track and field athletics).
On Ostozhenka we had classes in all the there buildings: "A" (the main one with the famous yellow facade), "Б" (behind "A", built in ca. 1970 but already quite worn out inside), and sometimes in "B" (nearby, then very dilapidated, but completely renovated in 2002).
A corridor in the Main Building. Source: thorez_photos.
Curriculum
We studied various aspects of the English language: phonetics, grammar,
lexicology, stylistics, history of the language, etc.
Another big area of study was the English-speaking countries (Britain and the USA); we had courses on their geography, history, culture, and political systems.
There were also some social sciences: "History of the Communist Party" (we got it in the first two years), Russian literature, studies of culture and religion, and philosophy. Of all these subjects I liked only philosophy - we had an excellent teacher.
In the first year we studied also Latin, which was mandatory for everybody. In the second year it was superseded by a modern language. In those times of planned economy students were not asked what second foreign language they wanted to study; for our group it was decided that we would study Swedish. I was not upset at all; actually, I was curious.
We made significant progress in Swedish with the first professor, who taught for one year, then we got another one (for two years) and the study lost direction. Swedish was our minor, and no one was particularly concerned with the quality of teaching: it was understood that we were unlikely to use Swedish in our professional life. But in the last year we got a native Swedish speaker (Eva Winiarski)! I tried to make the most of her classes, and so she recommended me for a summer Swedish course in Sweden (I went there right after the graduation)
We also had a course of Modern Russian which lasted three years, but, except for a few aspects of stylistics, I didn't derive any use from it.
The curriculum also included a reserve officer training (4 years) which was optional for me, since I'd served in the Army. I went though it, though, in order to learn English military terminology and get a military profession of a translator. The course was concluded with one-month combat training in Vladimir region, there, as a former serviceman of the Soviet Army, I was put in command of about 20 other students.
In general, what I think this curriculum badly lacked were subjects developing practical communicative skills, such as creative writing, report writing, and public speaking.
Besides, we didn't study much vocabulary. After 5 years of studying English full-time, we were expected to know actively just 8,000 English words (in the last year I additionally learned about 3,000 of so called "SAT/GRE words"). As for Swedish, we hardly studied its vocabulary at all, passing the final exam with no more than 2,000 words.
My overall academic standing was good, but not excellent: I did not study all the subjects with the same zeal and often preferred to study on my own :)
Part-time work
Not long before I graduated, the University set up a student employment centre. Like others, I left my data there, but I didn't get any job offers from this source.
While I studied I did get a few offers of partial employment via the faculty. In 1991 I interpreted for Christian missionaries for a couple of weeks. In 1993 I taught Russian to a group of American students (although I liked teaching my native language to foreigners, after one month I gave it up because I needed time for preparation for my exams and lacked suitable training).
I also did some other small jobs, e.g. taught English to a few people and interpreted at a seminar held by Moon's Church (foreign missionaries were quite active in Russia then).
Graduation and the following years
I left the University with mixed feelings: I was grateful for all the acquired knowledge and skills, but I was also dissatisfied because after spending five years we got a "general education" and mastered only one foreign language.
After the graduation from MSLU, I spent three weeks in Sweden, and the following autumn I began to study business administration at International University of Moscow.
I visited my Alma Mater from time to time after the graduation: I walked past the familiar walls and my mind was flooded with memories.
Then the times changed. In 2000, after about 2-year's absence from Russia, I came to visit MSLU again, but this time the guards didn't let me in, even though I showed to them the original of my diploma. I can only guess the reason: a bomb scare, indifference to the alumni... or, most probably, both.
Rector Khaleyeva and ultranationalist Zhirinovsky.... Source: thorez_photos.
The links above lead to blogs about MGLU, where today's students share their experiences (in Russian).