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Russian Art Research Paper

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Growing up in the Eastern Catholic Church, a faith heavily influenced by slavic cultures and traditions, I have been surrounded by Russian forms of art my entire life. It is in the music I sing at Divine Liturgy, in the architecture of the church and the icons that decorate it, but the most prominent Russian art form I have been exposed to throughout my life is literature. First it was the stories I learned in Sunday school about the Russian saints. My favorite was St. Seraphim, the Russian monk who lived in a hut in the woods and when he prayed, all the animals, from rabbits to bears, would sit beside him and listen. Then when I was first learning to read, a lady in my parish had given me an illustrated book of Russian fairy tales. I loved to try and copy the pictures from it, especially the bright orange and red firebird that was depicted on the cover. Despite these early introductions to Russian literature, I think the first thing that really …show more content…

As I read more and more, what began as fun and silly playfulness has grown into deep appreciation. However this appreciation is, unfortunately, limited. How can I fully love the poetry of Pushkin when each word that he had meticulously chosen must be translated, sacrificing his poetic style, in order that I may read it? Even if I could read Russian, would not my understanding of the novels of Dostoyevsky be improved if I could visit his home country and experience the culture and society that influenced his life and works? By visiting Russia, learning the language, and thus growing in my understanding of Russian culture, I will be able to extract a richer experience from the writings that I already love so much. These are exactly the opportunities that the Intensive Summer Program in Russian will open up to me, and why I feel motivated to apply, so that I may take advantage of such opportunities. (eh that last sentence feels

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