June 05, 2023

Unwelcome Guests


Unwelcome Guests
Belgorod State University Vladimir Lobachev (CC)

According to the Telegram channel Lupa, on June 2, students at BelSU and BSTU, two universities in Belgorod, are being evicted from their dormitories in order to make space for 700 refugees from the Russian town of Shebekino, which is near the front lines of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is being shelled.

BSTU students told Vot Tak that they were evicted from their dorm rooms with no notice (informed only at around 8-9 pm), found that they were being moved overnight to dorms that were of inferior quality, and in fact some were not provided with replacement housing. The students also reported that refugees are openly drinking on the grounds of the boarding school.

“It would have been possible to settle the refugees in [the old dorms], and not move the children," one student interviewed said. "But, for the sake of reporting and all that, they settled in a new good [dormitory], for which the excellent students had fought, and now it is being ruined [by refugees] and their drinking there."

That particular student said her housing situation was unclear: “In fact, I am now homeless,” she said.

“There, on the ground, the guys probably came [and] were informed [about the eviction]," the student continued. "All the other [students] found out via the internet and were shocked, as many had gone home for the weekend or were away. It’s difficult for everyone to come back and pack up their things in one night. The children were moved from the comfortable places they deserved for the sake of a pretty picture.”

The student also said that some students' belongings, which had been stored in the dormitories, were packed in garbage bags and moved to lockers, without any inventory of what was removed.

You Might Also Like

Eat. Bake. Protest.
  • January 25, 2023

Eat. Bake. Protest.

How a woman from Moscow turned a cake business into an anti-war protest and helped charities.
Too Free for Russia
  • April 03, 2023

Too Free for Russia

The Russian Prosecutor General's office has declared the Free University "undesirable."
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals
[INVALID]
[INVALID]

Some of our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955