Inside Russia Today

Among her many presentation topics on Russia, Inside Russia Today is the most frequently requested. This interactive lecture program, which can be offered in a variety of time formats, provides an insightful and often humorous look at the social and cultural changes which have been taking place in Russia since the end of Communism in the early 1990s. The central focus of the presentation is on the dramatic combined impact of tradition and change on the daily life of today’s Russia. The lecture includes a blend of numerous anecdotes from Marina’s personal experience growing up in Soviet Russia with a careful synthesis of the available scholarship on Russian character and an analysis of everyday life, culture and values in the New Russia. Touching on a broad range of contemporary topics, Marina will establish the link between the rich cultural heritage of the Russian people and the everyday life and concerns of individual Russians from across the entire spectrum of Russian society. The new rich, the evolving role for women, the revival of the Orthodox Church, humor, family life, entertainment, and the new emphasis on consumerism and tourism are examined in the light of traditional Russian values and customs. This unique program will take the audience on a guided tour through the new reality emerging in today’s Russia. The result is sometimes a little bit funny, sometimes a little bit sad, but always unmistakably Russia.