The ISA provides a stipend for one credit-bearing summer study abroad experience for eligible undergraduates receiving a Yale scholarship. You must apply to Yale Study Abroad and be approved for a Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad or Non-Yale Summer Abroad program. Yale Study Abroad does not administer the ISA. For all ISA-related details, including how to request funding, when it gets disbursed, how much funding you can expect, and more, visit the ISA website.
Batumi, Georgia
Summer
Saturday, May 31, 2025 to Monday, July 28, 2025
Russian
Arts & Humanities
Fulfills L5 & Hu distributional requirement
Study Center
RUSS S184 & RUSS S244
2 Yale credits
Anna Kondratenko | Nikolai Firtich
Yale College Applicants: RUSS 140 (Second-Year Russian II), RUSS 145 (Intensive Intermediate Russian), or placement exam into L5.
Other Applicants: Completed four semesters of college-level Russian and evaluated by the Summer Russian Language Program Director, Constantine Muravnik. Please contact Prof. Muravnik (constantine.muravnik@yale.edu) prior to the application deadline.
An intensive summer program abroad featuring language study at the advanced level. The language course is designed to help students integrate language, context, and culture in order to recognize, understand, and interpret the relationship between language and social practices, as well as facilitate students’ own participation in them. Students will develop interpretive, intercultural, presentational, and interpersonal skills in the target language essential for engaging in sophisticated and authentic discourse on a spectrum of relevant topics and themes at the advanced low-intermediate level. Special attention is paid to sociopolitical, economic, and cultural realities of contemporary Russia, the Russophone world, and Georgia past and present. Topics are structured in reference to real-life genres that convey information in a predictable way recognized, understood, and reproduced in the target culture(s).
RUSS S184: Advanced Russian I (1 credit)
RUSS S244: Georgia, Russia, and the Caucasus in Literature, Cinema, and the Visual Arts (1 credit)
This culture course is an interdisciplinary exploration of Georgian and Russian cultural history through literature, cinema, and visual arts. Topics include Georgian and Russian cultures in their historical transformations and interrelations, representations of Georgia and the Caucasus in Russian literature, Georgian contributions to world literature and artistic culture, Russian-Georgian literary and visual avant-garde connections, the age of Stalin, and the politics and culture of Soviet and post-Soviet Georgia.
These courses are also supplemented by 20 hours of Georgian language instruction at the elementary level.
Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad are intensive, highly structured academic programs led by Yale instructors.
Anna Kondratenko
Anna Kondratenko was born and raised in Moscow where she received her undergraduate degree at the prestigious Literary Institute. She received her PhD in Russian Studies from Tbilisi State University in 2020 and has lived in Tbilisi, Georgia, since 2008. Anna has been the Local Coordinator of the Yale Summer Program in Georgia and taught Advanced Russian Conversation through Contemporary Media since 2022. She also teaches Russian as a second and native Language at the Russian Language School “SkySmart.”
Nikolai Firtich, Professor and Chair of Russian Studies, Vassar College
Nikolai Firtich was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he received a degree in fine arts. After moving to the US in 1983, Nikolai pursued the study of Russian Literature, earning a PhD from Yale in 2001. Since then, he has been a professor of Russian Studies at Vassar College where he teaches a variety of courses on many aspects of Russian culture, including literature, film, and visual arts.
The program staff in Georgia also includes two local student assistants who accompany the program participants on all tours, provide them with additional language practice, and assist with everyday matters in an unfamiliar country.
Language classes will take place Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.
The culture class will take place on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Class times may be subject to change with notice from the instructors.
All language and culture classes will be held at Euro-2000 School in Batumi, Georgia.
Many participants find a combination of credit and debit cards to be the most convenient way of accessing money while abroad. It’s important to have a backup option as well in case of emergency.
Participants are strongly advised to bring a moderate amount (about $100 or so) of cash in unmarked US bills that they can easily exchange for Georgian Lari in many places, including the Batumi Airport, in case their ATM or credit cards do not initially work. Please note that participants likely will need more than $100 for out-of-pocket expenses throughout the entire duration of the program. Students are also strongly encouraged to alert their banks or credit card companies of their travel plans before arriving in Georgia to mitigate the chances of their cards being declined and flagged for fraud once in the country.
Participants should expect out-of-pocket costs not billed by Yale, including but not limited to class materials, coffee, snacks, and transportation to and from the classroom.
Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad costs are updated annually and include the administrative fee and program deposit, program fee, tuition, and international housing charge.
Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad updates program budgets in late January. Please note the year listed on the button below.
On every Yale Summer Session Program Abroad, learning extends outside of the classroom. Participants can expect a variety of integrated activities and excursions that enhance the academic goals of the program. Trips and activities listed below are included as examples only and are subject to change.
All required activities and excursion include transportation (when outside of the host city), entrance fees, and most meals.
Possible program activities include field trips to important Georgian museums, and historical and natural sites that align with the readings and lectures of the culture class. Possible excursions include a three-night stay in Tbilisi, the country’s capital; a trip to Kutaisi, one of the oldest cities in the world and the capital of the ancient United Kingdom of Georgia; Gelati, an Orthodox monastery of the early 12th century and a religious, cultural, and academic center in West Georgia; the cave city Vardzia, the cultural center of South Georgia in the Golden Age of Queen Tamar and Shota Rustaveli; David-Gareja, a 12th century Christian Orthodox monastery and the cultural center of East Georgia; the Niko Pirosmani Museum in Sighnaghi in the heart of Kakheti, the main wine-region of Georgia; the Vladimir Mayakovsky Museum in Bagdati, his birthplace near Borjomi; the 9th-century city-fortress of Akhaltsikhe; a trip to the mountains of Svaneti, which are higher than the Alps; and a visit to the Museum of Joseph Stalin in his birthplace, the town of Gori.
All participants are required to live in program-provided housing while abroad and are not permitted to arrange housing independently. International housing is guaranteed from the first day of the program until the official end date.
While in Batumi, students will live in the best part of the city by the Black Sea with carefully selected Russophone host families who will provide breakfast and dinner daily. Living conditions will vary, but most apartments will be within walking distance from classes.
Homestays are an integral part of this program. The living arrangements provide participants with the opportunity to learn more about the host culture, increase language proficiency, and form meaningful connections in the community. Students admitted into the program are expected to spend time getting to know their homestay families and be mindful of the need to balance time spent at home with time exploring the city or going out with friends. If participants have any questions about living with a homestay family, they are encouraged to reach out to the program director.
Participants must depart housing on the last day of the program.
Host families will provide participants with breakfast and dinner each day, but participants will be responsible for all their lunches, except during special group meals. It is important (and polite) that participants let their host families know if they are not going to be home for one of the provided meals.
A small gift makes a good impression on arrival. An inexpensive token from the participant's university or hometown, such as a magnet or a mug, is a nice gesture for the hosts.
June in Batumi is usually pleasantly warm and while some rain is possible, it rarely lasts long. The weather usually gets hot by July and stays hot or very hot through the end of the summer. The week participants will spend traveling around Georgia and in Tbilisi is likely to be very hot and dry. However, the weather will be cooler in the mountains.
1. Pack light! Participants will be able to do laundry and will likely return home with new items from the host country. Participants should expect the possibility of carrying their bags on several modes of transportation and up several flights of stairs alone.
2. Keep all essential items in a carry-on bag (e.g., passport and medications).
Students are advised to bring the following items:
Georgia/Europe-US plug adapter (one that is narrow enough or has prongs that are long enough for the recessed electrical outlets in Georgia).
For general program questions, contact the studyabroad@yale.edu.
Important Information Before Applying
- All YSS Programs Abroad are intensive, highly structured academic programs for Yale credit and grades.
- Students may only apply to one YSS Program Abroad per summer.
- Admission is not guaranteed. Applicants should anticipate that more students will apply than there are spots available, and Yale College students should apply to a backup Non-Yale Summer Abroad opportunity.
- Ensure that your transcript reflects how you have met the pre-requisite, if applicable, prior to applying.
- Participants must commit to the full program dates. Late arrivals and early departures are not permitted.
- Participants are required to be enrolled in all program courses.
- Participants should expect evening and weekend requirements. Students who have questions about religious observance during a YSS Program Abroad are encouraged to Meet with an Adviser.
- Program-arranged housing is required for all YSS Programs Abroad. Students are not permitted to secure independent housing. Students who have housing-related questions about placements, allergies, religious observance, or disability-related access are encouraged to Meet with an Adviser.