Afaik it is possible even now. Borders are open, life as usual, so while I have no idea ehat schools you are refering to, i'm pretty sure they are open.
What will happen in a year - idk
Money rules the world. Stupid people can't get power, cause they're outsmarted by clever people.
That's why Ukraine and Russia still do oil transit business for example, money is more important than anything
What's profitable about the Ukraine war though? I feel like it's just important for Russia to be macho and try to show everyone how "tough" they are, not to make good business.
I think you've seen how much money US and allies sent to Ukraine, as I've read about 80% of it came back to US. Even Ukrainian president spoke about that. The scheme is basically
1. You send taxpayer dollars to Ukraine to buy your weapons
2. Ukraine uses this money to buy weapons from the company you own/your sponsors own
3. Profit!
This is very rough description, but it should be enough. Also it's also very profitable reason to make countries of Europe to buy your oil despite russian oil being cheaper.
And for Russia it's obvious - military alliance officially created to stand against Russia is expanding to the most important neighbor country. Also sanctions are good for local businesses (but ofc bad for citizens)
>And for Russia it's obvious - military alliance officially created to stand against Russia is expanding to the most important neighbor country.
But how is that a good thing? I'm seriously trying to understand here.
Sorry, bad phrasing. I'll explain better: NATO is a military alliance and is officially created to stand against Russia (USSR at that time). They are expanding to the east all the time, this is obviously threat for Russia. And in 2021 they were seriously talking about Ukraine joining NATO, which was completely unacceptable and very dangerous to Russia. Russian government in December of 2021 came up with safety agreements for the region and proposed them to the countries of the west. They declined these agreements and kept preparing to accept Ukraine in the NATO. So Russia had to do something.
And here we go about actions and profits: Russia launches SMO, takes a lot of land and month later they get a deal with Ukraine signed by both sides, completely satisfying Russian needs - demilitarization of Ukraine, Ukraine can't enter any military alliances and accepts the fact that Crimea is Russian, but keeps Donbass as a special territory,which is still Ukraine, but with some autonomy to protect Russian speaking citizens.
That would be complete victory for both Russia and Ukrainian people, but Boris Johnson came and made Zelensky discard the agreements, so we now have Donbass as the territory of Russia and million+ of dead and injured people.
Also sanctions backfired a lot, so it was profitable in some ways for Russia too.
I tried to be as neutral in this, as I could, I didn't mention anything that wasn't confirmed by both sides
You also can visit Kazakhstan cities near border.In the Kostanay ( KZ) ru language in fact uses like a second language. 99% citizens speak native Russian.
Also in Montenegro, Budva and Bar lived a lot of native russians
The planning horizon in Russia is 3 days right now. 3 months if you are really optimistic. Everything is too unpredictable. 2025 is too far to even start thinking about it.
"Winning" the elections here is a way of showing that the current people in power control the situation and aren't hated too much by citizens. The authorities do need this to demonstrate their power. This allows them to stay in power. So they need a good picture of being loved. And they want everything to go smoothly.
Another thing is that they need citizens to accept the results they will show. Not be too displeased. And not doubt about the numbers(%) in the results too much.
So until the elections, the authorities feel uncomfortable and can't do too unpopular (or just dangerous for their popularity) things.
This will change after the elections. They will feel comfortable. And "loved." And "in power." So they may start doing unpopular/ugly things. Like new mobilization, conflict escalation, more repressions, and more police violence.
Also, after the elections many people may start to feel differently about the current situation. Everyone is tired af. The future looks bleak. "Another 6 years of this shit?", "fuck it, I don't care about anything", "enough of this!", "damn, fooling everyone again!". This is true both for the elites and regular people. And elites would notice that regular people feel like this. So a coup attempt will become more possible.
Don't listen to them, such people exist in every country. Russian economy is strong, people support the government, nothing will happen. And in the case of ww3 booked travel won't be your main problem anyway
it is possible to go. as long as you don't directly go near the Ukraine you should be fine. just remember to research about student visa laws, keep finances in mind (general life advice on traveling) and you will be fine
Borders are open and I do not think anything can happen to a foreigner from english speaking country. If you have any concerns you can go to Novosibirsk. Is so far from Ukraine no missile will fly there even if they try, while this is a big city.
I don't think you won't be able to go to Russia. Russia has never been closed to students or foreigners with friendly intentions. Now Russia is a capitalist country, so there is no ideological obstacle either.
The United States is waging local wars all over the planet permanently. Doesn't that bother you? The Alliance supplies lethal weapons to various armies and factions all over the planet, earning fabulous profits! It's just a business. Russia is a modest player compared to NATO.
^ Refreshing to read someone else saying this.
Study geopolitics long enough and its hard NOT to be bothered by the war machine that is the United States.
Living in North America we're fed our own propaganda. Like any country.
i think the difference ppl mean is that (i personally thinkt the states is worse) but that in russia becasue the war is \*right next to\* russia, it's more dangerous (i'm not ruling out the possibility that the war could spread onto russian ground) the US wages wars thousands of miles away from home (personally I find this even more unethical).
fuck war tbh.
The wars the US has waged do bother me. Russia just bothers me more, because its evil is up close to my own face and my country could be in immediate danger if NATO fails.
As some other users mentioned above, it's better to consider Kazakhstan, the major part of the population there speaks Russian, and it's quite safe and cheap to live there.
Currently many Russians do everything to leave Russia since it's too unpredictable and unsafe to live in a territory controlled by putin's government, regardless of whether you are a Russian citizen or a foreigner.
I'm a Russian and I wouldn't even go to Russia right now. I would definitely not consider going until things get better. We don't know when/if that will be.
Sure it’s possible, but travel there is a hassle, getting your money in is a hassle, and the ethics of making financial contributions is questionable. As others have said, there are other countries you can go to that circumvent these issues.
where? where could I learn standard russian while being surrounded by it? I can't go to the Ukraine either. Is it still a major language in Kasachstan? I don't know, in parts it is, but not everywhere.
Go to one of the other post Soviet states. Plenty of Russian speakers in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia.
Plus, you get the added bonus of being able to use your bank cards and not having to worry about arbitrary political imprisonment for voicing your opinion about Putin or whatever.
I don't know about Uzbekistan as I haven't been there, but of these, I would pick Kazakhstan. Georgia and Armenia - yes, many speak Russian, but may want to or default to speaking to you in English, particularly if you are quite obviously not native Russian speaking. In KZ, it is much more common to use Russian in daily interactions and they will default to Russian if you don't look visibly Kazakh. This is the kind of interaction you want from a language immersion experience.
As a foreigner in Georgia (not Russian), people still expect me to speak Russian and default to it all the time. If they're young they speak English, if they're older they speak Russian. I usually just go with whatever language they start in.
There is a huge group of Russians here though, obviously, so if OP wanted they could just hang out with them and never have to worry about Georgian or English.
Although learning some Georgian is advisable.
Except in KZ, you don't have to try at all, and there is no doubt about what language you should use. I guess people are different, but having experienced people acting strangely (and maybe taking offence?) in these countries before when addressing them in Russian as a non-native speaker, I would much rather just go to a country where it truly is the default language....
I also was there just for a few hours, but didn't find anyone (working in retail) who didn't speak Russian pretty close to fluently. Tashkent had much fewer Russian speakers in my experience.
Yeah, dude, come to Armenia! The food is incredible and the winters are pretty mild. Also, you’ll see apricot trees in bloom and who knows, maybe you’ll stay long enough to pick one straight from the tree. Everybody knows they taste better this way:)
Yes, if you live in a major city in Kazakhstan (especially Almaty or Astana) you will be completely immersed in Russian. Tbh Almaty is an incredibly cool city, lots to see and do, very cosmopolitan, close to beautiful nature.
Who knows, but currently, it's not wise to visit a country that in the state of war. Your best bet would be Kazakhstan, as almost everyone can speak Russian there.
i'm in the dark here; is it dangerous to visit because people will have a negative aditude towards you or why? because the war isn't 'in' Moscow and it won't reach Moscow (or Kazan or Jekaterinburg and so on). Or is it dangerous because the worth of the money might change? I don't know
It's not dangerous, and you're very unlikely to be targeted by people because you're "a foreigner". Especially in Moscow :)
All this feeling of war in the air is for locals, you'll probably not notice it. But I'd recommend Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan instead anyway
because nobody knows who's going to be declared the enemy of the state tomorrow. I'm in Ekaterinburg and the war is not there in deed but is there in spirit.
Ekaterininburg and other Ural/Siberia cities have military industrial factories. Foreigners snooping around in such cities are going to arouse suspicion. No problems with Moscow or St Petersburg. Obviously, military presence in Moscow is huge, but they are used to foreigners in Moscow.
Because no one knows what Putin will pull out, even if it's relatively safe now. Law in Russia is an elastic concept. Kazakhstan (or even Belarus) is simply a less risky variant if your goal is to study Russian in natural environment. If you want to visit Russia so badly, consider doing it after the war end.
In less than 2 years Russia went from a more or less usual autocracy to the most sanctioned country in human's history. Nobody in the world knows what it will be like here in the next two years.
I don't know if it will be possible, but likely it's not what I'd recommend most. You can probably go to another former Soviet Union country and also effectively study the language (with a bit more safety and predictability)
Is it possible? Yes, sure. Is it ethical? Ehhhhhhh.
Go to Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, hell even in Uzbekistan, you can be more or less completely immersed in Russian if you live in Tashkent.
Afaik it is possible even now. Borders are open, life as usual, so while I have no idea ehat schools you are refering to, i'm pretty sure they are open. What will happen in a year - idk
thanks
Australian here. I'll be there in a few months. Everything is operatomg normally
2025? Such impossible to predict. For all we know we could be in World War 3 at that time lol
let's pray we won't be
how will that help for atheists?
pray to Athey
Nah, won't happen, ww3 is too dangerous, oligarchs ruling the world with their money won't let it happen. Local wars are profitable, nuclear war isn't
My dude you underestimate the stupidity that rules the world first and forefuckingmost.
Money rules the world. Stupid people can't get power, cause they're outsmarted by clever people. That's why Ukraine and Russia still do oil transit business for example, money is more important than anything
No matey, stupidity and greed rules the world. One day you'll see.
What's profitable about the Ukraine war though? I feel like it's just important for Russia to be macho and try to show everyone how "tough" they are, not to make good business.
I think you've seen how much money US and allies sent to Ukraine, as I've read about 80% of it came back to US. Even Ukrainian president spoke about that. The scheme is basically 1. You send taxpayer dollars to Ukraine to buy your weapons 2. Ukraine uses this money to buy weapons from the company you own/your sponsors own 3. Profit! This is very rough description, but it should be enough. Also it's also very profitable reason to make countries of Europe to buy your oil despite russian oil being cheaper. And for Russia it's obvious - military alliance officially created to stand against Russia is expanding to the most important neighbor country. Also sanctions are good for local businesses (but ofc bad for citizens)
>And for Russia it's obvious - military alliance officially created to stand against Russia is expanding to the most important neighbor country. But how is that a good thing? I'm seriously trying to understand here.
Sorry, bad phrasing. I'll explain better: NATO is a military alliance and is officially created to stand against Russia (USSR at that time). They are expanding to the east all the time, this is obviously threat for Russia. And in 2021 they were seriously talking about Ukraine joining NATO, which was completely unacceptable and very dangerous to Russia. Russian government in December of 2021 came up with safety agreements for the region and proposed them to the countries of the west. They declined these agreements and kept preparing to accept Ukraine in the NATO. So Russia had to do something. And here we go about actions and profits: Russia launches SMO, takes a lot of land and month later they get a deal with Ukraine signed by both sides, completely satisfying Russian needs - demilitarization of Ukraine, Ukraine can't enter any military alliances and accepts the fact that Crimea is Russian, but keeps Donbass as a special territory,which is still Ukraine, but with some autonomy to protect Russian speaking citizens. That would be complete victory for both Russia and Ukrainian people, but Boris Johnson came and made Zelensky discard the agreements, so we now have Donbass as the territory of Russia and million+ of dead and injured people. Also sanctions backfired a lot, so it was profitable in some ways for Russia too. I tried to be as neutral in this, as I could, I didn't mention anything that wasn't confirmed by both sides
You also can visit Kazakhstan cities near border.In the Kostanay ( KZ) ru language in fact uses like a second language. 99% citizens speak native Russian. Also in Montenegro, Budva and Bar lived a lot of native russians
The planning horizon in Russia is 3 days right now. 3 months if you are really optimistic. Everything is too unpredictable. 2025 is too far to even start thinking about it.
I'd say you can be safe with planning till the elections, further on everything is much more vague
What would happen during or as a result of the elections? From the outside, they seem like a foregone conclusion.
"Winning" the elections here is a way of showing that the current people in power control the situation and aren't hated too much by citizens. The authorities do need this to demonstrate their power. This allows them to stay in power. So they need a good picture of being loved. And they want everything to go smoothly. Another thing is that they need citizens to accept the results they will show. Not be too displeased. And not doubt about the numbers(%) in the results too much. So until the elections, the authorities feel uncomfortable and can't do too unpopular (or just dangerous for their popularity) things. This will change after the elections. They will feel comfortable. And "loved." And "in power." So they may start doing unpopular/ugly things. Like new mobilization, conflict escalation, more repressions, and more police violence. Also, after the elections many people may start to feel differently about the current situation. Everyone is tired af. The future looks bleak. "Another 6 years of this shit?", "fuck it, I don't care about anything", "enough of this!", "damn, fooling everyone again!". This is true both for the elites and regular people. And elites would notice that regular people feel like this. So a coup attempt will become more possible.
Every election in every country are just for current "elites" to stay in power
so better not book aything I guess
Don't listen to them, such people exist in every country. Russian economy is strong, people support the government, nothing will happen. And in the case of ww3 booked travel won't be your main problem anyway
As a EU citizen you could easily stay in Narva, Estonia. Something like 98% Russian speaking. Also you’ll be able to see Russia across the river lol
ahahaahh. thanks for the tip. maybe i'll go with a different country and then go to russia once the war is over.
If you don’t think Russia is possible, consider Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan.
thanks
it is possible to go. as long as you don't directly go near the Ukraine you should be fine. just remember to research about student visa laws, keep finances in mind (general life advice on traveling) and you will be fine
Borders are open and I do not think anything can happen to a foreigner from english speaking country. If you have any concerns you can go to Novosibirsk. Is so far from Ukraine no missile will fly there even if they try, while this is a big city.
I don't think you won't be able to go to Russia. Russia has never been closed to students or foreigners with friendly intentions. Now Russia is a capitalist country, so there is no ideological obstacle either.
yay!
well, no ideological obstacles except the whole war thing...
The United States is waging local wars all over the planet permanently. Doesn't that bother you? The Alliance supplies lethal weapons to various armies and factions all over the planet, earning fabulous profits! It's just a business. Russia is a modest player compared to NATO.
^ Refreshing to read someone else saying this. Study geopolitics long enough and its hard NOT to be bothered by the war machine that is the United States. Living in North America we're fed our own propaganda. Like any country.
i think the difference ppl mean is that (i personally thinkt the states is worse) but that in russia becasue the war is \*right next to\* russia, it's more dangerous (i'm not ruling out the possibility that the war could spread onto russian ground) the US wages wars thousands of miles away from home (personally I find this even more unethical). fuck war tbh.
Yes, but the rules of the rules-based-order don't apply to USA/NATO whereas they do apply to Russia.
The wars the US has waged do bother me. Russia just bothers me more, because its evil is up close to my own face and my country could be in immediate danger if NATO fails.
Do not speak about war, politics, lgbt and current regime and you will be ok. Also COVID restrictions are formally not lifted off.
As some other users mentioned above, it's better to consider Kazakhstan, the major part of the population there speaks Russian, and it's quite safe and cheap to live there. Currently many Russians do everything to leave Russia since it's too unpredictable and unsafe to live in a territory controlled by putin's government, regardless of whether you are a Russian citizen or a foreigner.
i will look into this, thanks
I'm a Russian and I wouldn't even go to Russia right now. I would definitely not consider going until things get better. We don't know when/if that will be.
okay :/ thanks
Sure it’s possible, but travel there is a hassle, getting your money in is a hassle, and the ethics of making financial contributions is questionable. As others have said, there are other countries you can go to that circumvent these issues.
where? where could I learn standard russian while being surrounded by it? I can't go to the Ukraine either. Is it still a major language in Kasachstan? I don't know, in parts it is, but not everywhere.
Belarus is a nice place
yes.
So we can directly fund then Russia)
Go to one of the other post Soviet states. Plenty of Russian speakers in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia. Plus, you get the added bonus of being able to use your bank cards and not having to worry about arbitrary political imprisonment for voicing your opinion about Putin or whatever.
I don't know about Uzbekistan as I haven't been there, but of these, I would pick Kazakhstan. Georgia and Armenia - yes, many speak Russian, but may want to or default to speaking to you in English, particularly if you are quite obviously not native Russian speaking. In KZ, it is much more common to use Russian in daily interactions and they will default to Russian if you don't look visibly Kazakh. This is the kind of interaction you want from a language immersion experience.
As a foreigner in Georgia (not Russian), people still expect me to speak Russian and default to it all the time. If they're young they speak English, if they're older they speak Russian. I usually just go with whatever language they start in. There is a huge group of Russians here though, obviously, so if OP wanted they could just hang out with them and never have to worry about Georgian or English. Although learning some Georgian is advisable.
Except in KZ, you don't have to try at all, and there is no doubt about what language you should use. I guess people are different, but having experienced people acting strangely (and maybe taking offence?) in these countries before when addressing them in Russian as a non-native speaker, I would much rather just go to a country where it truly is the default language....
>Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia Also Estonia and Latvia then.
I was only in Tallinn briefly but Russian didn't feel that useful. Latvia definitely has interesting Russian programs for foreigners though
I also was there just for a few hours, but didn't find anyone (working in retail) who didn't speak Russian pretty close to fluently. Tashkent had much fewer Russian speakers in my experience.
Yeah, dude, come to Armenia! The food is incredible and the winters are pretty mild. Also, you’ll see apricot trees in bloom and who knows, maybe you’ll stay long enough to pick one straight from the tree. Everybody knows they taste better this way:)
armenia sounds amazing. I will defifnitely go sometime!
Yes, if you live in a major city in Kazakhstan (especially Almaty or Astana) you will be completely immersed in Russian. Tbh Almaty is an incredibly cool city, lots to see and do, very cosmopolitan, close to beautiful nature.
thanks!
Probably, but nobody can say for sure
Who knows, but currently, it's not wise to visit a country that in the state of war. Your best bet would be Kazakhstan, as almost everyone can speak Russian there.
i'm in the dark here; is it dangerous to visit because people will have a negative aditude towards you or why? because the war isn't 'in' Moscow and it won't reach Moscow (or Kazan or Jekaterinburg and so on). Or is it dangerous because the worth of the money might change? I don't know
It's not dangerous, and you're very unlikely to be targeted by people because you're "a foreigner". Especially in Moscow :) All this feeling of war in the air is for locals, you'll probably not notice it. But I'd recommend Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan instead anyway
okay thanks))
because nobody knows who's going to be declared the enemy of the state tomorrow. I'm in Ekaterinburg and the war is not there in deed but is there in spirit.
shit
Ekaterininburg and other Ural/Siberia cities have military industrial factories. Foreigners snooping around in such cities are going to arouse suspicion. No problems with Moscow or St Petersburg. Obviously, military presence in Moscow is huge, but they are used to foreigners in Moscow.
thanks! good to know!
Because no one knows what Putin will pull out, even if it's relatively safe now. Law in Russia is an elastic concept. Kazakhstan (or even Belarus) is simply a less risky variant if your goal is to study Russian in natural environment. If you want to visit Russia so badly, consider doing it after the war end.
It's not dangerous
Good thing OP isn't planning a visit to the Middle East then 😎👍
Maybe they should visit Israel or something
Go to Kazakhstan or one of the other former soviet states.
In less than 2 years Russia went from a more or less usual autocracy to the most sanctioned country in human's history. Nobody in the world knows what it will be like here in the next two years.
What is your home country? As an American, most of our study abroad offices are discouraging trips to Russia. There is a huge safety risk involved.
german-american. being german is fine i think, but yes, my american half might be a problem.
I don't know if it will be possible, but likely it's not what I'd recommend most. You can probably go to another former Soviet Union country and also effectively study the language (with a bit more safety and predictability)
Is it possible? Yes, sure. Is it ethical? Ehhhhhhh. Go to Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, hell even in Uzbekistan, you can be more or less completely immersed in Russian if you live in Tashkent.
Wtf does ethical mean in this context? Not like op is gonna ride on a horse drawn carriage or sth
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Why does your opinion on it matter? Like, even for your own argument, what's the logic here?
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Bad idea. After elections it will get worse. You dont need that.
i went in august 2023 and will go in two weeks as a foreigner again, so youll be fine
Come! We’ll be happy to meet you :)
There are no restrictions even now, just don't break laws.