The International Relations Department closelycooperates with the Fulbright program. In 2010-2011 we met citizen of the USA Claire Nadine Sapersteyn. Her reviews about our university were very positive. And in 2011-2012 two participants of the Fulbright program came to our university. They gladly agreed to share their impressions.
Ellen Bastian is a journalist. She is interested in agriculture of Chuvashia, is studying the Russian language at the university and going to make a documentary about the life and work in rural areas. That's what it says:
«My family lives in western South Dakota, near Montana and Wyoming. There is a lot of open space in that part of the world -- ample room for exploration and creativity. Flat, seemingly endless grasslands greet you as you travel from one end of the state to the other. After high school I moved to a humid agribusiness state to attend a university – Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. It was there that a class on environmental history piqued my interest most, though my majors were international relations and journalism (t.v. and radio). This Fulbright filmmaking scholarship allows me to combine all these interests when examining the present state of agriculture in Chuvashia during the 2011-2012 academic year. Without the scholarship this project may not have been possible.
Ellen
South Dakota
Some well-respected Russian geographers consider this region, consisting of Chuvashia, Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan, to exemplify the future of Russian agriculture. At Chuvash State University I am affiliated with the geography department, where I have access to many books and data to help with my project. Everyone at the university, and in Chuvashia in general, has been exceptionally helpful and friendly. Students and professors have driven me to the countryside to meet their families and show me what life is like there, and I am greeted with openness and hospitality at every turn.
Ellen near the river Sura
The various trips have included touring former collective farms throughout Chuvashia. A lot of these farms were the hub of all village activity in the Soviet days: they employed a large proportion of village residents and often built houses for the employees. Their diminished role is acutely felt in these villages today. Newer operations include a bacon factory near Tsivilsk and a private potato operation in Urmayevo, both of whom are doing very well. During these trips I have toured countless rural villages – some Chuvash, some Russian, some Tatar. This republic is quite diverse not only by the ethnicity of its inhabitants, but also by its environmental conditions (i.e. soil types, climate zones, native ecosystems). I feel very fortunate to be conducting my work here.»
Photos and footage from a film made for the project: