Our civilization teacher, Nina Mikhailovna, called us her American optimists, because although our mid-term and final papers for her course about Russia were full of analyses of Russia's crises and problems, we shared an American tendency to end on an uplifting note. Nearly all of our conclusions read positively about the changes going on in Russia today and where it is certainly headed in the future. Russians, no surprise given their history, tend more towards fatalism and acceptance of what will come. Что делать? (What is to be done?) is the question of the decade for them. Still, we American students see a bright future ahead, and aren't afraid to speak out about it.
I am under no delusions here. Russia has some very serious problems to tackle (the demographic crisis and political corruption come instantly to mind.) Life is hard, and my interactions with Russians only show how much of an obstacle the mindset of the 70 years under the Soviet state is to a new democratic and capitalist state. However, I truly do believe Russia's future is bright. So many positive changes have been made since the early 1990s, and even on an international field the country is making progress. I leave with the hope to return to an even better Russia in the future.
So here's to Russia and its future!
See you soon, America :)
Love
Эмили
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