This is a content oriented language course that investigates current topic under discussion across Russian culture and media. We will consider Russia’s place in a globalizing world and how its imperial and Soviet pasts and geography shape its current development, addressing problems of gender and social equality and environmental issues in particular. As we do so, we will cover the major components of the first semester of the third-year Russian language curriculum. Successful completion of the year-long course should bring your language skills to the intermediate-high or advanced low language proficiency level, according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. This means that, with hard work and diligent study, you will move from learning Russian in order to read and view media to studying various Russian media and interacting with Russians in order to advance your knowledge of the Russian language and culture.