International Students Enjoyed Traditional Russian Culture

The HSE Student Support Unit organized a trip to Etnomir ethnographic park, where our international students immersed themselves in the atmosphere of old Russian life, played traditional games, and even baked rye bread in a workshop.

Etnomir is located 90 km away from Moscow, in Kaluga Oblast. Ethnic villages of various countries are built on the 140 hectare park. It also hosts festivals, summer camps, and celebrates the traditional holidays of various nations.

About 50 international HSE students from Mexico, Austria, Pakistan, Japan, Romania, Indonesia, Germany, Bulgaria, South Korea, and Italy, as well as students from the Buddy Club participated in the trip.

The students familiarized themselves with the everyday life of Russian peasants (some of them even tried the role of housewife, using a traditional oven fork), saw how Russians celebrated Midsummer Day and Maslenitsa, danced in a ring, fought in a mock battle with sacks and practiced making a ‘Siberian rosette’ – a souvenir made of beads, leather, and fur, which brings luck to its owner.

The highlight of the programme was a rye bread baking workshop. Supervised by a professional, each student made a round loaf and decorated it with braids, lattices, leaves and flowers. The students were told about the history of bread and its importance in Russian life. Students took their baked loafs home. But the bread did not make it back to Moscow: it was eaten in the bus on the way home.