Our Team

Program director: Dr. Anna Kolesnikova, University of Iowa

I was born in Moscow and moved to the United States in my early 20s to start graduate school. During my M.A. and Ph.D. studies, I developed a keen interest in using technology for language learning. I applied what I learned in my graduate classes to teaching German and Russian to undergraduates. In 2011, I joined the University of Iowa as a faculty member, where I focused on teaching Russian language and culture. I found great satisfaction in bringing Russian culture closer to my American students. My goal as a teacher is to bring the history and culture of Russia, as well as the identity of Russian speakers, closer to my students in the United States. I achieve this through the cultural aspects of my language courses and dedicated culture courses, such as “Russia Today” (covering Russian politics, economics, social issues, and culture) and “Russian Mindset” (exploring the Russian national character). My lectures on various aspects of Russian culture, along with the materials from these courses, form the foundation for this project. I hope that this project will be useful for those planning to work and live in Russia or other Russian-speaking countries, because it offers insights and practical knowledge on the cultural nuances, traditions, and daily life in these regions. I am deeply thankful to all the people and organizations that have supported and contributed to this project. Your guidance, resources, and collaboration have been invaluable in bringing this vision to life.

Co-director & instructional lead:  Dr. Olga Klimova, University of Pittsburgh

Olga Klimova’s diverse professional and academic interests include visual and popular culture of the late-Soviet and post-Soviet periods, cultural representations of Chernobyl, post-Soviet protest culture and art, Eastern European and Central Asian cinema, instructional technology, instructional design, online teaching and learning, and curriculum development. She is also a program director of The STARTALK Russian Summer School, the President of the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), a Dobro Slovo Slavic Honorary Society faculty advisor, a Russian Culture Club advisor, and a regional chair for The ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian.

Peter Busscher

is an AmeriCorps ESL instructor and alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh. At Pitt, he wrote his undergraduate thesis on the Bashkir national movement in the early Soviet period. While not studying or working, Peter enjoys playing classical piano and going to the cinema. In Fall 2024, he will begin his MA in Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies at Georgetown University.

Growing up with an American father and a Russian mother introduced him to the practice of cultural comparison from an early age. His classes at Pitt under the tutelage of professors including Vladimir Padunov inspired his trajectory as a Russianist and student of Soviet culture.

Peter contributed to the following parts of this OER by completing research, writing, and proofreading: 

_{I. Contrasting Cultural Perspectives}

_{II. Preparing for work in a Russian-speaking country}

_{III. Preparing for work with Russian-speaking immigrants and refugees in the US}

_{IV. Practice and Interactive materials}