Sharing the experience

"Russia is full of hardworking people with great dreams, especially at our age. They are extremely cultured, but they also know how to play hard. So, I would say that it is a rather balanced society, where people do work hard, but also people of all age groups have a way to let some steam off. Just keep an open mind and communicate with people - that is the best way to integrate into this society, just as any other".

Mustafa Serdar Karakaya, Koc University (Turkey), Spring semester 2019-2020

"I am normally quite critical of culturist concepts such as the "enigmatic Russian soul" yet I have to acknowledge that there is "something" that Russians have/are and with which I connected. I would rather refer to different behaviors or understandings, such as that of friendship. Russian draws a clear difference between friends ("druzya") and acquaintances ("znakomie"), and that is reflected in the interaction with the rest: Russians may be a bit cold in the beginning, but once you become friends, their door will be always open for you!"

Aris Dougas Chavarria, University Pompeu Fabra (Spain), Spring semester 2019-2020

"Russia is a country with a pragmatic mindset. Here people think that truth depends much on situation, context and time. Russians love to discuss about philosophical matters and prefer deep conversations over small talk. Regardless of the rough faced, deep inside, Russians have a sensitive nature. I would describe it as the experience of pleasure out of a self-induced state of sadness while contemplating about the existential matters which is accompanied by a passivity in initiative. Which has its own charm. Culture wise I haven’t encountered significant differences either. I have grown up on Russian literature, movies and even gastronomy alongside with the Romanian and Moldovan ones. I have also studied Russian language since an early age, so it eventually became my second language".

Madalina Rusu, Avans University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), Spring semester 2019-2020

"I think future exchange students should learn basic Russian before coming to SPb - since people here rarely speak English. My second advice would be joining activities HSE offers (i still regret that i didn't go to some events). I would also send each of my friends to the snow skating place. In general, living here is so peaceful, like living with your grandparent. Waking up, eating (I gained a lot of weight while staying here), studying/ working or just going to some parks to enjoy life, going home, eating again, sleeping (the city seems to go to sleep at 10pm)."

Tran Thu Giang, Foreign Trade University (Vietnam), Autumn semester 2023-2024

"About the Russian lifestyle, I know little - I rather know about the "Piterskiy" lifestyle; that is one of charming spring walks along the canals to eventually walk into a restaurant and try something delicious, one of visiting museums, theatres, and operas, but also clubs in Konyushennaya Ploshchad' in darkless nights, one of taking trains on Saturday to visit Gatchina, Vyborg, Pushkin, and others... But also one of avoiding puddles in rainy days in Obukhovo. In order to understand all these complexities, I would indeed suggest having notions of Russian culture, history and politics, knowing the more Russian, the better, and having read some basic pieces of literature... And if possible knowing by heart "Noch', ulitsa, fonar', apteka" by Aleksandar Blok and a handful of songs by Kino! During my mobility programme in Saint Petersburg I felt surrounded by a culture that differed from that of my home country: firstly serious yet heartwarming people once open to being friends with you, unknown yet delicious food - be it Russian, Georgian, or Uzbek-, and impressing yet welcoming architecture. I particularly miss the degree of informality in the streets: people roasting "shashliki" on hot days or "babushki" selling pickled vegetables in Sennaya Ploshchad'. There is little of that in my beloved Barcelona!"

Aris Dougas Chavarria, University Pompeu Fabra (Spain), Spring semester 2019-2020

"I was fascinating about Russia and I chose HSE in particularly for its reputation in Europe. For me, It's 10 out of 10. I would like to have the possibility to return to HSE one day, maybe as professor 😄. Personally, the greatest challenge I faced was to leave at the end"

Gregorio Martinelli, Luiss Business School (Italy), Autumn semester 2022-2023

"I select HSE because it is the most popular university in Forbs and I really like it, and I select St.Petersburg because it is the most beautiful city in Russia in my opinion".

Eric Ghambaryan, Russian-Armenian University (Armenia), Spring semester 2019-2020

"The spirit of a young university striving to offer the best experience. The very caring and attentive staff. The quality teaching".

Aris Dougas Chavarria, University Pompeu Fabra (Spain), Spring semester 2019-2020

"The laid back relationship between the lecturers and the students, the friendly environment, the international focus and the diversity of courses I could choose from".

Madalina Rusu, Avans University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), Spring semester 2019-2020

"I really liked the discussion culture in some of the seminars which brought me further and helped to develop better study questions for my own thesis. Special thanks to the international office for the support in any possible situation and for any questions".

Sandra Sager, University of Bern (Switzerland), Spring semester 2019-2020

"It was a wonderful and mind-opening experience, I already loved the city and it was wonderful to live it as a student. HSE is a high-level university, what I learnt there helped me and will surely help me in the future. Living experience in the Obukhovo dormitory was good, accommodation was incredibly cheap and everything worked well, from laundry to heating to Internet".

Tommaso Bontempi, University of Trento (Italy), Autumn semester 2019-2020