Interview with Harvard Slavic Studies Student

Here, we recorded some brief comments, an interview with a Harvard student,

who literally just walked off campus and, you would think,

should know the history and culture well, being a student of Slavic studies,

since that is her exact department, but here is what happened.

First question.

What Slavic languages are there?

There are many of them.

Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and that's it.

What is Cyrillic?

It's the alphabet used by Ukrainians and Russians.

What is the historical significance of Kievan Rus?

We actually just studied that.

Basically, it's a place in Ukraine.

Interestingly, the incorrect spelling is mostly common now.

The thing is, Russians and Ukrainians spell this name differently.

And it's important for us to use the Ukrainian version because Russians like to say that this is their land.

And the last one.

What influence did the Soviet Union have on Slavic countries?

Damn, it took them all under its control, and it was terrible.

Can I just say one thing?

They say that knowledge is power.