Russian Language & Literature

Русский язык и русская литература в Рид–колледже

Faculty & Staff

Faculty

Evgenii V. Bershtein (Chair)

Professor of Russian
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Russian Symbolism, the semiotics of Soviet culture, gender and sexuality in Russian culture, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Eisenstein.

Naomi Caffee

Associate Professor of Russian and Humanities
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On sabbatical 2026-27.

Russophone literature and visual culture of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Arctic; postcolonial studies; environmental humanities; global Indigenous literary studies; literary translation; language and area studies pedagogy.

Marat Grinberg

Professor of Russian and Humanities
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On leave 2026-27

Russian-Jewish literature and culture, Soviet poetry, poetics and cinema studies, Russian and European modernism.

Ivan Sokolov

Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian and Humanities
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Modern and contemporary Russophone literature and film; gender and sexuality; global (post)modernisms and avant-gardes; translation studies; lyric theory.

Emeritus/Emerita Faculty

Lena M. Lencek

Professor of Russian and Humanities, Emerita
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Medieval Russian, romanticism and symbolism, twentieth-century poetry, narrative theory, Old Church Slavonic.

Language Scholar

The live-in language scholar is an indispensable member of the Reed Russian Department. A year or more of residence at the Russian House on campus provides both the scholar and the students with constant opportunities for language practice and cultural contact. As a member of the department, the Language Scholar teaches language drill-sections, attends and coordinates cultural events, and guides students through varying aspects of the Russian experience: culinary, linguistic, political, historical, and on and on. Also see our list of former language scholars.

Anastassia Bobyleva

2025-26 Language Scholar
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