Russia Moskovaan vaihtoon lähtenyt Tia Heinolainen on kannattanut pitkään Pussy Riotia, mutta vaihtoaan hän ei halua riskeerata osallistumalla opposition mielenosoitukseen

In Russia For a Finnish student, one of the biggest changes to home conditions is probably living in a dormitory and sharing a room with others.

Exchange student at MGU, Moscow State University Essi Anttila is happy with his newly renovated room, even though the baseboards are hanging, the shower floor is sloping and he had to clean the room of building dust.

A cultural difference has been identified in Russia, as the dormitory’s renovated rooms are reportedly reserved for European girls. The shared kitchens can be found in the corridors but are in such poor condition that Anttila has not yet seen anyone use them.

The dormitory is located in the main building of the university, in the skyscraper “Stalin’s Tooth”, one of the landmarks of the capital. The finishing of the students’ rooms may have been left halfway, but the Information Day, which kicks off the semester, is such a significant event in Russia that in honor of it, the lower lobby of the building was polished two days a night.

I’m celebrating was worth it, as Russian universities have returned to contact teaching in many places. The corona pandemic stalled the exchanges, but at the end of August, Russia allowed all foreign students to re-enter the country.

Among Finnish students, Russia is by far the most unpopular exchange destination from neighboring countries, and its attractiveness has decreased in recent years. The development follows a general trend: fewer and fewer Finnish students now go on exchanges.

According to the Education Administration, at the beginning of last year, before the start of the pandemic, 90 students left for more than three months of study or training exchange. The corresponding figure in the previous year was 154, in 2016 it was still 282.

The favorite country is Germany, where 353 students went last year, the previous one about 800 and five years ago well over a thousand.

This In the autumn, at least two Finnish exchange students started in Moscow: Anttila, a student of production economics from the University of Tampere, and a student of tourism at the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. Tia Heinolainen. He is in exchange at the Plehanov Academy of Economics.

Anttila, 23, from Sodankylä, and Heinolainen, 25, from Helsinki, got to know each other already in Finland, when Heinolainen rumored at the discussion forum in Jodel about other people going to Moscow for an exchange. Only Anttila registered. Even in Moscow, they have not come across other Finnish students.

“Yes, that policy will certainly make an impact. Less often here anything positive is reported. Applying for a visa also produces its own problems. There are also much easier places to go, ”Heinolainen says.

Finland has rushed students to graduate quickly by tightening study periods and limiting support months, so students have ended up qualifying for overseas experience.

At the same time, the importance of “Russian expertise” has been talked about at an accelerating pace for more than two decades. A vague concept could be imagined to mean at least knowledge of the Russian language and culture as well as personal experience of the country.

The exchange offers an opportunity to gain experience, but the interest of Finns in Russia is cyclical. In high schools, for example, learning Russian has turned into a decline in turn.

Anttila started in Russian junior high school, Heinolainen’s interest was ignited by Russian hockey stars. They wanted to go to Russia for an exchange to improve their Russian language skills. Another important goal is to have a nice experience of the exchange, ie to get to know other students and travel around the country.

Anttila had time to pop in September in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan.

“It was a really nice destination, especially the Kremlin was a great place! A successful trip, and we also got to experience the Russian night train, ”Anttila reported.

In Finland students have presented one of the obstacles to the exchange as a declining livelihood, but at least in Russia, even in Moscow, living with Finnish study grants is comfortable. Anttila and Heinolainen say that more money will be available than in Finland.

Anttila received a grant of 1,500 euros from the University of Tampere, and 500 euros a month from Heinolainen’s Team Finland Knowledge program of the National Board of Education. In addition to the grants, both have an increased student loan (800 euros per month) as well as a study grant and housing allowance (a total of about 500 euros per month).

Language skills should not be a barrier to leaving Russia either. Anttila and Heinolainen take their major courses in Moscow, at least initially in English. Proficiency in the Russian language is acquired through language courses and everyday life.

Russian student life has recently seemed protest-oriented, at least from Finland, as students have taken part in large numbers of opposition demonstrations.

Not all universities have viewed critical thinking well. In southern Russia, Astrakhan State University fired three of its students from participating in protests, and St. Petersburg State University threatened with dismissal.

The persecution of the opposition from Heinola is frightening. Hän on kannattanut pitkään Pussy Riotia, koska pitää sen ihmisoikeustyötä tärkeänä. Heinolainen would not go to the demonstration in Russia.

“I would probably fly back to Finland pretty quickly if I got caught. I don’t want to jeopardize my own exchange experience, even though it’s important. ”

Finns the number of degree students has not been rocked by the business cycle. Students from medicine and the arts, such as theater, film and music, are steadily applying to Russian universities.

In the last ten years, about 60–70 Finns have gone to Russia every year to complete a degree, according to Kela’s statistics.

In addition to them, Finns also study with a Russian state grant. According to the Russian Science and Culture Center, more than a hundred Finns are currently graduating from Russian universities in either a paid or unpaid location.

Helsinki Anna Berger is studying documentary film directing at the Gerasimov Film Institute in Moscow for the fourth or final year.

For Berger, 28, an important factor in choosing a place to study was the possibility of a Russian scholarship. Kela’s student support months had already been spent on a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in French at Oxford University in the UK.

Berger applied for a grant from the Russian Rossotrudnichestvo Agency Russian Science and Culture Center In Helsinki. The scholarship covers university tuition and your own room in the dorm. In addition, he is paid a Russian study grant of 2,000 rubles a month, or about 25 euros.

Similar In the past five years, scholarships have been awarded to Finns approximately 15 times a year. Berger has also received a scholarship for his studies from the Cultura Foundation, 8,000 euros.

Berger says Russian scholarships are enough for a phone bill, but not for anything else, so he earns extra income by making kids Youtube videos. Studies are demanding. Half of the year course has been suspended, but Berger is comfortable.

“There is a terribly positive and thirsty attitude here to learning something new: general education, literature and history. Here you get the impression that an interesting life is one where you are constantly learning something new. ”

After the interview, Tia Heinolainen has had to suspend her exchange and Essi Anttila has decided to continue the spring semester in Moscow.