Exploring Moscow’s History and Culture: HSE Professor Leads Immersive Student Excursions

On 27th October and 3rd November, HSE Anthropology professor from the faculty of Social Science, Ilya Ermolin, organized excursions around Moscow for the second-year students from master’s program Population and Development.

From student's personal archieve

The destination on 27th October was the Red Square, which is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, located in Moscow's historic center. It is the city's most prominent landmark, with famous buildings such as Saint Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum and the GUM department store.

On 3rd November, Professor Ermolin organized the excursion to the Kolomenskoye Museum, which is a former royal estate, situated several kilometers to the southeast of the city center of Moscow.

Ilya Ermolin

Associate Professor at the Department of Demography of the Vishnevsky Institute of Demography

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During the excursion to Red Square, the students got acquainted with the history of Russia, closely connected with the place. We also visited the Kazan Cathedral, approached to the house of the first book printer in Russia, Ivan Fedorov, while walking along Nikolskaya Street, and visited GUM.

The excursion to the Kolomenskoye Museum was much more extensive and included a visit to the palace of Alexey Mikhailovich, where the students were able to view the chambers of the second Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty, met with the throne of Alexey and surprisingly found out a lot about bath procedures in ancient Rus', did walk along the Golosov Ravine, where they saw the traces of pagan temple built up by ancient Slavs, did visit to the Church of John the Baptist and heard a story about the sights located on Voznesenskaya Square. The throne of Alexey was also something unexpected to see. Bath procedures in Russia aroused keen interest among students that they even expressed desire to visit Russian sauna in the center of Moscow called Sanduny.

Snowfall came surprisingly early this year. During the walk in Kolomenskoye, the students faced with a real snowfall, got a little cold, but at the end of the tour they still were a good kind of exhausted from an interesting journey through the centuries of Russian history.

These excursions not only deepened students’ understanding of Russian history and culture but also fostered a sense of connection and curiosity among participants. Guided by Professor Ermolin’s expertise and enthusiasm, the journeys were both educational and memorable.

Below are some comments of the 2nd year students from Population and Development who joined in the excursions.

Anita Adofo

2nd year student of the "Population and Development" program

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I joined the excursion to the Kolomenskoye Museum. It was a very nice experience. We were able to see ancient kings and queens’ daily life, like how they spent their time on leisure. It was interesting that queens usually did knitting together during the day as a leisure activity. So, in short, we were fully immersed in Russian culture, and I was totally fascinated by the beautiful architecture, exquisite clothing, etc. I really appreciate it that Professor Ilya guided us to such a wonderful place. I look forward to next time’s excursion very much.

Sodoke Stephen

2nd year student of the "Population and Development" program

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The first day, we went to the Red square, the excursion to which started from the so called the zero km. He took us to the execution point. There are specific cathedrals built in honor of people who led to the success of Russia. He also showed us the place where Neglinnaya river has been flowing, now isolated by underground pipes built specifically to hide the stinky sewage streaming from elsewhere in Moscow. Thanks to Professor Ilya’s guide and patient explanation during our excursion, we were able to take such a close look at the history of Russia, and that was very interesting to me as a foreigner.

Fatou Bintou Sallah

2nd year student of the "Population and Development" program

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It was very fun because through this excursion we got to know a lot about Russian people’s religion, food, their ways of life etc., which allows us to have a deeper insight into Russian culture.

Interview: Fan Minlan