Introductions...

As this is my first attempt to publish a blog online I hope I can strike the right balance between 'interesting' and 'informative'. Having never before visited St. Petersburg, or indeed Russia, I'd like to think some of the experiences I have during my stay and within the school, will be relevant for other first timers.

Of course some of my own personal agenda and biases will creep in - though as a history student I'm sure I'll do my best to disguise them - still if nothing else I will aim to keep it clear and concise.

By way of an introduction I currently live and work in Oxford, within the university itself. Having survived three years of an undergraduate degree there relatively unscathed, I decided to stick around for post-graduate study. Choosing to take a gap year before hand to prepare, my aim with this course is to develop my understanding of the Russian language (from scratch) to a level that will allow me to study the history and politics of this fascinating country.