How safe is Moscow for Americans?

[Renee Stillings]

Why is it that when something like that happens (which, like you say, can
happen absolutely anywhere in the world) the reaction on the part of US
universities is to cancel the program? If it were Madrid or Paris, the
program would not have been cancelled, in fact, the official statement would
have been that "the student was drinking and irresponsible and made a
judgment error" but when it is Russia, the student is never to blame? Is our
policy that Americans are responsible for their own actions EXCEPT when they
go to Russia? What is it that drives these decisions? Is it only ignorance
or is there some other motivation?

We also had a student in a similar situation a couple of years ago, but he
wasn't really hurt (so much as his feelings mainly) and he recognized that
noone else was to blame really and that he should have been paying
attention. He actually chose to leave Moscow early--get this--because "he
was having far too much fun" and would only proceed to get himself into more
trouble. Amazingly mature decision, I thought. Moscow is the place where you
can do just about anything. Coming from the world of sometimes extreme
political correctness and judgmental attitude  (as well as laws that work)
known as America, students find a level of freedom they initially have a
hard time controlling in Russia. It's funny. Everyone talks about how it is
a "new freedom" for Russians who lived under communism, etc. but I think it
is just as much a shock for visiting Americans as it is for Russians.


> About three years ago the college where I used to teach Russian stopped
> sending groups of students to Moscow for language practice.
> What happened was: one US student ignored the instruction to avoid night
> clubs. He was "kind of" drunk and started making open advances to a girl
> sitting alone at a table. The student did not realize that the girl had a
> boyfriend who was playing cards somehere in the depth of the club...
> So the poor guy ended up in the hospital with a broken jaw.
>
> But this could have happened in any other big (and not so big) city
anywhere
> in the world! Moscow is not better or worse!
>
> So the best thing is just to rely on your common sense. You will not be
less
> safe than in any other big city in the world.
>
> With compliments,
>
> Pavel (Paul) Samsonov
> EDAD, College of Education,
> Texas A&M University
> tel. (409) 862-7771 (lab)
>       (409) 862-9152 (home)
> fax (409) 862-4347
> e-mail p0s5658 at acs.tamu.edu
>
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