current situation and foreign study

[Josh Wilson]

I completely agree with David - its way to early to tell where this is going
or if it will have wider consequences for life on the ground in Russia. It
seems most Americans think that life here is very fragile - I had a parent
of one of our students call me just after Kosovo declared independence
because he was wondering if the "rioting had spilled into Moscow."

Life here in Moscow has changed very little over the last few days. Most
Russians are strongly interested in the events, and most are very supportive
of their government's actions. I've noticed coworkers checking news online
at work - I don't think I've ever noticed them browsing general news before.
 
However, in my experience most Russians realize that any connection the
American government has to Georgia doesn't prevent Americans from being
people just like Russians. I personally don't feel any less safe on the
streets of Moscow than I did last week. 

Just another two cents, 

Josh Wilson
Asst. Director
The School of Russian and Asian Studies
Editor-in-Chief
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
www.sras.org
jwilson at sras.org

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