An African Student in Russia


Book Description

In 1975, Dr. Onesphor Kyara left Tanzanian, East Africa, for Russia. He spent one year learning Russian at Donetsk State University, Ukraine. In 1976, he transferred to Kuban State University, Russian Republic, to pursue a five-year degree in universal history. He graduated with MA (History) in 1981. The book presents his life experience in the communist society and its education system. It includes his education both inside and outside the classroom. Shortage of goods and inadequate finances necessitated participation in the black market, relying on goods from the West. His trips to London, Stockholm, West Berlin, Paris, Rome and New York are touched upon. Among notable observations are, ignorance is a logical legal defense; the UN should have come up with a universal language; English is a tough and polluting language; space exploration is a necessity the world cannot yet afford; original revolutions have taken place in two nations; democracy has yet to exist; communism does not work anywhere, and capitalism does not work everywhere. Super power Cold War has been replaced by "Super Religion" covert wars. Bongo (Swahili for brain, mind, and consciousness) is the ultimate creator, and destroyer. Nourishing bongo is the purpose of life. We all need to read the Bible, Koran, and Torah. Religious organizations should participate in government. Natural selection stopped with the first bullet; it will resume with the last one. The future of the world hinges on universal language, true democracy, disarmament, and Bongoism. Dr. Kyara left Tanzania for United States in 1985 to pursue post-graduate studies at Brown University, Providence, RI. He earned MA (Anthropology in 1988). He transferred to Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, for doctoral studies, earning Ph. D (Anthropology) in 1999. He teaches anthropology, sociology, and related studies for Thomas Edison State College, Trenton, NJ, and University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. Three Russian observers contributed t




Africa in Russia, Russia in Africa


Book Description

This book presents an interdisciplinary look at the complex nature of historical, political, and cultural ties between Africa and Russia. A diverse group of accomplished historians, sociologists, political scientists, and journalists have contributed essays that reveal and explain a variety of "invisible links" tying together the seemingly incongruent cultural and historical traditions of Africa and Russia. From African presence in early imperial Russia to the Soviet adventures in colonial and post-colonial Africa to the role and predicament of African Russians in the post-Soviet society, this volume stakes out a vast emerging field for further scholarly research and interpretation.




A Brown Man in Russia


Book Description

A Brown Man in Russia describes the fantastical travels of a young, colored American traveler as he backpacks across Russia in the middle of winter via the Trans-Siberian. The book is a hybrid between the curmudgeonly travelogues of Paul Theroux and the philosophical works of Robert Pirsig. Styled in the vein of Hofstadter, the author lays out a series of absurd, but true stories followed by a deeper rumination on what they mean and why they matter. Each chapter presents a vivid anecdote from the perspective of the fumbling traveler and concludes with a deeper lesson to be gleaned. For those who recognize the discordant nature of our world in a time ripe for demagoguery and for those who want to make it better, the book is an all too welcome antidote. It explores the current global climate of despair over differences and outputs a very different message – one of hope and shared understanding. At times surreal, at times inappropriate, at times hilarious, and at times deeply human, A Brown Man in Russia is a reminder to those who feel marginalized, hopeless, or endlessly divided that harmony is achievable even in the most unlikely of places.




African Studies in Russia


Book Description

The publication is the latest in the African Studies in Russia series of compilations and contains full articles and annotations of the most important – from the point of view of editors – works of Russian Africanists over a certain period. The authors work at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The present issue covers the years 2014 to 2016 and consists of two sections. The first section presents conceptual articles on Africa published in authoritative journals. The second section offers synopses of books by Russian authors on economics, cultural anthropology, social and political development, gender studies, and international relations of African countries.The main objective of the triennial series of compilations is to introduce new findings of Russian Africanists to interested foreign scholars who do not speak Russian.







African Studies in Russia


Book Description

The publication is the latest in the African Studies in Russia series of compilations and contains full articles and annotations of the most important from the point of view of editors works of Russian Africanists over a certain period. The authors work at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).The present issue covers the years 2014 to 2016 and consists of two sections. The first section presents conceptual articles on Africa published in authoritative journals. The second section offers synopses of books by Russian authors on economics, cultural anthropology, social and political development, gender studies, and international relations of African countries.The main objective of the triennial series of compilations is to introduce new findings of Russian Africanists to interested foreign scholars who do not speak Russian.




Ebony


Book Description

EBONY is the flagship magazine of Johnson Publishing. Founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson, it still maintains the highest global circulation of any African American-focused magazine.




Blacks, Reds, and Russians


Book Description

One of the most compelling, yet little known stories of race relations in the twentieth century is the account of blacks who chose to leave the United States to be involved in the Soviet Experiment in the 1920s and 1930s. In Blacks, Reds, and Russians, Joy Gleason Carew offers insight into the political strategies that often underlie relationships between different peoples and countries. Interviews with the descendents of figures such as Paul Robeson and Oliver Golden offer rare personal insights into the story of a group of emigrants who, confronted by the daunting challenges of making a life for themselves in a racist United States, found unprecedented opportunities in communist Russia.







Russian Journal


Book Description

“A subtly crafted reflection of both the bleak and golden shadings of Russian life . . . Its tones belong more to the realm of poetry than journalism.” –The New York Times Book Review At age twenty-five, Andrea Lee joined her husband, a Harvard doctoral candidate in Russian history, for his eight months’ study at Moscow State University and an additional two months in Leningrad. Published to enormous critical acclaim in 1981, Russian Journal is the award-winning author’s penetrating, vivid account of her everyday life as an expatriate in Soviet culture, chronicling her fascinating exchanges with journalists, diplomats, and her Soviet contemporaries. The winner of the Jean Stein Award from the National Academy of Arts and Letters–and the book that launched Lee’s career as a writer–Russian Journal is a beautiful and clear-eyed travel-writing classic. “[Lee] takes us wherever she is, conveying a feeling of place and atmosphere that is the mark of real talent.” –The Washington Post Book World “A book of very great charm . . . [Lee] records what she saw and heard with unassuming delicacy and exactness.” –Newsweek