Welcome to the Slavic Department!
First established as the Department of Slavonic Languages in 1915 and redesigned as the Department of East European Languages in 1935, the Department of Slavic Languages embarked on its present trajectory in 1946, when a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation permitted the establishment of the Russian (now Harriman) Institute. Consequently, it was necessary for the Department to expand its language offerings. At present, the Department offers five Slavic languages— Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian.
On our website, you can find out more about our faculty, our students, and our undergraduate and graduate offerings in Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Polish, and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian languages, literatures, and cultures. Check us out on Facebook.
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The Department of Slavic Languages at Columbia University condemns Russia’s war against the sovereignty of Ukraine. We express our solidarity with Ukraine, its democratically-elected government, and with people everywhere who strive for freedom and peace. We honor Russian citizens who oppose this war. We call on the academic community to stand firmly against Russia’s military attacks on the Ukrainian state and its civilians. We express our sympathy and support for members of our community affected by this crisis.
Learn Russian This Summer | Intensive Language Program at Columbia University
Learn Russian this summer at Columbia University through our intensive summer Russian language program. Designed for learners at all levels, this program offers beginner, intermediate, and advanced Russian courses taught by experienced instructors.
The program is open to high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, visiting students, and professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.
Program Highlights:
- Beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels
- Intensive language instruction
- June and July sessions
- Flat course rate per session
- Earn up to 8 semester credit hours
Whether you are starting Russian for the first time or advancing your proficiency, Columbia’s summer intensive program provides a rigorous and supportive learning experience at a world-class university.
Registration opens March 3
Learn more and apply: https://summer.sps.columbia.edu/academics/special-foreign-language-programs/russian-practicum
News
Max Lawton has been chosen to receive the 2026 Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize. The honor will be presented to him at an award ceremony at the Goethe-Institut New York on June 10, 2026, followed by a trip to the Frankfurter Buchmesse in October 2026.
"In Tatiana Mikhailova's classroom, there are no sloppy answers or wasted minutes—instead, she teaches you to bloom where you’re planted."
Alex Nagin's article on Tatiana Mikhailova, Lecturer in Russian at Columbia University.
This is the first practical course in Ukrainian phonetics designed for beginning students taking their first steps toward mastering the Ukrainian language, as well as for intermediate and advanced learners seeking to refine their pronunciation and overcome difficulties stemming from their linguistic background.
The course consists of two parts: the book itself and a companion website featuring 412 interactive audio exercises organized into clusters, each centered on a particular Ukrainian sound to be practiced through listening and repetition. Every sound (phoneme) is presented in word-initial,…
Selected Publications
Teaching Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature. Essays in honor of Robert L. Belknap
All the World on a Page: A Critical Anthology of Modern Russian Poetry
IRINA REYFMAN AND ANDREW KAHN TRANSLATE RADISHCHEV FOR THE RUSSIAN LIBRARY
