ISU Bengal

Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Melissa Adamson Traditional Russian food was served at Russian Night.

ISU's Russian Club hosted its First Annual Russian Night Friday evening in the Pond Student Union Building. The nearly 100 people in attendance were treated to Russian cuisine and music, along with instruction on Russian history and architecture.

Those who had previously attended Africa Night or International Night at ISU were given a much different experience at Russian Night. Instead of loud music and dancing, guests received a quiet and refined look at Russian culture.

"I liked the smaller crowd and the more peaceful atmosphere," said ISU senior Annalea White. "It was more relaxing then some of the other events I've been to at ISU."

Russian Club President Susan Schaefer was in charge of organizing the event. "Russian Club in the past has not been well known," explained Schaefer. "We wanted to let people know that there are Russian classes and a Russian club at ISU." Schaefer hopes that through events like Russian Night, more students will be interested in joining the club.

The traditional Russian meal was prepared almost entirely by Dr. Neli Zaltzman, who is ISU's only Russian professor and the advisor of the Russian Club. Zaltzman spent almost a month preparing the food for the event, which included cabbage rolls, puroshska (biscuits with cabbage and mushrooms inside) and borsch (cabbage and beets soup).

After dinner, ISU student and pianist Allison Cleaver performed selections from Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky and Korsakov. Three-year-old Sydney Lyon whispered to her mother Shamae Lyon that the songs sounded like "princess music." One of the pieces did have a strong resemblance to "Once Upon a Dream" from "Sleeping Beauty."

The evening also included a video describing Russian architecture and history, plus a slideshow about the history St. Petersburg.

Several native Russians could be found dispersed among the crowd, including Adnan Arutyunov, an ISU student from Moscow. Arutyunov has been living in Pocatello for almost two years and during his stay he has noticed that many Pocatello residents seem isolated from the rest of the world. "They're happy just going to Wal-Mart and settling on mediocrity," Arutyunov said.

He hopes that more international students and more cultural events will be brought to Pocatello in the future in order to help expand the vision of the city's residents.

Last spring the Russian Club helped to host a similar event, but this year was the first time that the club was solely responsible for making Russian Night happen. Club members hope that Russian Night will become a continuing tradition at ISU.

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