My Impressions of Perm

 

I’ve only been in Perm for about six weeks but my impressions of the city are already extremely positive. There are many advantages to studying here as opposed to Moscow or St Petersburg. Perm easily offers everything that the ‘capitals’ of Russia have – restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, shopping centres, cinemas, museums, theatres etc. With a population of just under a million people this is no sleepy backwater town and it’s unlikely that you’d be bored here. Plus there are loads of universities in the city, which means lots of students and young people. Perm is especially good if you’re interested in ‘cultural’ things like theatre, art and music (both modern and classical.) There’s a real thriving music scene, with bands (both Russian and international) coming to play gigs in the city all the time. Deep Purple (!) are playing next week, and I’ve got tickets to go see Russian alt-rock legends ‘Krematorii’ with some uni students in November. Perm has a real avant-garde streak in its cultural scene, as seen in the recent modern art exhibition in the River Station.

Perm is a historic and beautiful provincial city (Pasternak’s novel ‘Doctor Zhivago’ is set here) however its ‘distance’ from Moscow means that few European travelers come here. This is definitely an advantage. Not only are prices dirt cheap, but people are incredibly friendly and really make an effort to get to know you and invite you to visit them and go on trips. Most importantly you get to practice heaps of Russian, probably a lot more than in Moscow and St Petersburg. I’d never have imagined how much my language skills could improve in just six weeks.

So far classes at the university have been awesome. I have individual language lessons, which are (believe it or not) fun and interesting, and also attend literature lectures with other Russian students. I often find the lectures hard to follow, but the students make a real effort to explain and help me understand. This is what I’ve noticed is especially good about being a foreign student at Perm Uni. You’re not left to struggle alone – people are always around keeping an eye on you, ready to help at a moment’s notice. It has made the transition to living in Russia so much easier and fun. I would definitely recommend coming here, for a genuine chance to experience life in ‘real’ Russia.

 

Kulakiewicz Flippanta Phillippa Claire, 2008

 

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