25.01.2012 | Alumni Assistants at American Corners, December 2011 Report

	Alumni Assistants at American Corners, December 2011	(926 Kb)

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Saratov is a major city in southern Russia. It is the administrative center of Saratov Oblast and a major port on the Volga River.

The name Saratov may be conjectured to derive from the Turkic words Saryk Atov which means ‘hawks' island’. Another version of the name origin is "Sary Tau" (Сары Тау) meaning Yellow Mountain in Tatar language as the city is surrounded by a few sandy hills.

From Soviet times until 1991, Saratov was a "closed city", strictly off limits to all foreigners. Situated on the Volga River, this was a major military aircraft manufacturing site, the home of the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and a vital part of the Soviet space program.

The American Corner established in cooperation of the United States and the Russian Federation in the Saratov Regional Research Library serves as a bridge of understanding between citizens of the Saratov Region and the United States. The official ceremony of the Corner’s opening was held on December 2, 2002. The ribbon was cut by the American Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow.

The American Corner is the sixth such cross-cultural center opened in the Volga Federal Administrative District. The Corner collection contains more than 1,500 books, reference materials, 379 audio- and videocassettes, 69 CD-ROMs, maps, posters, and pictures. As its goal the American Corner sees developing of intercultural relations and understanding between the people of the USA and Saratov Region by means of providing patrons with free and open access to all its available information resources, including an extensive movie collection and a large assortment of American magazines to browse through.

American visitors to Saratov are happy to find such a broad-ranging piece of America here in Russia, where they can use Internet-connected computers, chat with patrons of the Corner, and hear – or give - lectures on a variety of topics. Among the guests of the American Corner are US Embassy officials, English-language instructors, various specialists, exchange students, and assorted visitors from many countries. Along with information resources the Corner hosts cultural events, American art exhibits, films, lectures, and English-language conversation groups. Discussion Club sessions exhibit straightforwardness from all sides debating a variety of controversial issues, events, and tendencies. At the same time, ethical principles of civilized society are followed undeviatingly – those of tolerance and unprejudiced mutual respect.