<p>I'm in high school now, and I take Russian. I love the language, literature, and art, and I find the history of Russia and the Soviet Union really interesting. I've also interested in politics, and I've loved learning about foreign countries since I was little. Recently, I've been considering double-majoring in Russian and political science (as well as probably getting a masters in poli sci afterwards.) However, while money isn't a top concern, I don't want a "useless" degree, and I know Russia's nowhere near the global superpower that the USSR once was, and the language isn't as necessary as Spanish or Chinese. Would I have decent job prospects (hopefully in government) if I went ahead and did this, or should I consider something else?</p>
<p>Russian is an important language. It is the primary language spoken in half a dozen countries with a total population of over 200 million people, covering over 20% of the word land area. I think a Russian/Poli-Sci double major makes good sense.</p>
<p>Don’t discount business opportunities in Russia as well. There’s still a largely untapped market there as it rises out of the ashes of the Soviet era.</p>
<p>After the fall of the USSR, I think Russian enrollments and interest in Russia declined. Russia is still an important country, however (think energy, business, the Caucasus, nuclear weapons, etc). Russian is still considered a critical language and one could anticipate a need for a new generation of students with knowledge of Russia and its language. In addition to a second major in political science, consider majors in economics and international relations/international studies. You also should take a look at the Russian language flagship programs:
[The</a> Language Flagship - Russian](<a href=“http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/russian]The”>http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/russian)</p>
<p>Since you will already have some background in Russian by the time you get to college, you also could start another relevant language as you continue your study of Russian. Some relevant combinations would include Russian + German, Russian + another Slavic/East European language, Russian + Turkish, Russian + Persian.</p>
<p>The following schools have federally-funded Russian/East European Centers, though several others schools offer good programs, too.
Duke University: Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
Georgetown University: Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies
Harvard University: Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Indiana University-Bloomington: Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center
Indiana University-Bloomington: Russian and East European Institute
Ohio State University: Center for Slavic and East European Studies
Stanford University: Center of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of California-Berkeley: Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of Chicago: Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center
University of Kansas: Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
University of Pittsburgh: Center for Russian and East European Studies
University of Washington: Herbert J. Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia</p>