My reflection loomed larger and larger in a policeman's face shield as his division marched toward us, batons in hand. I took a deep breath; this gloomy Wednesday afternoon, I was about to stand up against a unit of OMON foot soldiers. Anti-Putin protests had filled Moscow for ten days ever since police had violently attacked an opposition rally on May 6, 2012. Deep down I understood that all of our protests were not going defeat Putin, that this particular clash was...

The academic freedom that liberal arts students enjoy at BU, combined with the great multitude of courses BU offers in all academic areas, would enable me to simultaneously pursue all my interests, including economics, Russian literature, history, political science and French, while exploring new subjects like Chinese and computer science. BU would enable me to advance the cause of democracy in Russia, and peace in Ukraine while receiving a top-notch education. BU’s internationally diverse and globally aware student body...

I plan on making a name for myself in the business sector, and then either entering opposition politics in Russia, or working for the Russian government, should the regime change by that time. My Economics major and Russian history minor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences will serve as a solid base for my success in every step of my intended career. A good example of the brilliant complexity of economics is the concept...

The prompt asked to list some books I read this year and elaborate on the significance of one of them. 1) Russia’s War by Richard Overy 2) Hero of Our Times by Lermontov (I re-read it this year) 3) All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque 4) One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn 5) Crime and Punishment by Dostoevskiy During my re-read of Hero of Our Times, I realized that Pechorin, whom I considered somewhat of a personal hero...

b) Please describe an instance when you took ownership of your intellectual growth and molded your education to meet your own goals. What did you learn about yourself through the process? My acceptance to Moscow State School 57 Honors Math Program was a dream come true. Literally. I had grown up hearing about how it is Russia’s strongest math program, how it will provide for an incredible career and how proud of me everyone would be if I got in....

The academic freedom that a George Washington student enjoys would enable me to simultaneously pursue all my interests, including economics, Russian literature, history, political science and French, and explore new subjects like Chinese and computer science. In providing excellent education through a prism of global awareness, social justice and cultural pluralism, George Washington would enable me to advance the cause of democracy in Russia, and peace in Ukraine while receiving a top-notch education. George Washington’s politically active student body...

There is a place for tactic and strategy, cunningness and bluntness, comedy and tragedy; there is no place for luck, hypocrisy or unfairness. Combining most of the things one appreciates life for, and excluding most of the things one dislikes it for, chess becomes a version of life simple enough to see it in black and white. One of the ways in which chess provides a getaway from life’s downsides is the equality of the opponents, uninfluenced by their...

The prompt used the adjectives that I used in the beginning of my paragraphs. So it's not silly. NYU is smart. The academic freedom that a student of NYU’s College of Arts and Sciences possesses would enable me to simultaneously pursue all my interests, including economics, Russian literature, history, political science and French, and explore new subjects like Chinese and computer science. NYU is bold. In providing excellent education through a prism of global awareness, social justice and multiculturalism,...

There is a Quaker saying: “Let your life speak.” Describe the environment in which you were raised—your family, home, neighborhood or community—and how it influenced the person you are today. (Required length is 200-250 words) During new sophomore orientation, it hit me: I moved. I am no longer in my country. Steve’s declaration, “I’ll call you Moscow,” interrupted my train of thought mid-sentence. Carley objected: “Don’t call him that, it’s offensive!” Why, I wondered,...

Two more Tufts essays did not fit, so hit me up if you need them!

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