The Russian Far East (RFE) is perhaps the most mysterious of the SRAS locations. It is home to dramatic geography – from the San Francisco-like feel of Vladivostok to the volcanos of Kamchatka. It is host to exotic wildlife – including the Siberian tiger and the Amur leopard. In fact, some 30 percent of all endangered species in Russia can be found in the RFE.
On April 9 and 23, we present Perspectives on the Russian Far East (sign up here), introducing the geography, history, and culture of the region. We will live-stream from Vladivostok, the Russian Far East’s major port city and economic hub, with a combination of lecture and live-stream participation of our student team from various points in the city. We will look at the economic prospects for Vladivostok and the region and give you an idea of what it is like to live in this city.
On April 23, we will also be joined by John Simeone, a SRAS alum who has put his Russian language skills to use in the field of environmental and economic consulting. John will talk about his experience studying in Vladivostok, his career path, and where he sees the opportunities for students with a background in environment and Russian language. Check out this article, written by John shortly after his studies in Vladivostok. You can also find out more about the Russian far east in this article.
Sign up for these and other events here.
About John Simeone
John Simeone works with clients across the globe, providing in-depth environmental and economic consulting services. He specializes in collecting, synthesizing, analyzing, and communicating ecological and economic data, and has a strong academic background in natural sciences, resource management, and trade economics.
John received both MA and MS degrees from the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. He received an MS in Sustainable Resource Management and an MA in International Studies (Russia & Northeast Asia), with a focus on trade and resource economics. During his time at UW, John was affiliated with UW’s Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR). John attended Cornell University (Ithaca, New York) for his BS in Natural Resources and Development Sociology (double-major) and took Russian language classes there and at UW, as well as Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service (Vladivostok, Russia), KORA Institute (Vladimir, Russia), and Middlebury College Summer Language School (Vermont, USA). He has professional working proficiency in Russian and recently began studying Mandarin Chinese and Italian, and is developing his ability in R and Python.
