University of Montana Russian Program

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University of Montana Russian Program

The purpose of The University of Montana Russian Program page is to promote and nurture the study of Russian culture and language

10/03/2026

Meet the Professor final part!

This is professor Clint Walker, he recieved his PhD in Slavic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and had been teaching at the University of Montana for 20 years. He loves teaching and living in Montana, his favorite things to research are any works by Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Chekhov and Mikhail Bulgakov. His favorite class to teach is one that he designed called Russia and the West from Peter the Great to Putin.

Professor Walker likes to listen to Russian rock music, his favorites are Akvarium and DDT! He loves animals and birds and currently has a pet parakeet who understands both English and Russian because he speaks to her in both languages! He is currently learning Ukrainian (as is his parakeet)!

09/17/2026

Meet our Fulbright TA!

Hi! I’m Tanatar from Kazakhstan, Central Asia. I’m thrilled to be a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) at the University of Montana this year, co-teaching Elementary Russian alongside an amazing professor, Ona.
My passion for volunteering and helping others led me to a career in education. Back home, I teach English at the university level and work in the international office, guiding students through exchange programs. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing students succeed at my workplace.
Kazakh culture is centered around hospitality, where guests are greeted with open arms, delicious traditional cuisine, warm tea, and incredible generosity. So people around are important to me and I’m happy to find that same warmth here.
Another reason I chose Missoula is because of its peaceful vibe and beautiful nature that reminds me so much of home.
I look forward to working with my faculty and helping students toward their goals and seeing their accomplishments!
Рақмет! Спасибо! Thank you!

09/09/2026

Meet the Professors!!

This is Professor Ona Renner-Fahey! She is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She went to University of Madison for college and majored in Russian because she loved studying languages and because her mom was a refugee from the Soviet Union. Ona then received an MA in Russian from Middlebury College and then a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from The Ohio State University. She began teaching at UM in 2003.

One of the things she loves most about her job is introducing students to Russian language and culture for the first time! This semester she is teaching introduction to Russian and Ukrainian Cultures, and is co-teaching first year Russian with our Fulbright Language TA!

Keep an eye out to meet our other professor and Fulbright TA soon!

09/05/2026

We had a СУПЕР day yesterday at WelcomeFeast!
The Russian Program was well represented at the table for our Department of World Languages and Cultures. Thank you to Marina, Raisa, Maia, and Liva, as well as our Fulbright Language TA Tanatar!
Pictured are Marina and Professor Ona.

08/28/2026

Introducing our Russian Club team for the 2026/2027 school year!

This semester Russian Club will be meeting on Thursday’s from 6-8 in the UC! We hope to see you there!

Professor Walker is the advisor to Russian Club and works with the officers to plan events, oversee the club activities and make sure everything runs smoothly!!

Liva (Лива) is one of our Russian Clubs presidents, they are a senior majoring in English literature and Russian with a minor in history, they plan on pursuing literary studies in graduate school! They are also a learning assistant for one of our Russian 101 sections this semester!

Makena (Марина) is the other Russian Club president, she is a junior who is majoring in sociology, psychology and anthropology with a minor in Russian and a certificate in forensic studies! She is also a learning assistant for one of our Russian 101 classes !

Rae Lynn (Раиса) is the treasurer of Russian Club! She is a junior majoring in psychology with a minor in Russian. She is a part of the honors college and is a learning assistant for another class.

05/09/2026

What a marvelous day! We are so proud of our graduates—for pursuing a challenging discipline like Russian, for taking on leadership roles in Russian Club, for applying to (and winning!) national awards and placement in top tier graduate programs. We have four majors this year, Tatyana and Jack and two who graduated in December, Scout McMahon and Matthew Fassett! We also have six accomplished minors to congratulate, as well! Поздравляем Caeley Hunter, Jake Kahn, Micaela Moe, Ro O’Mary, Katya Potkonjak, and Maxwell Woodcock! Keep in touch, ребята!

05/08/2026

It’s the last day of the semester!
Congratulations to all of our students on a year of both successes and pushing through hardships.
This photo exemplifies what we love about our program— our students are close knit, creative, and resourceful. To celebrate the end of the year, our second-year language class surprised their professor by dressing like him. IYKYK! Как весело! 💙

05/07/2026

A big thanks to our Russian Club leadership this year! Tatyana, Alison, and Rae Lynn hosted weekly conversation tables, organized a potluck and attendance at films (including at the Roxy Theater), developed a great partnership with a local pel’meni business (we ❤️ !), and more. Tatyana is graduating (Ураааа! but also жалько!), but our election results for next year are in and we are excited about what next year will bring! See next photo for the reveal! (Добро пожаловать, Марина! 😉)

Address

Missoula, MT

Website

http://www.cas.umt.edu/mcll/russian/

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