An interesting course, despite the fact that it is almost impossible to talk about Russian contemporary history in a 3-weeks course.

Well planned and amazingly explained course. helps develop critical thinking for events in Russian History.

The volume was a little low unless I used my headphones, which doesn't happen elsewhere? Great content.

Excellent introduction to Russian history, especially to the "short" twentieth century.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning from this course and Dr. Kenez is a wonderful teacher.

The subject matter was interesting, and I found the teacher nice to listen to.

It is interesting to listen to the history of Russia But the audios were low

Though it was a three week course, it has vast details on Russian History.

Interesting, interactive, varied in the assent form and quick to complete.

Enjoyed immensely professor Kenez's scholarly lectures!

The course was really enlightening. I enjoyed it.

nice

Oh dear! I have really struggled with this course. I was very keen to learn about Russian History sparked by documentaries and and reading bits here and there. However, I just could not follow the lecturer and his way of explaining things. I retried a few times but i just got frustrated. Disappointed as I was keen to do this course but I’m pulling out.

The professor is a terrible speaker, and his hmm-ing and haa-ing eventually was too much to endure. I decided to just read the transcription, but the transcriptor couldn't make much of what he was saying, either. I'm not speaking of his accent, that was not much of a problem. He just couldn't go through the material in a mostly linear way. I think he should take a look at Professor Shapiro's politics course from Yale. That's how it's done.

I only got six minutes in to the literal first video when the professor began extolling "the greatness of European civilization." That was after completely missing the point of the oft-quoted phrase "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat this." I don't need this kind of energy in my life.

i thought this was going to be a course which deeply goes into the russian history and how everything took place rather it was a course discussing theories of what happened. I am at beginners level and i wanted a course with more depth in history

I​ would like to thanks Professor Kenez for this amazing introduction history. My story is interesting, as my partner is Russian but I worked training Ukrainian army against corruption many times in Kiev. While I have always been aware of the political differences and tension, I also developped friendships with both Ukrainians and Russians. In Western Europe, where I live, people don't know nor understand Russia and this is, in my view, a great mistake. The war in Ukraine could propobably have been avoided if the West had tried to continue a true dialogue with Russia. I really appreciated Professor Kenez empathy (sometimes he was very emotional in the videos) for the Russian people, who have and continue to suffer tremendously. thank you so much and greeting from Brussels!

The course has given me a better understanding of Russian history during the past century, and even more importantly, of Russia’s present day situation. Professor Kenez is a very endearing teacher who brings soul into his subject. I have a suggestion, which is to document the very interesting iconography used in the lessons : I wish the texts, when applicable, had been translated from Russian and some legends written, indicating time, place or circumstances, as appropriate. Same thing for the pieces of music introducing and closing each lesson, I would have liked to know what they were. Also, could the words and names in Russian be written on the screen as they are spoken?

Professor Kenez uses his deep knowledge of Russian history in a compelling presentation of the significant issues, people, events of this period. His lectures conclude with an explicit statement of empathy for all that the Russians have endured, but his appreciation of their suffering is evident throughout. He appears to speak without notes, so intimately familiar he is with the material. I strongly recommend this course for anyone who has the slightest interest in understanding a country which has generated such important contributions to music and literature, and yet has been cast as an enemy of the West for so long.

Definitely a worthwhile course delivered by an excellent lecturer. It's nice to find this perspective to cover a lot of ground from the time of the Russian revolution to the current. Too often there is a strong western bias in recounting history. These lectures tell of the suffering and failures but seem to summarize the different periods objectively. Plus I did enjoy all the pictures and musics and the fact the topics were varied and never too long to be boring.

I enrolled in the course looking for ways to keep busy during these pandemic times, thinking that the agenda was quite ambitious. For my delight, the professor was able to cover the topics with enough depth to enhance my knowledge of the political development of Russia. I also perceived that the peer review was a productive exercise where you had the opportunity of getting in contact with the thoughts of a diverse class of more than 35,000 students.

This course was highly informative and easy to follow. I enjoyed the review quizzes at the end of each week and thought that the freedom given to learners in the final essay was an excellent idea, as it enabled you to write about a subject that specifically interested you. I feel that I have learned plenty from both this course and other learners, whose essays I have marked as part of the course.

In my opinion, this course helped me to get more information about Russian history. I will definitely advise people keen on history, anthropology, sociology or Russian culture to take this lesson. I really enjoyed the explanations given to understand better some events during Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and nowadays Russia. You will not regret taking this course.

This was an informative and enjoyable course. I lived part of my life in East Germany and thought that I probably wouldn't learn anything new but I was WRONG. The course, combined with the research I did for my final essay on Vladimir Putin's rise to power, taught me quite a few details about the Russian Revolution as well as the final collapse of The USSR.

Excellent course given by a very competent lecturer. I would appreciate if the lecturer would speak more clearly, as I am a non-native speaker. I would also appreciate more citations or suggestions for material.

Overall, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I have learned so much and I really enjoyed taking this course.

THANK YOU