Ranging from academic honors societies to sports clubs, every student has the opportunity at UCI to find a club that best suits their interests, but there is a category of clubs where students of all interests and majors can blend into one tight-knit community: cultural clubs.
A more recent example of a cultural club that has reappeared on campus is the Russian Club. It is a growing space for language learners, Slavic culture enthusiasts and those interested in Russian and Slavic cultures.
The club was initially dissolved due to its leadership graduating sometime during the COVID pandemic, until its revival in the spring of 2024.
“I’m gonna say, in the 2023 to 2024 school year there was three of us who were like, we should join this club again, because our professor, Lora [Mjolsness], was like, ‘hey, there’s no Russian club,’” Russian club member and fourth year history major Vlad Rodionov told New University.
Current president of the Russian club and third-year European Studies major Georgie Rodriguez, in collaboration with Rodionov and other members, officially brought the Russian club back on UCI’s official roster of on-campus organizations.
“I’ve been studying Russian here at UCI,” Rodriguez told New University. “I’ve been enjoying learning the language, and that’s also why I’ve been doing the club stuff, just like a way to stay connected to the language and try to learn more of it.”
Rodriguez views the goals of the club from the perspective of an enthusiastic language and cultural learner, having nearly completed the Russian language sequence at UCI. Rodinov, on the other hand, views the club as an opportunity to keep the connection to his culture alive and find other fellow Russian speakers on campus.
“I’m [from] Russia, I emigrated to the United States in 2010,” Rodionov said. “There aren’t seemingly aligned aggressive speakers, like [on] campus, it just kind of was a way for me to connect with others who do speak Russian.”
Rodriguez and Rodionov’s stories and passions behind reviving the Russian Club exemplify how open the club is to anyone interested in Russian culture, regardless of experience. Even though the implied focus of the club is on language, it isn’t the sole goal of the group.
The club hosts many events, with the most prominent being Russian and Slavic movie nights. They show old Soviet-era classics, Russian cinema, Armenian and other Slavic movies in Russian with added English subtitles so everyone can enjoy the films.
Rodionov helps curate the playlists for these events, mixing well-known cartoons such as “Nu Pogodi” with more lesser-known works such as Ukrainian film “There Once Was a Dog.”
“[W]ith the movie nights, we also watch some Armenian cartoons, so it’s more about Russian language as a whole, or even kind of connect with more like Slavic people in general too, because, you know, Russian language is split by so many different people,” Rodionov said.
Movie nights also occasionally come with Russian snacks such as Slavic soft drinks called kvass, wafers and candies.
Currently, the Russian Club is expanding its horizons and events by planning art socials and fundraising events. The club also plans to host culinary nights where participants will be able to bring slavic food and snacks for all to enjoy.
“[W]e just have to get some fundraising so we can rent a kitchen and PR or something. Like, our professor wants to help us with that. [We] could do the cooking night with her, but we just have to get the ability to reserve a space,” Rodriguez said.
Russian club membership is open to all students interested. No prior experience or knowledge of the Russian language is required, and all students are encouraged to join and participate. To join and keep up with updates and upcoming events, students should follow the Russian Club’s Instagram account, join their Discord server or visit their Campus Groups page.
Konstantin Diatlov is a Features Intern for the fall 2025 quarter. He can be reached at kdiatlov@uci.edu.
Edited by Avery Rosas and Joshua Gonzales