USEM 1580

The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union is an awesome class. Yuri makes the 2.5 hours go by fast, and gives great stories of his experience in the USSR. Not too hard either.

I LOVED this class. Urbanovich is very enthusiastic about what he's teaching, and although he can ramble and go on tangents, the material is very interesting and I learned a lot. His tests are super easy, the final is a bit difficult if you don't prepare, but I was in a great class and we all had a huge review session the day before and did just fine. Professor Urbanovich is also very approachable and understanding of his students' needs.

Professor Urbanovich is a great lecturer, very passionate, though sometimes a little biased toward Russia, which is understandable.

While yes he is a pretty good lecturer, you will fall asleep. Professor Urbanovich is very knowledgeable on his subject but he will respond badly to any form of anti-Russia information or anything that may say that he's wrong.

This is for the Rise/Fall of the USSR, and once we got to the material the class actually was advertising to be covered, it was quite interesting. Sadly, that did not happen until Mid-October, so hearing Urbanovich lecture about Russian history was pretty boring for 2.5 hours and pretty monotoneous. That being said, he grades extremely easily and does have a ridiculous amount of info to share about the topic, so if you can survive boring 'seminars' with very little class interaction and need an easy A to start off your First Year, then this is the class for you. It does require a bit of background knowledge and reading, but overall nothing too horrific. Final was 3 essays, all the tests were MC/Short Answer and were 20 questions.

This class is amazing-- even if it is really early in the morning. Urbanovich is a great professor and lectures are very interesting. If you have any interest in the USSR, or just foreign affairs in general, take this class!

Yuri has the cutest accent and is very knowledgeable on the topic. He pushes us in discussion to think as politicians, challenging us to think critically and analytically at what motivates policy and international relations. But because he is so knowledgeable on the topic, it is hard to satisfy him with answers, and he usually ends up having to explain the material. Russian history is very complex and complicated, but also interesting.

I would have to say that Yuri is my all-time favorite professor. He has the cutest accent, overly respects his students and is a very very fair grader. I will take all of his classes at UVA if possible. The class seems hard at first, but he explains all the readings and never gives you a hard time if you don't read them. Also, the midterm and final are super-curved so everyone ends up with an A or A-, or if you did really badly, with a B. Definitely take this class!

As a Georgian growing up in the former USSR, Yuri is THE man to learn Soviet history from. Very friendly and knowledgable. Midterm and Final. Mostly based on what he taught in class. Very fair questions and grading.

Participation is key. As long as you pay attention and actively participate, there are no problems whatsoever. "Uncle Yuri" is awesome. and hysterical.