Submitted by Dr. Mara Sukholutskaya
ADA, Okla. – In May 2025, twelve East Central University students, led by Dr. Mara Sukholutskaya, traveled to the national capital – Washington, D.C.
The educational goal of the 4-day trip was to discover Slavic cultural sites in the heart of the country and to highlight centuries of cultural and political cooperation between the United States and Russia.
“I am very grateful that I had this unique opportunity to go on this tour to learn more about Russian culture,” said ECU student Kali Davis. “This trip was very informative, and I enjoyed learning about Russian culture by seeing many culturally significant possessions from an in-person perspective. This activity helped me to understand the cross-cultural relationship between America and Russia on a deeper level. This has truly enhanced my goal of global learning due to the generosity from the university.”
The first item on the itinerary was a tour of Hillwood Museum, which contains the largest collection of Russian art in the world, outside of Russia: paintings, porcelain, icons and jewelry. The majority of the priceless items were acquired by Marjorie Post, a philanthropist and business woman. She was the wife of the second U.S. Ambassador to Russia in the mid-1930’s and it was during that time that she obtained a variety of art objects, including a wedding crown used in the wedding of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, to Alexandra. The museum is also a home to two gorgeous Faberge eggs.
The group paid tribute to the great Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin, by visiting a monument located on the George Washington University campus. Several students recited poetry they learned in their language classes.
Next, the group honored the National World War II Memorial, a part of which is recognizing the joint American–Soviet military efforts in their fight against the Nazi Germany. During the war 1,400 British ships delivered millions of tons of American aid starting with airplanes and even buttons to Murmansk, a city in northern Russia.
The students also had an opportunity to meet with two Department of State senior officers who talked about their jobs and the employment opportunities with the U.S. Department of State.
The itinerary also included a tour of the National Capitol and the Library of Congress, the National Art Gallery, a boat ride to Alexandria and other cultural sites.
The trip’s final event was a Russian, Ukrainian, and Uzbek dinner at Bubala Café and Grill in Plano, Texas.
The trip demonstrated that cultural enrichment can be found domestically and can provide opportunities for expanding and deepening the understanding of the world and our country.
“The real benefit of the Washington D.C. tour is how it immerses you in the larger stage of the world,” said ECU student John Kelso. “Lined by walks of life and different looking glasses of the world, from the Russian Culture center to the National Art Gallery, you enter the world stage but an observer to its depths. And once you scale the mountain, you see the world which East Central can promise to its students.”
The trip was possible due to funds from the Jim Harris’ Travel Grant as well as the Charlotte Herman Foreign Language Student Extra-Curricular Activities Fund with the ECU Foundation.
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