Lithuania

November 2020 Alumni Profile

David McVey, MAs in Slavic and East European Studies and Geography, Class of 2006

David McVey

David McVey

 What was your focus or research interest when you studied at OSU?

I graduated from the master’s program at OSU’s Center for Slavic and East European Studies in 2006. I was glad that the center allowed me simultaneously to work toward a second degree in geography. Geography has always been my passion, and geographic thinking has informed the way I approach research and analysis. It’s a frame of mind that provides a novel outlook on any problem. As a pre-MA student, I was even able to publish an article in a peer-reviewed geography journal with the help of the Center’s personnel, Dr. Halina Stephan and Dr. Jason Vuic. I greatly appreciated the Center’s interdisciplinary approach to area studies, which permitted me to chart my own course to a graduate degree.

How has your CSEES MA helped you throughout your post-graduate life?

I value the foundation CSEES helped me lay for my future career, particularly outside academia. The research and writing skills I developed in classes in the program contributed to my success as a contracted immigration assistant for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. In addition to working as a simultaneous translator for refugee interviews, I served as the primary point of contact for all congressional and legal immigration inquiries. I researched file archives, online databases, and other manuals to collect the materials necessary to respond to often aggressive demands from congresspersons and attorneys concerning their constituents and clients. Owing to the writing guidance that I had received in CSEES courses, I was able to compose expedient, detailed, professional, evidence-based replies and provide accurate, logically presented information to represent my office.

If you are a traveler, what is one of your favorite trips you have taken?

When I was working in Moscow, I took a close friend on a tour of the three Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. He wanted to see something of Russian culture but was hesitant about traveling to Russia proper. Estonia and Latvia have significant Russian-speaking minorities, so we were able to immerse ourselves in a diverse environment of related, yet distinctive cultures, including Russian. We sampled the local cuisines, including zeppelins, gray peas, and pickled herring for breakfast. We filled our cameras with photographs of spectacular architecture, including the particolored doors and gates of old-town Tallinn and the art nouveau facades of central Riga, many of which were designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, father of the renowned Soviet director. We wore out our feet in captivating museums, mesmerized by innovative displays in the Kadriorg Art Museum and immersive, avant-garde exhibits at the Vilnius Contemporary Art Center. We even got to know some locals while we traveled by plane, train, and bus. When our flight from Tallinn to Vilnius was cancelled, an affable business traveler at our gate welcomed us into the frequent-flyer lounge on his account, and we spent a few hours chatting with him. I encourage anyone with a background in Russian to explore this fascinating corner of Eastern Europe, where you will be amazed at every turn, and where your knowledge of Russian will only serve as a bonus.

Updates from the Field

To wrap up our Notes from the Field series, we reached back out to our respondents for updates. Roughly two months have passed since we began this series, so we were interested to hear what has changed and what the future looks like now versus back in April. Below we have some updates from Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, and Russia.

Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukrainian President Zelensky sits in a café with his team despite cafes remaining closed to dine-in customers.

In Ukraine, it seems to me the government is caving under pressure from the business community to return to “normal life.” The Ministry of Health set specific conditions for easing the quarantine, which were not met by Kyiv city and several oblasts, but I guess keeping the capital and rest of the country shut down just doesn’t seem to be a viable option anymore. And with almost no enforcement of quarantine measures, and no repercussions for breaking them, it’s not surprising that many Ukrainians are not taking it seriously anymore -even the president. His office posted a photo on the Office of the President’s official Telegram channel of him inside a café during a working visit to Khmelnitsky. Cafes were not yet permitted to allow customers inside, so it caused a bit of a scandal. While the number of confirmed cases in Ukraine is still relatively low compared to many other countries (25,411 as of June 4, with 742 fatalities and 11,402 recovered), the curve is not flattening and certainly not declining. Yesterday had the highest number of new confirmed cases in one day to date with 588. The unseasonably cool and rainy weather has helped keep more people inside than usual for spring, but I worry what the coming weeks will look like as the weather improves.

 

Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

The pandemic has certainly given me some insights into my daily life, especially into my work as a teacher. Delivering my course online has made clear to me which parts of teaching I like and which I dislike. Unfortunately, face to face interaction seems to be one of the things I like most, which I hadn’t fully realized before. Student requests come across differently online than they do in person, often in a negative way. On a similar note, it seems I should focus more on email-writing in the future. Some of the online activities born out of necessity have been very effective, and I hope to integrate them into future courses, even if they don’t have an online component.

I’ve realized that though cooking is my hobby, it is also a chore. There isn’t easy access to grocery stores and restaurants and the dishes are endless! Although I have been cooking for myself and my family for years, I never understood the “double burden” so well before. There was always the option to just grab something if I was tired or out of an ingredient. Don’t be mistaken. My family has also been doing an increased amount of cooking and dishwashing at this time. We just seem to need a LOT of food and dishes.

The biggest insight, though, has been into the political situations in the US and in Georgia. As America struggles, I worry about my friends and family there. However, Georgia has remained relatively calm and we are slowly returning to normal life, with the addition of masks and lots of hand sanitizer (both of which are now easily available). This is having an effect on the way I think about my future plans, though it’s too early for anything to be certain.

Free bread for those in need in Tbilisi

The following passages were pulled from a blog essay written by Tatiana Shchyttsova discussing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global society as well as Belarus’s response the pandemic. The essay was published in April 2020.

–Tatiana Shchyttsova, Vilnius, Lithuania

The pandemic confirmed a truth already known to all: a crisis situation reveals weak spots and flaws in public systems: poorly functioning institutions, a deficit of material resources, various forms of social injustice.

The global spread of the virus has worked like a perception enhancer or a magnifying glass: it has sharpened our ethical, social, and political sensitivity, bringing about a new wave of critical hostility toward those things we already knew. That there are particularly vulnerable groups–the elderly, the critically ill, the unemployed, the homeless–who are not receiving sufficient social support. That the wealthy have privileged access to high-quality medical care. That corruption impedes the development of social institutions. That neoliberal capitalism does not facilitate social equality. That authoritarian government tends toward irrational decisions and the misuse of a crisis situation.

Liya Bushkanets, a literature professor in Kazan, Russia, honed her sewing talents during the Soviet era and now has created masks “in every size and color” for her family to wear during the pandemic.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

Lyudmila Skryabina shared her “outing schedule” for the first half of June: her building fell into Group 3 for her region and residents were permitted to go outside only three days a week: from 9 AM to 9 PM on June 2, 4, 6, 10, 12 and 14th.

Compared to many other countries, Russia has not had as many human losses in this epidemic. And that’s probably why large numbers of people outside of Moscow and the Moscow region don’t believe the virus is particularly dangerous. They argue that percentage-wise about as many people—and sometimes more—die each year from ordinary flu viruses.

In my opinion, the epidemic has not caused a collapse in Russia because quarantine measures were taken in time, the healthcare system was reoriented as the situation changed, and epidemiological controls were well-organized. This, I think, is where the habits of the Soviet-era planned economy come in handy.

Officially, unemployment stands at about 3 million people, and some estimates suggest it may rise to 6 million. Most of all the service sector—especially trade, food service, tourism—has suffered, and it won’t soon recover. Everyone I know who worked in cafes and bars has now registered for unemployment. In Moscow, civil servants have not stopped working but are still on a “distanced” regime. The plan now is to return to offices June 15, but construction and industry have already reopened.

Moscow instituted a walking schedule which residents were required to follow (although it was canceled on 9 June, 2020) and has now introduced a mobile tracking app.

 

Thank you for reading Notes from the Field, and thank you to all of our respondents for sharing their experiences during what we hope will turn out to be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The Consequences of a Pandemic

As tensions rise across the United States, people continue to be impacted by lockdowns and the spread of COVID-19. We asked our participants if they saw any political or economic flashpoints in their countries as a result of the pandemic.

 

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy
None had really developed by early April. As the crisis goes on many have suffered economically. I personally had to close both of my shops due to lack of revenue and government support.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians lost their jobs or are on furlough. However, businesses that were allowed to stay open, like grocery stores and delivery services, were hiring. The Ministry of Economy estimates that most Ukrainians can survive only one month without income, and we are now beyond that point. The government is working to enact support programs to help citizens and businesses.

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania
Yes, in Belarus there are many inspiring examples of civic activity. Top-down initiatives aim mostly at helping doctors (providing them with masks etc.)

–Adela Muchova, Prague, Czechia
Major economic and political impacts seem to be rather high, strict prevention measures, such as closing most businesses, affected most of the population. There were also some attempts to misuse the crisis situation for the government to obtain more power (like in Hungary and Poland). These attempts were fortunately suppressed by opposition, media, and active citizens´ initiatives (so the situation is different from that of Hungary and Poland at the moment). In addition, some politicians misused the situation to mount unjustified criticism of the European Union. For instance, ministries of public health are independent from the EU, so their unpreparedness in terms of medical tools is solely the responsibility of national governing bodies. All this has been accelerated by the disinformation campaigns of Russian fake-news networks.

 

<<Come back tomorrow for another post with answers from Hungary, Russia, and Georgia!

Who is Most Vulnerable in a Crisis?

This week we asked our participants about vulnerability. What groups are being most impacted physically, financially, etc. by COVID-19?

 

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

I believe the most vulnerable groups are the elderly, homeless, and small/independent business owners. The elderly because they are extremely susceptible to the virus and have minimal support and help due to social distancing and movement restrictions. The homeless because they are more exposed to the virus and have little help available. Small business owners because they do not fall into any category to receive government help and they rely solely on the revenue from their business. They are mostly closed and have zero revenue.

–Lyudmila Skryabina, Moscow, Russia

As far as I know, unlike in Europe where the most vulnerable have been the elderly, in Russia more people between the ages of 18-45 have been infected.

–Emma Pratt, Tbilisi, Georgia

The ethnic minority communities were hit particularly hard early on. The first community cluster occurred in the Marneuli-Bolnisi area, where a large portion of the population are Armenian and Azeri. The language barrier may have made things worse, since locals don’t receive information from the Georgian media, which has generally been giving accurate and helpful information. Since then, the government’s website  has been translated into Azeri, Armenian, Abkhaz, and Ossetian. South Ossetia and Abkhazia are huge question marks in their handling of the situation, which leaves many people vulnerable. The homeless population is also particularly at risk.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

The Ministry of Health posts updates and has a press briefing every day, so we know the stats quite well. As of early April, 54% of those infected are women and 49% men, which seems to be different from the trends in other countries where men have higher rates of infection. MinHealth also reports that the majority of people who have died had concomitant illnesses (heart disease, diabetes, etc). The initial infections were in Ukrainians who had returned from working in Italy and those with whom they had contact. Most recently, it has been sweeping through the monks at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, who refused to follow any quarantine practices until this week.

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania

The most vulnerable are doctors and teachers. Actually, all groups that must continue working in close contact or large groups are vulnerable.

<<Check back tomorrow for a special post about the situation migrants are facing in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dealing with a Pandemic, continued

In continuation of yesterday’s post, here are a few more answers to the question: What are the opinions that you are hearing in your country of how your government has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic?

Evening traffic outside St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia on 24 March, 2020 (left) versus the same intersection on 26 March, 2020 (right) after quarantine began.

 

 

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary

The Hungarian government’s strategy seems to be not to test anybody, even if they have very obvious symptoms of the virus, unless they are in need of hospitalization. As a result, we have an artificially low number of diagnosed cases and a fatality rate of 10-12%. They followed the same arc of population control that you see in the rest of the region, but with a lot less enforcement than Poland (where police actually stop people in the streets and ask where they are going), and a lot less buy-in than Czech Republic (where masks are required in public and people are sewing them all night and some are even handing them out for free). In general, people seem satisfied with the government’s response, safety-wise, but very cynical about the abuse of political power coming down the road. One interesting detail: Hungarians (in my opinion) were relatively quick to understand what was at stake and make the conscious choice to act in the interest of the collective social body. A marked difference from the US. I wonder whether that is a European thing, a hangover from the socialist era, both, or neither.

–Ann Merrill, Kyiv, Ukraine

There has been quite mixed reactions to the quarantine in Ukraine. The first couple of weeks, people really didn’t take it seriously, but by now (week 5) most people seem to understand the importance of physical distance to stop the spread. The economic impact is really hard for the vast majority of Ukrainians who live hand-to-mouth already or have very little savings.

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania

The government of my country (Belarus), strictly following its authoritarian president, tries to ignore the pandemic and shows catastrophic helplessness accompanied by concealing true information about the number of infected people and the deceased. In social and independent media, the level of criticism in this regard is very high, but it seems to have no influence on the attitude of officials.

 

<<Next Monday, June 1st, we will learn about different groups who are most vulnerable to the virus.

 

How to Pass the Time in Quarantine

From baking to reading, gardening to yoga, more time at home has led to more time for hobbies and new ways of working and going to school. This week in Notes from the Field, we asked our participants what they are doing to pass time while in quarantine.an empty classroom

– Tatiana Shchytssova, Vilnius, Lithuania

I spend a huge amount of time playing the role of teacher for my 8 year-old daughter. Her school in Vilnius uses a model of distance-learning that assumes that teachers will send new materials and tasks via email every day, and it is the parent(s) responsibility to supervise the education process. Therefore, my larger problem is how to find time for doing my professional work at home.

–Jesse Smeal, Rome, Italy

I have two restaurants/cafés. We are able to do home deliveries. It’s not much and only amounts to about 2% of my normal revenue, but it’s something. My wife and children pass the time with school, homework, housework, playing games, and watching TV.

–Jessie Labov, Budapest, Hungary     

We have relocated to a small house near Lake Balaton, in one of the most charming villages in Hungary (population 300), where we teach online, homeschool our kid online, take care of the garden, cook a lot, occasionally order pizza, and go on daily hikes. The house belongs to some friends who are stuck in Germany and can’t come here. We do not set foot in the village out of respect for many of the residents who don’t want us here.

<< Check back tomorrow for another set of responses from Tbilisi, Kyiv, and Moscow!