In college, I worked toward (and received) a degree in something called "Russian Area Studies." I studied the Russian language, history, and culture. It was a pretty interesting thing in which to receive a degree, even though it didn't exactly lead to employment immediately after graduating. (That said, I use my Russian language daily as an ESL teacher, so at least I can say that I use what I learned!) What really impressed me about Russian Studies was the history. There were so many col...