Reflecting on her personal experience of living in Estonia and Lithuania in the 1970s-1990s, Marina will give some historical perspective and share her memories about her life in these two Baltic countries before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. She will also talk about their culture, the role of music in their history, how these two small countries managed to preserve their identity and pioneer the process of disintegration from the USSR.

After the talk there will be an opportunity to have soft drinks with traditional snacks (including sprats in oil) and learn how to dance a traditional Estonian folk dance.

When: Friday 27 September, 2024, 18:30-20:30
Where: St Andrew’s Street Baptist Church, 40-43 St Andrews Street, Cambridge CB2 3AR
Language: English
Format: Hybrid (in person and on Zoom)
Tickets: in-person: £8 standard / £5 CamRuSS members & concessions; on Zoom: £5 standard, free for CamRuSS members
Booking: Please book via AllEvents

Marina Burrell, MA, MEd & PGCE

Marina was born in St Petersburg, brought up in the Soviet Union, resident of Estonia and Lithuania for 20 years. After finishing high school and music school in Siberia, studied pedagogy, languages, linguistics, history, literature, aesthetics, arts and economics in Moscow, Tallinn, Cambridge; obtained an MA in Applied Linguistics & a PGCE in Teacher Training in London.

Marina was one of the founders of the Cambridge Russian-Speaking Society being its first Chair in 1999-2002), and is still an active member of CamRuSS.

International work experience as a lecturer, translator & teacher trainer: Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Holland, USA, UK and Kazakhstan.

Teaching experience: Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge), the University of Essex; Examiner & Teacher Trainer at the University of Cambridge & CUP, ESOL tutor at Huntingdon Regional College; WEA lecturer since 2015.