This course is designed to offer intensive practice in composition to develop students’ skills in writing. Students will acquire the proficiency necessary to produce texts of different styles and genres in Russian. We will explore the relationship between fact and writing and will focus on different types of texts, e.g. personal diary, essay, non-fiction forms, fictional short stories, literary criticism, etc. We will read diaries of contemporaries, short stories by Pelevin, Tolstaya, and Buida, and essays by Genis and Vail’. During class meetings, students will participate in improvisations and write texts on randomly chosen topics. They will prepare written assignments and produce written works in different genres.