Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be going to Siberia. That sounds as far fetched as saying that I will be taking a nice little vacation to Timbuktu! But it is now a reality, and I am in semi-shock knowing that I will really be able to see a place that I thought I could only visit through books about eternal exile to frozen tundra and prison camps!
Why am I going to Siberia, you may ask? I am participating in a student run overseas economic development program that was founded in 1991 by MBA students at Ivey called LEADER [read more here]. LEADER stands for "Leading Education and Development in Eastern Europe and Russia" and its mandate is to teach modern business skills to students and entrepreneurs in the newly developing economies of Eastern Europe and Russia. Each year, a group of Ivey students go to a number of sites to teach foundational business decision making and entrepreneurial skills through the case method of teaching prevalent at Ivey. This year, the sites include:
- Irkutsk, Russia
- Togliatti, Russia
- Nizhny-Tagil, Russia
- Yekaterinburg, Russia
- Chisinau, Moldova
- Skopje, Macedonia, &
- DP, Ukraine
I will be heading to Irkutsk, which is one of the largest cities in Siberia and about 5000 km from Moscow. Below is a map of Irkutsk's location in relation to the rest of Russia.
You may recognize its name from the board game RISK! In the early 19th century, many officers, artists and nobles were sent into exile to Siberia for their participation in the Decembrist revolt against the Tsar. According to wikepedia (gotta love it), much of the city's cultural heritage comes from these individuals, as Irkutsk became the center of intellectual work and social life for these exiles. In the early 1900's, it was even known as the "The Paris of Siberia"! Quite fitting for me, non? I will let you know if this holds true in May 2010! Da!
