Broken Dreams of the Soviet Times - Essay Example

Sergei Dobrinevski Broken Dreams of the Soviet Times (Educational Background) Growing up and being educated during the Soviet times is different. The educational system is organized in three levels: Beginning level, secondary, and higher education. The beginning level or elementary school is from first to third class (from age 7). Secondary schools consist of eight classes (required completion of elementary school) and called Incomplete Secondary Education. The Complete Secondary Education means ten years of education. Some civil and military facilities formed a system called Secondary Specialized Education and trained students in a wide variety of skills ranging from mechanical to hairdressing. Graduation from this level is required to be qualified as workers, technicians, and lower civil servants. Meanwhile, higher education institutions include degree-level facilities: universities, military academies, and institutes. Students who want to be admitted to a high education institution need to graduate from either General Secondary School (10 years) or a Specialized Secondary School. I was able to complete my secondary education in 1977 with an average grade of 4.95 (maximum 5). This grade fuelled my desire of fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a fighter pilot. My eagerness made me feel that I am well-prepared and competitive for the education perspective. In the spring of 1977, I applied at The Chernigov Aviation High School. It was a tough experience; I had to undergo a rigorous medical examination and entry exams against 200 applicants. But I failed. I did not pass the last and very simple medical test. The surgeon pointed out that my x-shaped legs are unfit for someone who is privileged to serve as an Officer of the Soviet Military Aviation Force. The disappointment had put me off for a while but my ambition to fly prevailed. I enrolled at the Buguruslan Pilot School. In 1980, I finished the course obtaining a Lieutenant Military Rank, a diploma and a Civil Pilot License. The same year I passed entry exams at the Kiev Institute of Civil Aviation, but left it in 1981 upon completion of one school year. I felt that it was impossible to combine my high intensity flying job with such a demanding study. In 1985, I broke through the toughest possible in the USSR competition. I got the chance to study at the Moscow State Institute of International Affairs. However, I was expelled in the next year for speaking up my political views. I left Russia by the end of the ‘80s and had to start everything from the very beginning. Now that I am forty six, I have decided to reconsider my interrupted degree level education. I would like to bring a system to my scattered knowledge of the philosophy, politics, and economics gained at work and by self-study. Sergei Dobrinevski A Scientific Breakthrough (Academic and personal goals) Interest in politics, philosophy and economics is innate to me as I grew up in the Soviet Union, a currently nonexistent country in the world’s geopolitical landscape. Drawing up a new political map is perhaps the easiest bit. What is difficult, however, is trying to find peace in oneself. It is the struggle of everyone who lived through the collapse of the old reality; and, a painful birth of something else that demands change, something that says “it is not the good old you.” Back in 1985, while studying at the Moscow Institute of International Affairs, I did a student research on the Marxist Political Economy that brought such unexpected result – I was expelled from school. The logical conclusion of my theoretical construction was a denial of Marxism as a theory of communist revolution. My approach was copied from Lobachevski’s methodology when he built his own geometry by changing one axiom of the Euclidian geometry. I did the same with the axiomatic base of Marx’s Capital. I had an internally consistent model of value capable of describing some cases that Marx’s Theory of Value had difficulties with. However, I did not have sufficient knowledge in mathematical statistics to prove my model with a strict logic. On the other hand, my study had proven enough to make the school decide to get rid of me. Now that I am forty six, I am here applying for a course on Philosophy, Politics and Economics for the summer 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania. My experience at the Moscow State Institute of International Affairs inspires me to bring this ambition into reality. Perhaps I may not be able to achieve such a high scientific goal to bring about a new theory of value. But one thing is certain, a man is young and alive as long as he is capable of learning new things. I am very grateful to the management of the College of General Studies at Penn University for giving a chance of world class education to people of my age and background. Sergei Dobrinevski Variety is a spice of life (Non-academic experiences) Whenever I am alone, I would often ask myself: Was it really me who flew planes for Aeroflot, served customers as a barman in Johannesburg, offered paintings as an art dealer in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, worked in a kibbutz in Israel, sold advertising space and conferences in London, worked for Bloomberg and the Financial Times? But photographs, contracts and greeting cards bring memories and faces from around the world and they insist – yes, it is true, it was me. Yet there is another question that puzzles me: “Did I choose this life or all the adventures that happened chose me?” Every time I ask it I fail to find an answer. The only sensible explanation I see is coined in two words – “personal experience”. For me, there are three things in life that one cannot buy, borrow or read in books: Love, knowledge and personal experience. The vast experiences I gained enriched my knowledge and furthered my interest in politics and the economy. I would be very happy to share my views on people and affairs of the state, my professional and personal attachments, as well as my familiarity with the men and women of Sweden, Israel, South Africa, and Britain. However, plain awareness of politics, economy, and philosophies in life is not enough. I am yearning to strengthen my analytical mind. My personal experience adds spice to my life; an opportunity to enroll at the University of Pennsylvania particularly in the College of General Studies will increase my keenness. I hope my stories will bring some unusual flavour that will organically blend into my future fellow students’ views while I find something new for me to reflect on. In my forty six years of existence, there is something that I learned – variety is a spice of life and honing one’s ability is a continuous process. Read More