Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 recently spoke to A’Yanna Solomon, IRT’21 to discuss her work and interests
On a regular basis, I am captivated by the innovative, interdisciplinary, and relevant scholarship that IRT Scholars are engaging. This sentiment also rings true as it relates to the scholarly work that A’Yanna Solomon, IRT ’21 is pursuing as a second-year graduate student in the Slavic Languages and Literature Department at the University of Michigan.
A’Yanna’s trajectory and interest in Russian and Slavic languages originally began in East Baltimore, Maryland, where she grew up listening to hip hop music which she says resonated with her, much in the same way that Black culture did. A’Yanna knew that she wanted to study Russian because she was fascinated by its phonetics and written script during her youth. Upon enrolling at Goucher College, she majored in Russian and Spanish Languages. Because the Russian program was being phased out of existence at Goucher College, one of A’Yanna’s professors also introduced her to Slavic Studies, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies which have gained more cache as the focus on Russian language decreases in the field. Within Russian Studies, A’Yanna focused on comparative marginalization and popular culture and the ways that the LGBTQ communities in Russia resisted homophobic queer phobic legislation. In what ways did these communities create and maintain community? This preoccupation with marginalization stemmed from her own treatment as an outsider studying Russian language. Often, a student would lean over quietly and ask her, “This is intermediate Russian, right?” Fifteen minutes would pass, and the same student would respond, “So, do you like speaking Russian?” “Yea, I do, I do.”
So often, our presence in these spaces draws unwelcome attention and marginalization at the same time. Despite these slights, A’Yanna continues to show up, participate and “show out” in the ways that IRT Scholars do. While studying in Almaty, Kazakhstan in the summer of 2023, she interrogated the concept of marginalization and the ways that it affects LGBTQ individuals and their families, asking, “How do LGBTQ individuals maintain community and how do queer families survive? During the height of the pandemic, A’Yanna listened to hip hop music regularly and heard a Russian rap song. Upon researching the song, she discovered that the artist was, in fact, Kazakhstani and this artist’s music intrigued her. “It was great music!” and A’Yanna found it compelling.
Museum of Musical Instruments in Almaty, Qazaqstan
A’Yanna’s summer in Kazakhstan, not only exposed her to the Russian language, but also the rich culture of the country in general and its music, in particular. As an undergraduate, A’Yanna was first introduced to the music of Kino while studying Russian, a staple of Russian-language education in the United States. This band was co-founded and headed by Viktor Tso. A’Yanna noted, however, “Very rarely are his ties to Kazakhstan explored at the undergraduate level.” In Almaty, A’Yanna studied Victor Tsoi’s heritage and visited a monument dedicated to him and made in his likeness which she states was an exciting moment for her. While leaving Kazakhstan was difficult for her, A’Yanna returned to the United States with the knowledge that the sooner she left, the sooner she will return to immerse herself in the music and ways that marginalization and racialization appear in different sociocultural and political contexts of countries adjacent to Russian, but who are existing in a post-Soviet space.
A’Yanna at Viktor Tsoi’s Monument
Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 