A baccalaureate degree in Russian, or a minor in Russian combined with another major, provides an opportunity to develop vital language skills and cultural competence. Russian is a language of national strategic importance, and Russia's rich cultural heritage includes such world-renowned figures as Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Vladimir Nabokov, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, and Sergei Diaghilev of the Ballets Russes.