About The Birch The Birch, which derives its name from the national tree of Russia, acts as a forum for undergraduate students across America to publish both creative work and critical commentary regarding Eastern European and Eurasian politics, history, art and literature. The journal allows undergraduates with an interest in Eastern European and Eurasian studies to communicate with others who share that interest. Founded in 2004, The Birch is the first of its kind. During the first year of the journal's publication, submissions were open only to Columbia University undergraduates. Now, any undergraduate student at any college can submit work to the journal. A group of Columbia undergraduates selects submissions and publishes the journal, which is completely student-run. As the first national undergraduate publication in the country devoted exclusively to Slavic, Eastern European and Eurasian studies, The Birch strives to offer quality thought-provoking work crafted through the eyes of a diverse group of young intellectuals. The Birch, which is published during the fall and spring semesters, consists of three main sections. Creativity This section is a forum for students to publish creative writing (poetry, prose, creative nonfiction, short stories) related to Slavic culture. Criticism This space allows students to publish essays on Russian literature or philosophy. It is also home to The Birch's book review section. The content for this section usually consists of an essay or essays adapted from those submitted in Russian or comparative literature classes. Writers may also elect to write an essay separate from any class. Culture and Affairs In this portion of the journal, we publish articles detailing a political/historical/social/economic event or trend in Russia or in another Slavic country. Students may express their opinions in these articles, but the articles maintain a formal style. The section may also include articles about Eastern European and Slavic pop culture, music and film. *Language Policy: The culture and politics sections are printed entirely in English, and all submissions are in English. The creative section includes submissions in both Russian and English. In an attempt to maintain the linguistic integrity of the creative pieces, we do not translate any of the submissions for this section. They are printed only in the original language. The literary criticism section is never entirely in Russian or entirely in English. Essays for the literary criticism section appear in English or in Russian, but all Russian essays are printed with an accompanying translation. Book reviews for this section must be written in English.