This year's trip was not the first contact between Georgia State's business school and Russia. Associate Dean Fenwick Huss and Professor Gary Winkle, who is now deceased, were two of the first American business professors to visit Russia in the early '90s. They lectured on basic accounting principles and organized the early accounting information systems.

Adam Phillips, a Robinson undergraduate majoring in economics and finance, found the visit crucial to understanding how other economies work. "The visit to Russia really gave me a good idea of what it was like to do business there and to evaluate the historical and cultural significance of why things are done the way they are," he said.

While the primary focus of the trip was to study business operations in Russia and the effects that rapid socioeconomic change has had on management practices, Marta White, assistant professor of management in the Robinson College and co-director of the program, added cultural and social components to the trip to give students a more holistic view of Russia. A highlight for the visitors was dinner at Musa, a traditional neighborhood eatery. There, they partook in a nine-course dinner that lasted nearly five hours. Between courses they played traditional Russian games, and, at the insistence of Ransopher, they played an American favorite as well. "I introduced them to musical chairs," he said. "They really enjoyed the competition. Men and women were fighting over that last chair." Two nights later, the group took advantage of a contact made by Huss and Winkle and had dinner at the home of a Moscow family.

The cultural museum component of the trip included visits to the Armory Museum at the Kremlin, the Museum of History of the City of Moscow, the Tretyakov Gallery and the jewelry Fund, where the students viewed a collection of gems, including the Crown of the Russian Empire, and Peterhof, a replica of Louis XIV's Chateau de Versailles and former home of Peter the Great. A night at the internationally renowned Russian Bear Circus and an evening of opera rounded out the cultural portion of the trip.

While the College has sponsored study abroad trips to Europe for the past 22 years, only recently has the focus shifted to countries with "transitional'' economies.

"Ten years ago, we never would have thought of going to Russia," White said. "The time devoted to us by the high-level managers with whom we were able to interact was amazing."

Undergraduate Susan Plaxco, who attended last years trip to China, echoed White's sentiments, "The class was an excellent opportunity for accounting and management students to study business principles as they relate to a new-market economic environment. What a wonderful, productive learning experience!"

This past year's trip was the first to Russia. This year's trip is scheduled for South Africa.