Svetlana Berzina studied at the graduate institute of Eastern Languages at Moscow State in the Africanist and Asian department and applied to work there in 1965 but was passed over for the job.
During this period she studied full-time at the graduate institute of Eastern Languages at Moscow State University (in what is now the MSU The Institute of Asian and African Studies) in the Africanist department. From 1965 to 1970, she worked in this department. 
