Generational Change Makes Current Protests More Serious than Earlier Ones, Gontmakher Says

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 1, 2019) Many people in the regime and beyond are not inclined to take the current wave of protests in Yekaterinburg, Yakutsk, Siyes, and Ingushetia seriously, Yevgeny Gontmakher says, assuming the causes are so varied and the solution to the demonstrations the same as it was in 2011-2012. The economist says […]

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NEWSLINK: “Russian Studies is Thriving, not Dying; At least in Political Science, Russian studies is alive and well” – The National Interest/ Timothy Frye

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

“As U.S.-Russian relations continue to spiral downwards, popular commentators decry the lack of expertise on Russia in the United States. … The only problem is that Russian studies is thriving, at least in Political Science, the field I know best. … There are many reasons for the all too simplistic treatments found in much popular discourse about Russia from the […]

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Some Russian Officials Now Feel Able to Ignore Putin’s Wishes, Kolesnikov and Albats Say

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 2, 2017) The Russian government agency responsible for supervising educational and scientific institutions has refused to extend the license of St. Petersburg’s European University despite Vladimir Putin’s intervention not once but three times in support of that institution. That raises questions about why that agency and the governor of the Northern […]

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NEWSWATCH PONARS Eurasia: “See our updated list of course syllabi & recommended reading”

Eurasia Map

(PONARS Eurasia – ponarseurasia.org – June 15, 2017 – ponarseurasia.org/article/see-our-updated-list-course-syllabi-recommended-reading) Several PONARS Eurasia members have made their syllabi available to our readership. Visit the Course Syllabi/Recommended Reading page: ponarseurasia.org/article/see-our-updated-list-course-syllabi-recommended-reading

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Russian Youth aren’t the Revolutionaries the Kremlin Fears or the Opposition Hopes For, Olshansky Says

File Photo of Kremlin Aerial View, adapted from .gov source

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 22, 2017) Given the large number of young people taking part in the March 26 and June 12 demonstrations, many in the Kremlin have expressed concern and many in the opposition have expressed hope that young people now constitute a revolutionary force. But those fears and hopes are misplaced, Dmitry Olshansky […]

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Russian youths are taking to the streets, but let’s not over-hype the revolt of the “Putin generation” just yet; If we’re going to understand how young people in Russia are becoming more political, we need to ask the right questions before applying our own labels.

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(opendemocracy.net – Tom Junes – June 20, 2017) [Text with links opendemocracy.net/od-russia/tom-junes/russian-youths-are-taking-to-streets-but-lets-not-over-hype-revolt-of-putin-gene] Tom Junes is a historian and post-doctoral researcher focusing on protest movements in eastern Europe. He is a member of the Human and Social Studies Foundation Sofia and currently a visiting fellow at European University Institute in Florence, Italy. He is the author of Student Politics in Communist […]

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Putin Hopes to Get Majority of Largely Conformist First-Time Voters, Moscow Analysts Say

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 8, 2017) The Kremlin plans to make youth policy a centerpiece of Vladimir Putin’s campaign, Vedomosti says today, a reflection experts suggest of its belief that young people see no alternative to Putin but might not take part unless appealed to and its concern that older cohorts may be less inclined […]

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RUSSIALINK RIA Novosti: Kremlin dismisses report on young people as top election theme

Dmitry Peskov file photo adapted from image at kremlin.ru/wikimedia commons

(RIA Novosti – June 8, 2017) Moscow, 8 June: Issues concerning young people always become one of the main themes in an election campaign, but to say that this theme will be the only priority is primitive oversimplification, the press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov, said. Citing sources, the Vedomosti newspaper reported earlier (bit.ly/2rQGutl) that one of […]

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“Young people in Russia today don’t have it easy”; After young people and students took to the streets, education is firmly on the agenda in Russia.

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

An interview with Mikhail Sokolov on the threats to academic freedom and whether one of Russia’s leading universities will survive. (opendemocracy.net – Tatyana Dvornikova, Mikhail Sokolov – April 12, 2017) Tatyana Dvornikova is a Moscow-based journalist. She works with Colta, Kommersant and Radio Mel. Mikhail Sokolov is Professor of Political Science and Sociology at European University in St Petersburg. Education […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Moscow State University Board of Trustees meeting

Moscow State University file photo

(Kremlin.ru – January 25, 2017) Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Moscow State University (MGU) Board of Trustees. On the agenda were the interim results of the programme for developing MGU through to 2020 and progress in developing the Vorobyovy Gory science and technology cluster. Other items on the agenda included developing fundamental science and the higher education system […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with Higher School of Economics Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Kremlin.ru – January 9, 2017) Yaroslav Kuzminov updated the President on the implementation of the Academic Excellence Project 5-100. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Kuzminov, the Higher School of Economics will mark its 25th anniversary this year. How will you celebrate this notable event? Rector of the Higher School of Economics Yaroslav Kuzminov: We will celebrate it with new […]

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Kremlin Media Doesn’t have Long-Term or Profound Impact on Young, Surveys Show

Adapted File Photo of TV Set in Russia with Camera, Camerman, Woman on Set in Background

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 28, 2016) Surveys of university-age Russians over the last decade show that these young people quickly accept the regime’s list of enemies but almost as quickly shift when the regime’s outlets do and that these shifts have little impact on the way in which young Russians view their country’s place in […]

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Cuts, cuts, cuts: the life and times of Russia’s university teachers

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

Russia’s higher education sector is at a crossroads. A few universities are trying to raising their game in the hope of international ranking, but most are barely surviving staff and funding cuts. (opendemocracy.net – Tatyana Dvornikova – September 2, 2016) Tatyana Dvornikova is a Moscow-based journalist. She works with Colta, Kommersant and Radio Mel. Russia’s higher education sector is braced […]

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Moscow Institution in the Top 20 of the World’s Best Small Universities Ranking

Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 3, 2016) Moscow’s National University of Science and Technology (MISiS) has taken 19th place in the Times Higher Education’s World’s Best Small Universities Ranking for 2016. The Times Higher Education (THE) defines small universities as having fewer than 5,000 students, with teaching and research across more than four academic disciplines. The ranking, published here […]

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Russian Students to Get Paid Foreign Education – If They Return Home Afterward

Columbia University Campus with Main Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 9, 2015) Russia will pay for its students to study at elite foreign universities, provided they return home to work after graduation, Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov was cited as saying by news agency TASS. The program, titled “Global Education,” was signed into force in June 2014 and is designed to send 1,500 […]

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Russian Academia Divided Over FSB Vetting of Research Papers

FSB Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – October 22, 2015) A report this week of research papers and scientific articles becoming subject to vetting by the Federal Security Service (FSB) before publication rattled Russian academics, coming on the heels of several cases in which people have been accused of espionage and treason in connection with their professional activities. The […]

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Moscow State University Tops Emerging Countries Ranking Rating

Moscow State University file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 22, 2015) Moscow State University (MSU) has topped a list of the 150 best universities of emerging countries in Europe and Central Asia by the Britain-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) education platform. MSU was given an overall score of 100, achieving perfect scores in the academic reputation, employer reputation and faculty/student ratio categories, the online […]

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Patron Saint Of Russian Journalism Despairs Over Putin’s Television

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RFE/RL – Roman Super, Robert Coalson – MOSCOW – September 20, 2015) If Russian journalism has a patron saint, his name is Yasen Zasursky. The ailing 85-year-old headed the Moscow State University (MGU) journalism department for more than 40 years before becoming its president emeritus in 2007. The roster of respected journalists who received their diplomas from him is astounding: […]

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Unhappy with one in a 100, Russia goes for 5

Moscow State University file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Fedorov, RBTH – September 18, 2015) Project 5-100, launched by presidential decree two years ago, sets the ambitious goal of getting five Russian universities in the world’s top 100 by 2020. Since 2013, Russia has invested millions of dollars in an attempt to drive up the position of its universities in international […]

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From Igor Rotar (a Russian journalist)

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Subject: From Igor Rotar (a Russian journalist) Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 13:46:00 -0700 From: Igor Rotar <igorotar@gmail.com> Dear colleagues, My name is Igor Rotar. I am a veteran journalist and researcher who recently received a “green card” in the USA and currently lives in San Diego. I am the author of three books about ethnic conflicts in the Soviet […]

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What the FSB is doing in Russian universities

Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(opendemocracy.net – ALEKSANDR CHORNYKH – September 2, 2014) Aleksandr Chornykh writes for the Russian newspaper Kommersant. He specialises on education in Russia, and is one of the leading experts in his field. In Soviet times, the KGB kept a close watch on intellectuals – they might turn out to be dissidents. Today, the FSB still skulks on university corridors… In the Soviet […]

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Licenses of 77 Russian Universities Stripped Since January

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – May 14, 2014) Since January, 77 universities have become casualties to ramped-up scrutiny of Russia’s higher-education sector, according to the Federal Inspection Service for Education and Science. Fortunately for students, those attending schools that have lost their licenses will be offered the opportunity to continue their studies at different institutions, the education […]

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Human Rights Watchdog Defends Professor Sacked Over Ukraine Article

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – April 11, 2014) The Kremlin’s human rights panel has denounced as illegal the dismissal of a philosophy professor from Russia’s top university for aspiring diplomats for writing an article criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine and likening it to Germany in 1938. The presidential human rights council said in a statement on its […]

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Moscow State University Rector Denies Massive Staff Cuts

Moscow State University

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Vladimir Goryachev – November 15, 2013) The head of Moscow State University on Thursday vigorously denied an allegation by a group of academics that Russia’s leading institution of higher education is planning mass dismissals, calling the accusation “completely false information.” A group of employees from Moscow State University, or MGU, has begun collecting signatures in […]

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Academics Urge Putin to Stop Staff Cuts at Moscow State University

Moscow State University

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 14, 2013) A group of academics from Moscow State University has begun collecting signatures in support of an open letter it wrote asking President Vladimir Putin to halt mass dismissals at Russia’s leading university. The letter, published on the University Solidarity website, says that the university’s administration has not received budget funds to raise […]

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