On May 30, cultural historian Alexander Etkind gave a public lecture on the concept of the super-extractive state. Professor Etkind began by saying that at the present moment there is a growing interest in political economy. History, having survived its predicted endpoint, is experiencing a return. This is, however, within the framework of an altogether different capitalism—not the one spoken about by classics. They did not know the significance that natural resources and raw materials could acquire.   

On May 29, Federico Romero, dean of the Department of History and Civilizations at the European University Institute in Florence, gave a lecture on new approaches to Cold War history.

Michele Espagne coined the term “cultural transfer” in the 1980s, becoming one of the founders of the transnational approach. The focus of his research interests is primarily the history of translation and the circulation of knowledge between France and Germany in the 19th century. He currently leads one of the research laboratories at the École Normale Supérieure (Paris) and the National Centre for Social Research in France (CNRS).

On May 22nd, the 13th meeting of friends and trustees of the EUSP took place in the Hermitage’s Hall of the State Council, chaired by Mikhail Piotrovksy and Alexei Kudrin. During the meeting, the most representative in the history of such events, negotiations with current and potential EUSP donors were held.

The guiding theme of the two sessions was the question of how literature reflects issues of economic and political modernization. Travin is convinced that in studying reform in any era, we must pay attention to how such events are revealed in literature, as writers often work with the theme of societal change. It is namely through literature that we can tap into the social context of an era.

Two views on the nature of emotion exist amongst researchers, psychologists, and neurologists. One is that emotions are universal, the same in every culture, and do not change with time. The other, on the contrary, supposes that emotion is culturally specific—volatile and closely related to language and the symbolic codes of society in which it exists. The history of emotion is developing in line with the latter view.

Martin van Gelderen, an expert in the history of political thought, shared his reflections on the vast gap between classical republican theory and the modern political structure of the EU. He examined this from the perspectives of two of the most important Republican ideologues: James Madison and Hugo Grotius.

As part of the Interdisciplinary seminar of the Political Science and Sociology Department the EUSP hosted Rogers Brubaker, a globally known specialist on questions of ethnicity and nationalism and Professor of Sociology at UCLA. - The size of the audience speaks for itself and for Rogers Brubaker, - said Artem Magun, the Dean of the Political Science and Sociology Department. He also thanked the Kazan Center for Cultural Studies of Post-Socialism who initiated and facilitated the visit of the distinguished guest.

 June 25, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing released the new book of BP Professor of Economics Yulia Vymyatnina and the Department's of Economics alumnus Daria Antonova CREATING A EURASIAN UNION. Economic Integration of the Former Soviet Republics.

On April 25-26 an international conference titled “After Stalin: The Late Soviet Personality” took place in EUSP. The conference brought together historians involved in research of Soviet subjectivity in various fields, including well-known experts like Anna Krylova, Susan Reed, Igal Halfin, Jochen Hellbeck, Benjamin Nathans, and Oleg Kharkhordin.

Derek Maus, an associate professor in the English & Communication department at SUNY Postdam, gave a talk in the EUSP conference hall on Russian and American literary satirists during the Cold War. This was the final lecture of the spring semester's IMARES Workshop Series. Professor Maus was making his first visit to St. Petersburg, and indeed, to Russia, something he was very happy to finally be doing after studying the country for over twenty years.

Professor Weymark received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and taught at Duke and the University of British Columbia. He currently teaches at Vanderbilt and serves on the editorial boards of four prominent economic journals. His main interests are theoretical microeconomics, social choice theory, and welfare state theory. In 2012 he also published an article on evolutionary biology, having applied the methods of social choice theory in this area.

The EUSP hosted Ilya Yablokov (University of Manchester) to deliver a lecture about Conspiracy Theories in post-Soviet Russia as part of the IMARES Workshop Series.

After being introduced by Rector Kharkhordin, Jordan began with a warning you would not expect from a US native – that he may from time to time switch back into Russian out of habit. Indeed, Jordan, a US citizen, has spent the bulk of the last twenty years living and working in Russia.

Dr.Kostin was introduced by Rector Oleg Kharkhordin, to an audience of students – mostly from the international programs – and professors eager to hear what the head of one of Russia's leading state banks had to say during this time of tense relations between Russia and Europe.

Short 6-hour courses were given to more than 60 participants by Karl-Theodor Eisele (University of Strasbourg, France), Mario Wüthrich (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland) and Olga Pavlova (Grizzly Bear Capital, London, UK). The School was total success! The participants who attended at least one full day of lecturers were awarded certificates of participation.

EUSP commemorated the end of the so-called “Fire Crisis” for the sixth time. The holiday is also known as the “Birthday of the European University,” or “EU Day.”

David Woodruff gave a presentation devoted to Karl Polanyi and application of his theories to the current crisis in the Eurozone. Continuing from his book Money Unmade, which touched upon the subject of barter in Russia during the 1990s, Woodruff has switched to Europe. He is currently investigating Eurozone macroeconomic policies and applying Polanyi’s ideas.

We wish to congratulate Department of Political Science and Sociology alumna and Associate Professor of Sociology at the Higher School of Economics Zhanna Chernova on her successful defense of her dissertation for a Doctor of Science degree in the Social Sciences.   The topic of Dr. Chernova’s dissertation is “A Gender Analysis of Family Policy in Contemporary Russia: Features and Trends.” Before her defense, she published a book with the same title.  

At the beginning of the meeting, diplomas were awarded to fellows of the program for student’s support in the fields of energy and economics. Awards were given to students from the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute, the Saint Petersburg Marine Technical University, and the EUSP. After the official ceremony, Dr. Drebentsov gave a report on the prospective development of the global energy market leading up to 2035.