Two renowned Russia specialists to speak at the University of Tartu
Two world-class experts on Russian politics will give public lectures at the University of Tartu next week. Richard Sakwa, Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent, will hold a public lecture entitled „Putin Redux: Continuity and Change” on March 5, 10.15-11.45 at Lossi 36 room 215.
Dr Alexander Lomanov, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Science will hold a public lecture „The Change of Leadership in China and its Consequences for the EU and Russia“ on March 6, 12.15-13.45 at Lossi 36 room 215.
The lectures will be held in English.
Everyone is welcome!
Professor Richard Sakwa’ public lecture entitled „Putin Redux: Continuity and Change“ examines Putin as a president of Russia. Sakwa asks: “Putin is back as president of Russia, but is it the same Putin? Is it the same country? The world at large has also changed“.
The lecture will examine all three elements. As part of the presidential campaign in 2012 Putin issued a number of important documents, which together begin to outline a more coherent ideology of „Putinism“. Even if he wished, Putin cannot rule as he did in his first two terms between 2000 and 2012. The widespread popular mobilization in protest against the flawed parliamentary and presidential elections signals that society has matured, and is no longer willing to accept a subordinate place in the system.
Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister keeps alive the hopes of the reformers. Putin does have a reactionary agenda, but this is combined with an attempt to devise a new pattern of modernization for the country. At the same time, the external challenges have become more focused: the rise of China on Russia’s borders, new plans for regional integration in post-Soviet Eurasia, disarray in the European Union, the need for a more coherent response to crises such as that in Syria, and the constant geopolitical struggle with the United States. Putin is back, but the country and the world have moved on. Can Putin keep up?
Richard Sakwa is Professor of Russian and European Politics, School of Public and International Relations, University of Kent, UK. He is an Associate Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, chair of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Law and Public Policy in Moscow, chair of the Advisory Board of the Eurasian Political Studies Network and a member of Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences.
The public lecture „The Change of Leadership in China and its Consequences for the EU and Russia“ discusses how the change of leadership in China will affect the Chinese foreign policy.
The new leaders of China are expected to stay in power till the early 2020s and their first steps could help us to reveal possible new accents in Chinese policy for the coming decade. Despite numerous domestic challenges China faces, its leadership hopes to increase its global prominence both in economic might and in “soft power”.
Alexander Lomanov is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Study and Prognosis of Russian-Chinese relations, SCO and BRICS of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Science. He received his DSc (modern history) degree from the Russian Academy of Science in 2001 and CSc degree (history of philosophy) from the Moscow State University in 1994. Dr Lomanov conducted his post-doctoral work at the University of Toronto. His research interests embrace contemporary Chinese thought and politics, the role of culture and ideology in Russian-Chinese relations, and Sino-Western interactions in philosophy and religion. Dr Lomanov is also an editorial board member of the Far Eastern Affairs journal and an academic advisory board member of Russia in Global Politics.
See the lecture:
The lecture is organized by the Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS), University of Tartu.
For more information about the Centre, see http://ceurus.ut.ee.
Additional information: Siiri Maimets, Coordinator of the Centre for Baltic Studies, tel + 372 7 375 199, e-mail: siiri [dot] maimets [ät] ut [dot] ee.