Today, the Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University (NSU) hosted a scientific seminar ‘Russia in the modern architecture of international security: Challenges and Prospects’, which was attended by more than 100 specialists from Russia, in particular, representatives of the Expert Council of the Higher Attestation Commission. The event was organized by the Russian Society of Political Scientists (RSPS) in cooperation with the Nizhny Novgorod University and the University Centre of state-building and management training at the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
The meeting was opened by the co-chairman of the Russian Society of Political Scientists, the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science of Moscow State University, Andrei Shutov. Speaking about Russia's relations with the West, he noted that they are affected by the Ukrainian crisis, not excluding the attempts to isolate Russia, especially after the increased efforts of the Russian side in Syria. According to Shutov, the materials form the seminar will become the basis for the book that the Russian Society of Political Scientists is planning to publish both in Russian and in English. ‘’We already have the same experience. The book ‘A Quarter Century after the Soviet Union. People, Society, Reforms’ was recently published. Soon it will be published in New York," he added.
The Director of the Institute of International Relations and World History of the University of Nizhny Novgorod, Mikhail Rykhtik, raised the issue of the interaction of the political scientists with professionals from other fields of science, emphasizing that mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and experience will allow the political science community to form an interesting and relevant research agenda.
The Professor of the Department of Comparative Political Science of the Department of Political Science of Moscow State University, Pavel Tsygankov, raised the issue of the challenges and threats to Russia's security in the context of contemporary international relations: "Based on the recent statements by some European leaders, today they are not so interested in the isolation of Russia. For example, Merkel spoke of the need for cooperation with Moscow on a number of issues of the global security." However, according to Tsygankov, despite yesterday's meeting of the American and the Russian presidents, it is unlikely there will be a clear positive trend in relations between Russia and the US, largely because of the tough position taken by America against Russia.
A day earlier, a meeting on the approval of a single professional standard for political scientists was held at the NSU. The new professional standard, on which the work was going on for six months, is going to be developed by the end of 2015. As the head of the department on work with the regions and the RSPS expert community, Igor Kuznetsov, says, "the document has been discussed in the leading Russian universities, the recommendations have been added. Our challenge now is to take into account the proposals that have been made."
According to the expert of the RSPS, the head of the Educational and Methodical Department of the Faculty of Political Science of Moscow State University, Oleg Stoletov, it is important to consolidate the profession of the political scientist in Russia and expand its scope. Stoletov expressed the belief that it will help undergraduates and graduate students understand clearly where they go to learn, and for employers to get a specific idea of the possibilities of the profession.
