Academic program "Fulbright-Kennan. Is the Kennan Institute leaving Russia? Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies

The Council of Alumni Programs of the Kennan Institute, a division of the Wilson Research Center that was formed in 1974 and studies Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union, issued an open letter earlier this week expressing disappointment and bewilderment over the decision of the Kennan Institute to close its office in Moscow.

The letter published on the Russia-Direct.org portal states that “such a step cannot be considered in Russia outside the context of the general freezing of Russian-American relations. It is also impossible to view this in any other light than, firstly, as a concession by American sponsors to the illegal demands of some Russian enemies of US-Russian friendship, and secondly, as a betrayal of those who have worked hard here to make connections between our societies are better."

The letter expresses outrage that the Moscow office of the Kennan Institute, which successfully survived “a wave of attacks by Russian authorities,” is being closed by a decision from Washington.

The letter was signed by many Russian scientists and politicians, including member of the Committee of Civil Initiatives Leonid Gozman, head of the Center for the Study of Xenophobia and Preventing Extremism at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Emil Pain, head of the Department of International Relations at Volgograd University, Americanist Ivan Kurilla, and other scientists.

The document has already been sent to the US State Department and the United States Embassy in Moscow.

The event became resonant: The New York Times published a report that the Moscow office of the Kennan Institute was closing this spring, cited quotes from a letter from 12 scientists, and also published responses from the director of the Kennan Institute, Matthew Rozhansky.

Earlier, in an interview with the Russian service of the Voice of America, Rozhansky said that the actions of the authoritative Washington research center were caused by financial reasons. The center, he said, was faced with a decrease in funding from private donors and the termination of one of the federal programs. According to Matthew Rozhansky, “Kennan Moscow Project will not be closed, but its activities will be partially curtailed.” Meanwhile, no new information was received from Washington, except for a letter notifying that the Kennan Institute office in Moscow will be completely closed from May 1 of this year.

Scientific director of ROO Kennan, former adviser to the President of Russia, ethnographer Emil Pain gave an interview to the Russian service of the Voice of America in connection with the closure of the Moscow office of the Kennan Institute.

Danila Galperovich:Why was the presence of the Kennan Institute in Moscow important?

Emil Pain: The work of the Kennan Institute in Russia was more important than even the work of the official US embassy in the country. Civil, non-politicized connections play an extremely important role. There is now a record level of anti-Western and especially anti-American sentiment in Russia. And in America now the level of attitude towards Russia is one of the worst, at least in the last 20 years. The fact that now there are practically no organizations left that communicate between scientists of the two countries is very sad.

The fact is that the Kennan Institute office in Moscow is a Russian organization for assisting graduates of the Kennan Institute programs; it is not a research center where special experts work. These graduates have been maintaining contact with each other and with their colleagues abroad for more than 20 years. The awareness of this identity, as is now becoming clear in the process of closure, is quite significant. Having our own magazine – “Bulletin of the Kennan Institute” – was important both as a platform, as a platform, and as an opportunity to publish the works of regional graduates of the programs, which, by the way, are the majority. This closure is a symbolic fact of the winding down of relations between the two countries.

D.G.:How did you find out that the Kennan Institute office in Moscow was closing?

E.P.: On January 28, employees of the Kennan Institute office in Moscow, which, let me remind you, is a Russian public organization, received a letter from Washington from the current director of the Kennan Institute, Matthew Rozhansky, that this office was closing, and they would all be paid severance pay in the form of three months' salary .

No remaining representatives, no partial curtailment of programs - it was written that everything would be closed at once and completely. It is very possible that some financial difficulties have arisen. But it’s strange that even a week before this letter we had quite normal relations with the grantor, and we were planning a variety of events, including me, as a senior scientific consultant of this organization, agreeing on seminars with famous and quite busy people. This, of course, put us in an awkward position. As stated in the letter, the appropriations are stopped completely. Publishing a magazine, seminars, meetings - all this cannot take place now.

D.G.:How did you react to this letter?

E.P.: On February 6, a meeting of the council of the Moscow office of the Kennan Institute and the editorial board of the journal was held, at which we discussed various options for overcoming the crisis, including the possibility of doing projects, and one of the results of these reflections was the decision to write an open letter.

Our colleagues Victoria Zhuravleva and Ivan Kurilla volunteered to prepare the text of this letter. This is what surprises and confuses me. This is not just the decision of one director of the Kennan Institute, this applies in many ways to all American politics: they make decisions very quickly when it is necessary, for example, to impose sanctions, and very slowly when they need to invest something somewhere. And one more thing: in conditions when anti-American sentiments are already growing, to multiply them even more is, of course, stupidity. Some part of the people will feel abandoned, and it is precisely that small part of the people who until recently were supporters of maintaining normal relations with America; it is they who, as a result of this kind of action, may change their position. Let me remind you once again that the office of the Kennan Institute in Moscow is a Russian public organization, officially it is called “Promoting cooperation of the George Kennan Institute with scientists in the field of social sciences and humanities.” After the law “on foreign agents”, like many NGOs, it underwent prosecutorial checks, which ended successfully for this organization; it was not prosecuted. And now closing this office is a very strange decision.

Loss of interest and pressure

Many observers attribute the decrease in funding for programs related to Russia both to the pressure exerted on NGOs by Russian official structures and to the current US administration’s loss of interest in Russia as an international player and economic force.

In particular, as reported by the online resource Russia-Direct.net, last year the US Congress expressed its intention to stop funding the so-called “Article 8 Grants” of the US State Department budget, which were intended for research related to Russia, Eastern Europe and the countries of the former USSR .

In April 2010, the Washington office of the Heritage Foundation was closed. Evgeniy Volk, the former deputy head of the representative office, told the Voice of America Russian Service that “its activities were terminated by decision of the Board of Trustees due to financial difficulties after the 2008-2009 crisis.”

At the end of 2012, the US administration, at the request of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, curtailed the activities of the Moscow office of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through which many large non-governmental organizations, in particular the Memorial human rights center, were financed with the help of grants.

At the same time, in the fall of 2012, it was announced that funding would be cut and almost all employees of the Moscow Bureau of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, a media outlet funded by the US Congress, would be fired. A few months later, after protests by Russian public figures and human rights activists, those fired were reinstated, but RS/RFE medium wave broadcasts in Moscow never resumed.

The letter expresses outrage that the Moscow office of the Kennan Institute, which successfully survived “a wave of attacks by Russian authorities,” is being closed by a decision from Washington.

The document has already been sent to the US State Department and the United States Embassy in Moscow.

Danila Galperovich:Why was the presence of the Kennan Institute in Moscow important?

D.G.:How did you find out that the Kennan Institute office in Moscow was closing?

D.G.:How did you react to this letter?

Loss of interest and pressure

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was founded by the US Congress in 1968 to perpetuate the memory of William Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, a prominent political scientist. Located in Washington, DC. As a politically non-partisan organization supported by public and private funds, the Center studies domestic and global issues and supports research in the humanities and social sciences. Following the behests of President Wilson, the Center promotes open dialogue and interaction among representatives of academic and political circles from around the world.

Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute, established in 1974 as a division of the Woodrow Wilson Center and named after George Kennan Sr., the renowned 19th-century American essayist and Russian scholar, is dedicated to advancing Americans' knowledge of Russia, Ukraine, and other post-Soviet states, as well as the development of science in these countries. Bringing together scientists, experts, political and public figures, the Institute promotes high-quality interdisciplinary research and discussions across a wide range of social sciences and humanities, and facilitates productive dialogue between representatives of the world of science and the world of politics. About 70 meetings, seminars and conferences are organized annually, and meeting reports, scientific reports, special reports and books are published.

Activities of the Institute in Russia

Since 1993, the RPO “Promoting cooperation between the Kennan Institute and scientists

in the field of social and human sciences" conducts seminars, conferences and round tables in various regions of Russia on topical issues of the political, economic and socio-cultural development of the country. The main direction of scientific interests of the ROO "Kennan" is the features of Russian modernization in comparison with other countries. In memory of the outstanding scientist and politician Galina Starovoitova, who carried out her research at the Institute in 1989, Starovoitova readings are organized annually on topics related to the protection of human rights and conflict resolution. The results of this activity are published in the form of books, journal articles, and also on the website of the Moscow office of the Institute.

Alumni Fellowship

More than 300 Russian researchers in the field of humanities and social sciences, political and public figures, and representatives of the creative intelligentsia visited the Institute. Most of them maintain professional and friendly ties with the Institute and with their colleagues. In 1993, the Fellowship of Russian Alumni of the Kennan Institute was created. It brings together people interested in conducting interdisciplinary dialogue on the most important problems of the development of Russia and the world, the integration of domestic science into the world.

Herald

The diverse activities of the Institute and the Alumni Association are reflected in the scientific and journalistic journal “Bulletin of the Kennan Institute in Russia,” which has been published since 2002. Published twice a year. Each issue is devoted to the discussion of one or more topics of scientific and public interest. The magazine also informs about the Institute’s programs, publishes reviews of seminars and conferences, and reviews of books by Russian and American authors.

Research grants

The Institute provides individual research fellowships in Washington, D.C. to scholars in the humanities, social sciences, government, media, and private sector. Fellows have access to the best libraries, archives, scientific resources in the United States and rich opportunities for professional networking.
Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowships(9 months) are awarded to researchers who have presented outstanding projects in the social sciences and humanities on national or international issues.

Scholarships named after Galina Starovoytova in the field of human rights protection and conflict resolution(3 and 6 months) are provided to scientists and politicians of the Russian Federation who deal with issues of the rule of law; human rights; ethnic, religious, racial and cultural policies; conflict resolution; development ; promoting the development of civil society; development of civic education and related cultural issues; state building; nationalism and xenophobia; tolerance; free press. Fulbright-Kennan Program Grants(6 months) are intended for scientists and university teachers. Preference in the selection is given to persons whose research is devoted to current socio-political issues, contributes to the development of science and education in Russia, and brings the world of science and the world of politics closer together.

ROO “Promoting cooperation between the Kennan Institute and scientists Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies

The Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, a division of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, was founded in December 1974 at the initiative of Ambassador George F. Kennan, James Billington, then head of the Wilson Center, and historian S. Frederick Starr. Named in honor of George Kennan the Elder, a renowned 19th-century explorer of Russia and Siberia, the Institute helps deepen and enrich American understanding and knowledge of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

The Institute provides research fellowships to scholars in the humanities and social sciences, as well as to professionals from government, media, and the private sector. Located in Washington, D.C., researchers have access to the nation's best libraries, archives, research resources, and rich networking opportunities.

In addition, the Institute runs a program of public lectures, inviting leading scientists and politicians from America, Russia, and other former Soviet republics to deliver them. The Institute brings together scientists and government officials to discuss political, social and economic issues specific to Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

To provide greater coverage of its activities, the Institute publishes meeting reports, reports by individual scientists, special reports, and commercially published books. Most of these publications are provided free of charge and are regularly distributed to individual scholars, university libraries, and various companies in the United States, Europe, and the former Soviet Union.

Scholarships and grants in social sciences and humanities

I. Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowships (4-10 months)

The Center's international competition makes it possible to award about 20 individual fellowships annually to individuals who have presented outstanding research projects in the social sciences and humanities, both on national and international issues that resonate with public policy issues. Fellows should be prepared to interact both with policymakers in Washington and with Woodrow Wilson Center staff working on similar issues.

Particular attention is paid to research on four topics:

governance, which includes issues such as the key features of the development of democratic institutions and civil society;

the role of the United States in the existing world and issues of partnership and leadership;
the major long-term prospects facing the United States and the rest of the world;

President Wilson's wide range of interests spanned government reform, international organizations, and a more open trading system.

Researchers from different countries with outstanding abilities and unique experience and representing various fields (academic, government, corporate) can apply for the scholarship. For representatives of the academic field, a doctorate degree is required. In addition, to confirm your scientific qualifications, it is advisable to submit a serious publication in addition to your dissertation. For applicants from non-academic backgrounds, a level equivalent to a doctorate is required. Applicants must know English.

Projects in the field of natural sciences, music, choreography and painting, as well as propaganda projects are not considered.

The competition is held once a year. The deadline for submitting applications and supporting documents is October 1; the decision is made in April next year.

The average amount of financial support provided by the Center is approximately 44 thousand US dollars, which includes payment of travel expenses and 75% of payment for insurance for the fellows themselves, their spouses and dependent children. The Center considers it necessary for fellows to be present throughout the American academic year (September to May), although there are several fellowships available for shorter periods.

II. Short-term grants (up to one month)

Available to scholars who can demonstrate persuasively that their research requires the use of library, archival, and other resources located in Washington, DC. Representatives of the academic field must have an academic degree or be in the pre-defense stage. For applicants from non-academic backgrounds, a level equivalent to an advanced degree is required.

There is no official questionnaire. The applicant must submit a brief description of his or her research project (700-800 words), a brief curriculum vitae (CV), preferred dates for being in Washington, D.C., and two letters of recommendation in support of research to be conducted at the Institute. You must indicate your citizenship or place of permanent residence in your documents. Applications must be filled out clearly, using a dark pen, printed or written on only one side of the sheet, and do not staple the sheets together. The research project and CV can be submitted by email, letters of recommendation should be sent by regular mail.

Four competitions are held annually to select applicants. Application deadlines are December 1, March 1, June 1 and September 1. Applicants will receive notification of the competition results approximately six weeks after the application deadline. Short-term grants are available to US citizens, US permanent residents, and foreign citizens.

The terms of the grant provide a stipend of $100 per day. Fellows must be in Washington, D.C. for the entire duration of the fellowship.

The program is supported by the Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Research and Training Program of the US State Department (Title VIII) and the George F. Kennan Foundation.

III. Regional exchange program for researchers (6 months)

Regional grants are available to researchers from independent states of the former Soviet Union in the fields of humanities and social sciences. Applicants can be scientists and teachers with at least a Ph.D. degree, independent researchers, and politicians.

Supported research areas:

American Studies; business administration (including management education);
urban planning and urban studies; civic education, conflict resolution;
criminal law; demography; economics (including international trade, finance and investment);
education (including higher education management); ethics and philosophy; foreign policy and international relations;
government structure; story; industrial labor relations; information technologies (Internet and the use of new information technologies in the field of higher education);
journalism; right;
librarianship; management and marketing; political science; public management; social activities; sociology; gender studies.

Selection criteria:
1) the scientific significance of the project, convincing evidence that the research should be conducted in Washington, DC;
2) the feasibility of the proposed study, taking into account the time frame and methodology;
3) fairly good knowledge of English;
4) a solid scientific base in the declared area of research;
5) applicants must be at least 24 and not over 60 years of age at the time of application. Finalists are provided with air travel from their place of residence to Washington, D.C. and back, accommodation, health insurance, a monthly stipend, the opportunity to work in libraries and archives, collaborate with American colleagues, and participate in events for program alumni. The program is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US State Department.

IV. Scholarship named after Galina Starovoytova (9 months)

A personalized scholarship in memory of Galina Starovoitova in the field of human rights protection and conflict resolution is awarded to outstanding scientists and politicians of the Russian Federation who successfully connect ideas with concrete public activities in the protection of human rights and conflict resolution. This scholarship is open to women and men with exceptional abilities and experience in various fields, including managerial, social, professional, and scientific activities.

Representatives of the academic environment must have a candidate's degree as a minimum; and also demonstrate your professional growth after defending your PhD thesis, which should be reflected in scientific publications. Other candidates are required to have an equivalent level of professional achievement.

The grant holder is provided with a monthly stipend, material resources for scientific work, computer support and assistance in conducting research. The fellow must work at the Kennan Institute for the entire duration of the grant, and, along with conducting scientific research on his topic, give lectures on conflict resolution and the protection of human rights, actively participate in discussions with representatives of public and scientific circles, and take part in meetings and conferences.

The program is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US State Department.

The Institute holds one competition per year. Application forms can be obtained from ROO "Kennan".

Graduate Programs
Since 1993, with the support of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US State Department, as well as the George Kennan Foundation, the Institute's Alumni Fellowship has been actively operating.

Among its activities:

annual multi-day scientific conferences in various regions of Russia;
regular two-hour seminars in Moscow on various topics relevant to modern Russia;
development of the Partnership’s web page;
participation in the release of the annual “Professionals for Cooperation”.