1. society

ALEKSANTERI NEWS
22 October, 2014 / Issue 4
14TH ANNUAL ALEKSANTERI CONFERENCE
RESTRUCTURING
STATE AND
SOCIETY IN
RUSSIA
22 – 24 OCTOBER 2014, THE ALEKSANTERI INSTITUTE
UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI, FINLAND
CALL FOR VISITING FELLOWS OPEN SOON
WELCOME TO THE CONFERENCE!
The Visiting Scholars Programme annually
invites highly-qualified scholars studying
Russia, Eastern Europe and the countries
of the former Soviet Union to undertake
a grant-supported research stay of two to
three months at the University of Helsinki.
The call for proposals for the academic year
2015-2016 will open 8 January and closes 20
February 2015. The call details will be found
on the Aleksanteri Institute website.
This special conference issue contains the
programme of the 14th Annual Aleksanteri
Conference: Restructuring State and Society
in Russia as well as information about the
conference venues, on pages 5-11. Keynote
speakers are introduced on pages 12-13.
Last minute changes to the programme
are updated on the conference website at
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/conference2014
and at the registration desk (Main building,
4th floor).
Please don’t hesitate to turn to the registration desk, should you need any further
assistance.
Read more on page 15
14th Annual
Aleksanteri
Conference
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
FACE OF THE MONTH: MERI KULMALA
Hanna Ruutu
services in Russia, especially pertaining to
children’s homes and child welfare in general,” Kulmala says.
Even here, the most interesting question for her is the interplay between the
socially-oriented NGOs and administrative
actors in the foster care reform. Kulmala
continues: “Enormous changes will take
place in Russia over the next few years, as
the previous system based on relatively large
children’s homes is now being dismantled
and changed into family-based foster care.”
This year’s Aleksanteri Conference
“Restructuring State and Society in Russia”
is a perfect platform on which to discuss
these questions, and Kulmala is happy about
both the number and diversity of scholars
gathering in Helsinki on October 22-24. “The
amount of participants took us by surprise:
there will be more than 300 papers from
over 20 countries!” rejoices Kulmala. “The
programme contains, among others, a special
session, in which we have the possibility to
openly discuss the current state of Russia,
delving deeper into issues of democracy in
society”, says Kulmala.
While many panel sessions are devoted
to the tightening grip of Putin’s politics,
many also contain papers dealing with
counterforces, protests, and activity at the
grassroots level. Not only are big events that
are covered at length and depth in the media
apparent in the conference, but also smaller
incidences, making the picture of the country
more varied and less black-and-white. All
in all, at the end of the tunnel, light does
sometimes shines through, at least judging
by the activism and expressions of solidarity
manifested locally by Russian people. n
FACTS ABOUT MERI KULMALA
Postdoctoral researcher, Aleksanteri Institute
Scholar in the Centre of Excellence ”Choices of Russian Modernisation”, clusters 2 ”Authoritarian Market
Society as a Challenge” and 3 ”Welfare Regime”
Conference coordinator of Aleksanteri Conference
2014
Selected publications:
Karelian women’s network: a (feminist) women’s
movement? – Women and Transformation in Russia.
Eds. Saarinen, A., Ekonen, K. & Uspenskaia, V. London
& New York: Routledge, 2014, pp. 163-188.
State and Society in Small-town Russia: A Feministethnographic Inquiry into the Boundaries of Society
in the Finnish-Russian Borderland. Helsinki: University of Helsinki, Department of Social Research, 2013.
Rethinking State-Society Boundaries in a Small-town
Context of Russian Karelia. – Gazing at Welfare,
Gender and Agency in Post-socialist Countries. Eds.
Jäppinen, M., Kulmala, M. & Saarinen, A. Newcastle
upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011, pp.
170-198.
Russian State and Civil Society in Interaction: an
Ethnographic Approach. – Laboratorium 3, 1, 2011,
pp. 51-83.
Meri Kulmala will present a joint paper “The New OldFashioned? Russian Veterans
Organizations at the Crossroads of Social
Services and Social Advocacy” together with Anna
Tarasenko in panel 3F at the Aleksanteri Conference.
2
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
Photo: Niina Into
One of the driving forces making everything
happen in the 2014 Aleksanteri Conference is
Meri Kulmala, an ethnographer with firsthand expertise on how the burgeoning – and
at times oppressed – civil society in Russia
actually works. Her dissertation, completed
with honors in 2013, explored the statesociety relationship in contemporary Russia,
scrutinising various NGOs in the Karelian
municipality of Sortavala. Since then, she has
been working at the Aleksanteri Institute as
a post-doctoral researcher, also taking an active part in the Centre of Excellence’s Welfare
and Democratisation clusters.
A thorough fieldwork would not have
been possible without mastering the Russian
language – fortunately, her MA studies in
Russian translation formed an excellent basis
for the practical work and extensive interviews conducted with the local actors. “I lived
and worked in Sortavala for long periods of
time, which gave me excellent insights into
the local community and how the civil society
actors constructed their everyday life; the
means of negotiating with the government officials on various levels were many, and there
were as many ways of coping as there were
actors”, Dr. Kulmala states now.
Having already touched on issues of
welfare in her dissertation, these questions
have now started to take form as Kulmala
plans her future research projects. A new
Russian law on social services will take effect
from 2015, and that will most likely bring a
new set of issues and topics. “I am especially
interested in the division of labour between
various societal sectors and administrative
levels in producing welfare. My future project
deals with the reorganisation of welfare
WELCOME TO THE 14TH ALEKSANTERI CONFERENCE
RESTRUCTURING STATE AND SOCIETY IN RUSSIA
Dear all,
I warmly welcome you to the 14th Aleksanteri Conference! Its title – Restructuring
State and Society in Russia – was chosen a
year ago. Indeed, since that time Russia has
undergone a major restructuring after the
annexation of Crimea and a major confrontation with the West over Ukraine. These
tendencies already had and will continue to
have a profound impact on state and society
in Russia and beyond, and they also pose a
major challenge for scholarship on Russia and Eurasia. With this conference, we
would like to direct attention away from the
analysis of current events towards a more
in-depth and interdisciplinary understanding
of patterns of political, social, economic and
cultural changes in theoretical and comparative perspective.
The conference is organised by the
Aleksanteri Institute at the University of
Helsinki and by the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies, “Choices of Russian
Modernisation”. While the actual discourse
on modernisation in Russia is almost forgotten at the moment, we should still consider
to what extent the dramatic trends of postSoviet developments reflect a peculiar nature
of the Russian state and society with the
complicated legacies of Soviet and pre-Soviet
past or, rather, whether these trends reflect
interests, ideas, and identities of the rulers
who run the country? Accordingly, we could
debate whether there is a special “Russian
path” that provides us with a perception of
the uniqueness of Russia’s developmental
trajectory, or whether Russia is just a “normal” mid-developed post-imperial country
with numerous problems typical for some
other states and societies at certain “critical
junctures” of their history? These questions
are being discussed further by scholars from
various disciplines.
14th Annual
Aleksanteri
Conference
Our conference call received wide interest from all over the world, with participants
coming from 24 countries; this presents us
with a great opportunity to exchange ideas
and discover novel approaches over the
course of three days. On the behalf of the organisers, I hope that we can provide a forum
for fruitful discussions and for the generation
and elaboration of new ideas.
On behalf of the organizing committee,
Vladimir Gel’man, FiDiPro Professor,
Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki; Professor, European University at
St.Petersburg. n
UPCOMING EVENTS
30.10.
Visiting Fellows Research Seminar with Regina
Smyth: “What Just Happened? Competing Opposition Narratives of Russia’s Snow Revolution”
TIME: 14:15
PLACE: Aleksanteri Institute, Unioninkatu 33,
Meeting room 2nd floor
17.-22.11.
RussiaHUB Helsinki week in Think Corner,
Yliopistonkatu 4. A week full of events presenting
the new RussiaHUB Helsinki concept: panels,
workshops, interviews - see the programme at
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/ajankohtaista/
5.12.
Seminar: The Regional Dimension of Russian
Politics: Comparative Perspectives.
TIME: 09:45-12:00
PLACE: Aleksanteri Institute, Unioninkatu 33,
Meeting room 2nd floor
9.12.
Conference on Central Asian Media
PLACE: Aleksanteri-Institute Unioninkatu 33,
Meeting room 2nd floor
11.12.
Seminar on Human Rights in Russia
More event information at:
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/english/news
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
3
RUSSIAHUB HELSINKI; PROMOTING MULTILEVEL COOPERATION
Iiris Virtasalo
Helsinki is a city with an exceptionally high
number of organisations and businesses with
a focus on Russia, as well as high-level academic expertise on Russian politics, economy
and society. Helsinki has thus the potential
to become a gateway to Russia and global
hub that combines insights from research,
politics, business and society. To take full
advantage of this potential, and to respond to
the growing need for expertise on Russia, the
Aleksanteri Institute has established a new
platform: RussiaHUB Helsinki.
RussiaHUB Helsinki is a wide consortium uniting key actors in the Helsinki
region who work with Russia. It consists of a
number of higher education institutions and
research centres, businesses, policy makers,
governmental organisations and NGOs. In
addition, it has a large network of international partners. RussiaHUB Helsinki provides
opportunities and resources for cooperation,
both in academic research projects and nonacademic projects.
RussiaHUB Helsinki is a part of the
University of Helsinki’s 375th anniversary
fundraising campaign. The goal is to promote
top-level research by establishing new professorships and research projects that increase
our understanding of Russian society, politics
and economy. A further goal is to establish
new innovative forms of collaboration and
thus bring research and society into closer
contact. Pending successful fundraising,
RussiaHUB Helsinki will introduce RussiaHUB Class, a programme for politicians
and researchers to meet and exchange ideas.
Another initiative is RussiaHUB Camp, where
top-level experts gather in Helsinki to solve
global-scale problems.
The launch of RussiaHUB Helsinki
takes place in mid-November. A pop up week
in the University’s Think Corner will give a
first glimpse of what RussiaHUB Helsinki is
and what it strives to become. The week is
full of interesting presentations, debates and
events focusing on the economy, politics and
development of democracy and freedom of
expression in Russia. Please pop in and share
your ideas about RussiaHUB. What is the
kind of HUB that YOU think Helsinki needs?
RussiaHUB Helsinki in Think Corner (Porthania, Yliopistonkatu 3) on November 17-21,
2014. Welcome!
More information and a detailed programme
coming soon:
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/ajankohtaista
4
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
RUSSIAHUB
HELSINKI
UPCOMING DISSERTATIONS FROM THE
DOCTORAL PROGRAMME
MES Daria Gritsenko will defend
her PhD thesis entitled On Governance
of Quality Shipping in the Baltic Sea:
Exploring Collective Action in Polycentric
Contexts at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki (Metsätalo
Unioninkatu 40, lecture room 2) on 8
November 2014 at noon.
Opponent will be Michael Roe, University of Plymouth and Custos Veli-Pekka
Tynkkynen, University of Helsinki.
The dissertation is available online at:
URN:ISBN:978-952-10-9132-2
M.Sc. Freek van der Vet will defend
his doctoral dissertation, Finding Justice
at the European Court of Human Rights:
The Dynamics of Strategic Litigation and
Human Rights Defense in the Russian
Federation, in a public examination on
Friday 12 December 2014 at 12:00 at the
University of Helsinki, Metsätalo, Unioninkatu 40, lecture hall 2. The opponent
is Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom, The
University of British Columbia, and the
Custos is Matti Kortteinen, University
of Helsinki.
14th Annual
Aleksanteri
Conference
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER
10:00-12:00 Registration (info desk, entrance hall in front of the Small Hall, 4th floor
in the University of Helsinki Main Building,
Fabianinkatu 33 side)
10:00-11:30 Special Session: Russia after
2014 (Small Hall, Main Building)
Chair: Vladimir Gel’man, Finland Distinguished Professor, Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki
Participants:
Maria Lipman, Independent political
analyst
Arkady Moshes, The Finnish Institute of
International Affairs
Nikolay Petrov, Higher School of
Economics, Russia
Stephen Hanson, Professor, College of
William and Mary, USA
12:00-12:45 Opening Ceremony (Small Hall)
Chair: Vladimir Gel’man, Finland Distinguished Professor, Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki
Opening speech: Erkki Tuomioja, Minister
for Foreign Affairs of Finland
12:45-14:30 Plenary Session I (Small Hall)
Chair: Markku Kangaspuro, Professor,
Director of Research, Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki
Keynote speaker: Oleg Kharkhordin,
Professor, European University at Saint
Petersburg: Is Russia Doomed to Creativity?
Technology, Entrepreneurship and Society in
Russia in Comparative Perspective
14:30-15:00 Coffee (Small Hall Lobby)
15:00-16:30 Panels 1A-1H
Panel 1A: Political Protests in Russia
(Hall 7)
Chair: Mark Teramae (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
Inna Chuvychkina (Research Centre
for East European Studies, University of
Bremen): The Cycle of Protests under the
Putin Regime
Laura Lyytikäinen (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki):Russian Political
Protests as Social Performances
Natalia Savelyeva (Public Sociology Laboratory, Institute of Sociology Russian Academy of Science, European University in Saint
Petersburg) and Oleg Zhuravlev (Public
Sociology Laboratory, European University
Institute): The Role of the Stigmatization of
the State in the Protest Mobilization in Russia, 2011−2012
Discussant: Jussi Lassila (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
1B: Health and Life Expectancy in PostCommunism (Hall 14)
Chair: Eleanor Bindman (University of London)
Victoria Dudina (Saint Petersburg State
University): Social Capital and Political Reforms: an Alternative Explanation of the Rise
of Life Expectancy in Russia in 1985−1987
Dina Balalaeva (Higher School of Economics):
Effect of Institutional Restructuring on
Health in Post-Communist Countries: Lessons for Russia
Loretta G. Platts (King’s College London):
Social Inequalities in Self-rated Health in Ukraine
Discussant: Linda J. Cook (Brown University)
1C: Network Governance and Social Policies
in Russia (Hall 8)
Chair: Anni Kangas (University of Tampere, Finland)
Marthe Handå Myhre (Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research): The
Discursive Construction of Non-State Actors
Roles in Russian Policy-Formation and
Policy-Implementation
Jørn Holm-Hansen (Norwegian Institute
for Urban and Regional Research): Applying
Network Governance on Russia
Elena Bogdanova (Centre for Independent
Social Research):The Role of NGOs in the
Sphere of Children Protection in Contemporary Russia
Discussant: Regina Smyth (University of
Indiana)
1D: Ideas and Identities in Russia and Beyond I
(Hall 11)
Chair: Katja Lehtisaari (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
Mikhail Maslovskii (Sociological Institute
of Russian Academy of Sciences): The Virtual
Empire Strikes Back: The Legacies of Soviet
Modernity and Russia’s Neo-Imperial Turn
Markku Kangaspuro (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki): Russian
Dilemma: Concept of Strong State
Camelia Lelesan (Ecole des Hautes Etudes
en Sciences Sociales): Is Russia a Broken
State?
Discussant: Olga Malinova (Institute of
Scientific Information for Social Sciences)
1E: Legal Profession, Legal Consciousness
and Everyday Life of State Bureaucracies in
Russia (Hall 15)
Chair: Anne Le Huérou (Université Paris
Ouest Nanterre la Défense)
Ella Paneyakh (Institute for the Rule of
Law, European University at Saint Petersburg): Governance Patterns and Legal Consciousness in Russian State Agencies
Andrey Yakovlev and Anton Kazun
(International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development, Higher School of
Economics): Problems of Law Enforcement
and Judicial System in Russia: an Assessment of Attorneys
Kirill Titaev (Institute for the Rule of Law,
European University at Saint Petersburg):
The Investigators (sledovateli) in Russia as
a Professional Group: Values, Norms and
Professional Culture
Discussant: Marianna Muravyeva (Oxford
Brookes University)
1F: Ideas and Perceptions in Russian History
(Auditorium X)
Chair: Sanna Turoma (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
Viktor Husu (Doctoral Programme for
Russian and East European Studies): From
Adam Smith to Karl Marx via Russia and Hegel. Geoeconomics in Action? A Hypothesis.
(Reading Texts Politically)
Ming-Hui Huang (University of Sheffield):
Interactive Construction of an Understanding on Holy Foolishness in Late Imperial
Russia
Tatiana Artemyeva (Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia): Music and
Power: Social Utopianism in Russian Opera
Discussant: Meri Herrala (University of
Helsinki)
1G: Feminism and post-socialism
(P723)
Chair: Maija Jäppinen (University of Helsinki)
Yulia Gradskova (Stockholm University):
What Should Be Done in Order “Gender
Equality” Would Be Used Similarly to other
Russian Words? Local Authorities in NorthWestern Russia Meet the Global Gender
Equality Agenda
Peggy Watson (University of Cambridge;
Helsinki Collegium): Neoliberal Feminism in
Poland: What Are the Effects?
Irina Iukina (Saint Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation):
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
5
Russian Gender Policies in the Context of
Modernization
Discussant: Libora Oates-Indruchova
(Palacky University)
16:45-18:15 Panels 2A - 2H
2A: The Role of Companies in Russian
Developments (Hall 14)
Chair: Jouko Nikula (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki)
Brendan McElroy (Harvard University):
Public-Private Partnerships in the Development of Russian Regional Professional Training Programs
Mikhail Belokon (Saint Petersburg State
University): Return of Russian Mining Companies: Capital as New Government Policy
Maxim Markin (Higher School of Economics):
State Regulation of Business Partners
Relationships in Contemporary Russia: How
Retailers and Suppliers Are Adapting the
Trade Law
Soili Nysten-Haarala (University of Lapland): Corporations as Engines of Change:
An Institutional Perspective on the Role of
Law and Regulation in a Russian Market
Economy
Discussant: Andrey Yakovlev (International Center for the Study of Institutions and
Development, Higher School of Economics)
2B: Political Regime Changes in Eurasia
(Hall 8)
Chair: Ivan Grigoriev (Higher School of
Economics)
Gorkem Atsungur (American University
of Central Asia): Transformation of Political
Regime in Russia during the Yeltsin Period
(1991−1999)
Adele Del Sordi (University of Amsterdam): Political Institutions and Legitimacy
in Kazakhstan: the Case of the Party of Power
Nur Otan
Mark Teramae (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki): Competitive Clientelism
among Ukrainian Political Elites
Discussant: Aleksei Gilev (Center for Comparative History and Political Studies)
2C: Ideas and Identities in Russia and Beyond II (Auditorium X)
Chair: Jussi Lassila (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki)
Boglárka Mácsai (University of Pécs): Patriotic Upbringing in the Russian Federation
Anna Novikova (University of the Basque
Country): Teaching History in Russia and
Ukraine
Lina Klymenko (University of Eastern
Finland): Narrating World War II: Politics
of National Identities in Post-Soviet Belarus,
6
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
Russia, and Ukraine
Discussant: Nelli Piattoeva (University of
Tampere)
2D: Police, Human Rights, and Rule of Law
in Russia (Hall 7)
Chair: Freek van der Vet (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Alexandra Dmitrieva (Saint Petersburg
State University; Center for Independent
Social Research): Real/Conditional Sentence
in Drug-Related Cases: a Complex Process or
a Random Selection?
Maren Krimmer (Université Paris-Est):
Russia and its Compliance with the Human
Rights Standards of the Council of Europe
Anne Le Huérou (Université Paris Ouest
Nanterre la Défense): Much Ado about Nothing? Police Reform in Russia as a Case of
State/Society Arrangement
Discussant: Ella Paneyakh (Institute for
the Rule of Law, European University at
Saint Petersburg)
2E: Religion, State, and Society in Russia
(Hall 11)
Chair: Anna Korhonen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)
Julia Gerlach (Free University of Berlin):
Religion and State Identity-Building in the
New Russia, A Dead-End Street?
Alicja Curanovic (University of Warsaw):
Cooperation of the Kremlin and the ROC in
Face of Migration Challenges,
Igor Mikeshin (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki): The Baptist Response to
Modernity in Russia
Discussant: Kaarina Aitamurto (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
2G: Changing Media Landscape: Russian
and International Perspectives (P723)
Chair: Agnieszka Piasecka (Open Dialog
Foundation)
Galina Bobrova (Kemerovo State University): The Evolution of the Image of V.Putin in
the Weekly «Der Spiegel» (on the Example of
the Three Presidential Election Campaigns)
Oleg Sidorov (National Association of Mass
Media Researchers): Features of EthnoCultural Informational Space of Yakutia in
the 1990s
Jukka Pietiläinen (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki)
The Discourse of Modernization in Russian
Newspapers
Discussant: Arto Mustajoki (University of
Helsinki)
2H: State and Society in Russian and East
European History II (P724)
Chair: Libora Oates-Indruchova (Palacky
University)
Takehiro Okabe (University of Helsinki):
Symbolic and Demographic Restructuring of
Stalins Empire: Geopolitics, National Epics,
and Forced Migrations in the late 1940s
Roman Krakovsky (School for Advanced
Studies in Social Sciences): The Collective
Action and the Idea of General Interest
in Soviet-Type Regimes. A Case Study of
Czechoslovakia in the 1950s
Discussant: Sari Autio-Sarasmo (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
19.00 Reception hosted by the City of
Helsinki
Venue: Helsinki City Hall (address: Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13).
2F: Regional and Urban Developments
(Hall 15)
Chair: Andrey Starodubtsev (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki; European
University at Saint Petersburg)
Svetlana Stepanova (Institute of Economics Karelian Research Center of Russian
Academy of Sciences): Tourism in Economic
Development of the Border Region at the
Turn XX-XXI centuries: the Case of the
Republic of Karelia
Maria Dyakonova and Svetlana
Stepanova (Institute of Economics Karelian
Research Center Russian Academy of Sciences): Involving Youth in Tourism Development in Rural Areas of the Republic of
Karelia
Tuomas Suutarinen (University of Helsinki):
Socio-Economic Restructuring of Resource
Communities in the Russian North
Discussant: Nadir Kinossian (Kazan Federal University)
Helsinki City Hall from the Market Square and
Harbour.
THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER
10:00-11:30 Panels 3A - 3I
3A: Poverty and Economic Insecurity
(Auditorium X)
Chair: Heini Puurunen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
Nina Ivashinenko (Nizhniy Novgorod
State University; University of Glasgow):
Searching for a New Approach to Face
Poverty on the Local Level in a Small Russian
Town
Alla Varyzgina (Nizhniy Novgorod State
University): Efficiency of Overcoming Strategies of Families with Children
Ildikó Asztalos Morell (Uppsala Centre
for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala
University): Negotiating Poverty: Models for
Poverty Reduction in Rural Hungary
Discussant: Ann-Mari Sätre (Uppsala
Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies,
Uppsala University)
3B: Regional Media and Regional Identities
in Contemporary Russia (Hall 14)
Chair: Varvara Chumakova (Higher
School of Economics)
Ilya Kiriya (Higher School of Economics):
Regional Identity Facing Centralization of
Media in Russia
Olga Dovbysh (Higher School of Economics): Regional Disparities and Development
of Media in Russian Regions: Parallel Media
Markets and the Competition
Anna Novikova (Higher School of Economics): Impact of Soviet Mythologies on Rural
Populations’ Reflection about the Structure
of Contemporary Russian Society
Discussant: Katja Lehtisaari (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
3C: International Relations in the Age of
Uncertainty (Hall 15)
Chair: Anna Dekalchuk (Higher School of
Economics)
Kuldip Singh (Guru Nanak Dev University):
Russia’s De-Ideologised Drive for Globalisation
Cosima Glahn (Institute for East European
Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany):
The EU, Russia and Its “Strategic Partnership”
Marina Henrikson (University of Manchester): The Discursive Construction of
Russia as a Great Power in the 2008 War in
Georgia
Dovile Jakniunaite (Vilnius University):
Russian in Lithuanian Politics and Ukrainian
Events
Discussant: Hanna Smith (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
3D: Governance and Changing Public Administration (Auditorium III)
3H: Migration and Citizenship
(Auditorium VI)
Chair: Catherine Owen (University of
Exeter)
Dmitry Maslov (Kazan Federal University,
School of Public Administration): Perpendicular Governance: Contradictions in Public
Administration Reforms in Russia
Anna-Liisa Heusala (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki): Global Leadership
Paradigms and the Study of Russian Administrative Reform
Discussant: Dmitry Goncharov (Higher
School of Economics)
Chair: Kaarina Aitamurto (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Dmitri Tsiskarashvili (University of Dublin Trinity College): The New Russian FastTrack Citizenship Law in Light of Recent
Events in Ukraine
Caress Schenk (Nazarbaev University):
Politics of Immigration Control in Russia
Discussant: Oxana Karpenko (Center for
Independent Social Research)
3E: Dynamics of the Opposition and Protest
Movements in the Russian Federation (Hall 7)
Chair: Henri Vogt (University of Turku)
Kristi Raik (The Finnish Institute of International Affairs): European Diplomacy in
Moscow: What Role(s) for EU Delegation?
Irina Busygina (Moscow State Institute of
International Relations): The Three Levels of
EU-Russia Interaction and Ukraine Crisis
Sergei Utkin (Centre for Situation Analysis,
Russian Academy of Sciences): The Moscow
Math: Counting the Costs and Gains of the
Ukraine Crisis
Discussant: Katri Pynnöniemi (The Finnish Institute of International Affairs)
Chair: Regina Smyth (University of Indiana)
Cameron Ross (University of Dundee): The
Middle Class and Political Protest in Russia
Tomila Lankina (London School of
Economics): Protest Dynamics in Russia’s
Regions
David White (University of Birmingham):
Opposition in Russia: Politics of the Street
Not the Party
Discussant: Nikolay Petrov (Higher School
of Economics)
3I: The EU-Russia Relations: New Status
Quo in the Making (Hall 8)
3F: Welfare and Collective Agency in Contemporary Russia (Auditorium XI)
11:30-13:00 Lunch Break
Chair: Anna-Maria Salmi (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Svetlana Mareeva (Institute of Sociology,
Russian Academy of Sciences): Middle Class
in Contemporary Russian Society: New Challenges for Social Policy
Meri Kulmala (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki) and Anna Tarasenko
(European University at Saint Petersburg):
The New Old-Fashioned? Russian Veterans
Organizations at the Crossroads of Social
Services and Social Advocacy
Laura Lyytikäinen (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki; University of Turku):
Alcoholism in Russia: The Case of the Russian AA Movement
Discussant: Eleanor Bindman (University
of London)
13:00-14:30 Plenary session II (Small Hall)
Chair: Markku Kivinen, Director, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki
Keynote speakers:
Stephen Hanson, Professor, College of
William and Mary, Williamsburg: Russia,
Ukraine, and the Borders of Europe
Maria Lipman, Independent political analyst: The Kremlin’s Ideological Turn: Causes,
Content, and Consequences
3G: Ideas and Identities in Russia and Beyond III (Auditorium XVI)
Chair: Markku Kangaspuro (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Magdalena Leichtova (University of West
Bohemia): Rebuilding the Greatness
Magda Dolinska-Rydzek (Justus-Liebig
University): The Pecularities of Russian Idea
Andrej Mitic (University of Nis): Russian
Young Conservative Revolution − Mission
Impossible?
Discussant: Sanna Turoma (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
14:30-15:00 Coffee (Small Hall Lobby)
15:00-16:30 Panels 4A - 4H
4A: The Transformation of Russian Media
(Hall 4)
Chair: Andrey Semenov (Perm State National Research University)
Varvara Chumakova (Higher School of
Economics): Media Literacy of the Rural
Settlers in Russia as Factor of the Society
Restructurisation
Katja Lehtisaari (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki): How do Russian
Media Companies Response to Challenges
in Context of Social Change and Media
Convergence?
Agnieszka Piasecka (Open Dialog Foundation): The Role of Mass Media in Russian
Federation in Social Attitude to ContempoALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
7
rary Foreign Policy
Discussant: Jukka Pietiläinen (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
4B: Legal Professions in Russia
(Hall 17)
Chair: Marianna Muravyeva (Oxford
Brookes University)
Rafael Mrowczynski (Higher School of
Economics): Clients, Norms and Egos: Constructs of Professionalism in Autobiographic
Narratives of Russian Lawyers
Ekaterina Khodzhaeva and Julia
Shesternina (Institute for the Rule of Law,
European University at Saint Petersburg):
Strategies and Tactics of Defense Attorneys
in the Context of Accusatorial Bias (obvinitelinyi uklon) in Russia
Aryna Dzmitryieva (Institute for the Rule
of Law, European University at Saint Petersburg): Russian Judiciary: Norms and Values
of a Professional Group
Discussant: Jeff Kahn (School of Law,
Southern Methodist University)
4C: Politics and Decision-Making in the Russian Regions (Auditorium XII)
Chair: Sirke Mäkinen (University of Tampere)
Mariia Grigorieva (Perm State National
Research University; European University at
Saint Petersburg): Russian Regions during
Electoral Reforms and the Increasing Role of
Political Parties, 2003−2014
Michael Rochlitz (Higher School of Economics): Bureaucratic Appointments under
Limited Political Competition: Evidence from
Russian Regions
Maria Ivanova (Higher School of Economics): The Electoral Law Changes Effects and
Representation: Regional, National, and
Business Elites
Discussant: Tomila Lankina (London
School of Economics)
4E: Varieties of Social Identities
(Hall 18)
Chair: Ira Jänis-Isokangas (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Nadezhda Radina, Natalya Gronskaya, Alexander Porshnev and Mariia
Koskina (Higher School of Economics):
Transformation of Social Values and Solidarity Attitudes of Russian Citizens in Nizhniy
Novgorod Region in 2002−2014
Liubov Fadeeva and Nadezha Borisova
(Perm State National Research University):
Struggle for Identity and Transformation of
Social Media as Space of Interaction between
State and Society
Anna Nemirovskaya (Laboratory for
Comparative Social Research, Higher School
of Economics): The State and Social Institutions of the Contemporary Russian Frontier
Discussant: Andrey Shcherbak (Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, Higher
School of Economics)
4F: Russian Political Regime: Disbalances of
Political Demand and Supply (Auditorium XV)
Chair: Alexander Sherstobitov (Saint
Petersburg State University)
Irina Soboleva (Higher School of Economics) and Regina Smyth (Columbia University): Individual Factors of Protest Participation in Russia (2011−2012)
Anton Verevkin and Alexander Sherstobitov (Saint Petersburg State University): Cartel Strategies of Parliamentary Parties
and Institutional Change in Russia
Aleksei Gilev (Center for Comparative
History and Political Studies): What Makes
Everyday Clientelism? Russia in Comparative
Context
Discussant: Andrey Starodubtsev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki;
European University at Saint Petersburg)
4D: Modes of Non-Electoral Participation in
Contemporary Russia (Auditorium XIV)
16:45-18:15 Panels 5A - 5H
Chair: Olga Malinova (Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences)
Catherine Owen (University of Exeter): A
Genealogy of Discourses of Kontrolin Russia
1917−2014: From Leninist to Neoliberal
Governance
Alexander Sungurov (Higher School of
Economics): Development of Public Policy in
Russia: the Role of Expert Community
Dmitry Goncharov (Higher School of
Economics): Consultative Bodies in Russian
Politics: a Theoretical Debate
Discussant: Aadne Aasland (The Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional
Research)
5A: Challenges to Civil Freedoms in Russia
(Auditorium XII)
8
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
Chair: Laura Lyytikäinen (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki; University
of Turku)
Carolina Vendil Pallin (Swedish Defence
Research Agency): Russia’s Strategy for
Internet: Freedom or Control
Elena Vandysheva (Higher School of
Economics): New Rules for Russian NGOs:
Where to Run?
Una Hakvåg (Norwegian Defence Research
Establishment): Russia’s Armed Forces Online: Open Governance or New Censorship?
Discussant: Freek van der Vet (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
5B: Diverse Islam in Russia’s Regions: North,
South and in between (Hall 18)
Chair: Eduard Ponarin (Higher School of
Economics)
Kaarina Aitamurto (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki): Discussions of
Mosques in Moscow and Saint Petersburg
Guzel Yusupova (Kazan Federal University): Islam in the Discourse of Tatarstan
Elites in 2000-s
Denis Brilyov (National Pedagogical
Dragomanov University): Transnational Sufi
Organizations in Russian Context: the Example of Al-Akhbash jamaat
Discussant: Aude Merlin (Universite Libre
De Bruxelles)
5C: Ideas and Identities in Russia and Beyond IV (Hall 4)
Chair: Hanna Ruutu (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki)
Mika Lähteenmäki (University of Jyväskylä):
Language Ideology in Restructuring Russian
Society
Konstantin Zamyatin (University of Helsinki): Russian Language, Nation-Building,
and Identity Politics
Hanna Vasilevich (European Center
for Minority Issues): Belarusian Model of
Bilingualism
Discussant: Anna Nemirovskaya (Higher
School of Economics, Laboratory for Comparative Social Research)
5D: New Practices of Public Administration
(Hall 17)
Chair: Sari Autio-Sarasmo (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Aadne Aasland (The Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research) and
Elena Bogdanova (Centre for Independent
Social Research): The Role of Governance
Networks in Handling Complex Social Issues
in Russia’s Regions
Natalya Zhidkova (Higher School of Economics): State Innovation Policy and Russian
High-Tech: Innovation without Improvements?
Olga Melitonyan and Alexandr
Sokolovskiy (Higher School of Economics):
The Role of Contemporary Communication and Media in Governance and Public
Administration
Discussant: Anna-Liisa Heusala (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
5E: State Support of Small Innovative
Business Russian Regions: Problems and
Prospects (Auditorium VI)
Chair: Yury Kuznetsov (Saint Petersburg
State University)
Raisa Fedosova (Financial University
under the Government of the Russian Fed-
eration): Mechanisms of the State Support
of Small Innovative Business in Regions of
Russia
Natalia Filimonova (Vladimir State University): Assessment of Influence of the State
Support on a Level of Development of Small
Innovative Business in Regions of Russia
Natalia Polzunova (Vladimir State University): Development of Approaches of Increase
of Efficiency of the State Support of Small
Innovative Business
Discussant: Tatiana Starikova (Vladimir
Branch of the Russian Presidential Academy
of National Economy and Public Administration)
5F: Constructing Past, Shaping Present:
Russian Politics of History in Domestic and
International Context (Auditorium XIV)
Chair: Markku Kangaspuro (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki): Politics of
History and Memory for Russian Post-Soviet
Identity Construction
Jutta Scherrer (Ecole des hautes études en
sciences sociales): From “the Tragedy of the
20th Century” to the “Great Russian Revolution”: the Idea of Revolution in the Russian
Political Discourse
Olga Malinova (Institute of Scientific
Information for Social Sciences): RussianUkrainian Debate: Shifting Emphasis from
Representations of the Past to Discussions
over Values
Igor Torbakov (Uppsala University):
Discussant: Maria Lipman (Independent
political analyst)
5H: Contentious Politics in Eurasia
(Auditorium XV)
FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER
Chair: Saara Ratilainen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
Andrey Semenov (Tyumen State University): Dynamic of Contention in UralSiberian Regions of Russia: Cross-Regional
Comparison of For Fair Elections Campaign
(2011−2012)
Andrea Mignone (University of Genova):
New Social Movements in Russia and Their
(Feeble) Role in the Political Process
Maxim Alyukov (Public Sociology Laboratory, European University at Saint Petersburg), Svetlana Erpyleva (Public Sociology
Laboratory, European University at Saint
Petersburg) and Oleg Zhuravlev (Public
Sociology Laboratory, European University
Institute): Politicizing Silent Majority: How
Local Government Responds to Grassroots
Mobilization
Discussant: Vladimir Kostyushev (Higher
School of Economics)
10:00-11:30 Panels 6A - 6H
18:30-20:30 Reception hosted by the
Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian
Studies at the Aleksanteri Institute (Unioninkatu 33, 3rd floor)
5G: Conservative Turn and Gender Citizenship in Contemporary Russia (P723)
Chair: Ekaterina Borozdina (European
University at Saint Petersburg)
Anna Temkina and Elena Zdravomyslova (European University at Saint Petersburg): Conservative Gender Discourse and
Mobilization, Russia 2000s
Marianna Muravyeva (Oxford Brookes
University): Traditional Values and Modern
Families: Russian Gender and Welfare Policies between Tradition and Modernity
Veronika Lapina (European University
at Saint Petersburg): “I Literally Didn’t Feel
Anything…” or Why Homosexuals Didn’t
Join the Movement: Narratives of NonInvolvement in Contemporary Russian LGBT
Activism
Discussant: Maija Jäppinen (University of
Helsinki)
The Aleksanteri Institute, Unioninkatu 33. Entrance to the 3rd floor ball room.
6A: Spatial Dimension of Social Policy in
Russia (Hall 20)
Chair: Nadezhda Borisova (Perm State
National Research University)
Evgeniia Lazaricheva (Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University): Municipal Civil Society E-initiatives as Business
Projects
Ann-Mari Sätre and Leo Granberg
(Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian
Studies, Uppsala University): Local Agency
and Development in Russia
Alexander Soldatkin (Nizhniy Novgorod
State University): Formation of the Institutional Mechanisms of Poverty Reduction: the
Interplay of the Administration, the NGOs,
and the Population
Discussant: Irina Busygina (Moscow State
Institute of International Relations)
6B: The Political Economy of Unrule of Law in
Russia (Hall 14)
Chair: Ella Paneyakh (Institute for the
Rule of Law, European University at Saint
Petersburg)
Jeff Kahn (School of Law, Southern Methodist University): The Khodorkovsky Case,
Collateral Attacks, and the Rule of Law
Philip Hanson and Elizabeth Teague
(Royal Institute of International Affairs,
Chatham House): Reform in Russia and the
Rule of Law: What are the Issues?
Andrey Zaostrovtsev (European University at Saint Petersburg): Authoritarianism
and Institutional Decay in Russia: Disruption
of the Property Rights and the Rule of Law
Anton Kazun (International Center for
Study of Institution, Higher School of Economics): The Intensity of Violent Pressure on
Business in Russian Regions: Indicators and
Factors
Discussant: Håvard Baekken (University
of Oslo)
6C: Russian Identity 2014: Continuity and
Change (Roundtable) (Hall 8)
Chair: Tuomas Forsberg (University of
Tampere)
Ted Hopf (National University of Singapore): Russian Identity: Change and
Continuity
Hanna Smith (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki): Russian Identity and
Greatpowerness
Luke March (University of Edinburgh):
Russian Identity and Nationalism
Discussant: Olga Malinova (Institute of
Scientific Information for Social Sciences)
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
9
6D: Opposition Politics in Russia
(U40, Hall 8)
Chair: Vladimir Gel’man (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Regina Smyth (Indiana University): From
Criminal to Candidate: The Transformation
of Protest in the Moscow Mayoral Campaign
Jussi Lassila (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki): Navalny, Populism, and
Crisis of Political Representation in Russia
Alexander Kondakov (Centre for
Independent Social Research; European
University at Saint Petersburg): Migration
Policies and Acts of Citizenship: Problems of
Cooperation
Discussant: David White (University of
Birmingham)
6E: Post-socialist Welfare Regimes
(Hall 7)
Chair: Anna-Liisa Heusala (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Simo Mannila (National Institute for
Health and Welfare): Informal Security
Regime and Risk Society
Terry Cox (University of Glasgow): Towards
an Understanding of Post-Socialist Welfare
Regimes
Elena Minina (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki): Neoliberal Economics
and Welfare Culture in Contemporary Russia
Discussant: Anna Temkina (European University at Saint Petersburg)
6F: Reforms in Russia in 2000s: from Laws
toward Practices (Hall 15)
Chair: Oxana Karpenko (Center for Independent Social Research): Forcing Integration: the Russian Language as a “Bridge” and
a “Barrier”
Elena Konobeeva (Higher School of Economics): Russian Post Transformation: Why
Our Mail Has Expired?
Myriam Désert (Université Sorbonne): The
Use of Law in Work Relationships
Discussant: Maxim Markin (Higher School
of Economics)
6G: Direct Democracy in Contemporary
Russia (Auditorium III)
Chair: Anna Tarasenko (European University at Saint Petersburg)
Yulia Skokova (Higher School of Economics): Collective Action in the Name of Free
and Fair Elections in Russia: Progress or
Backlash?
Olga Miryasova (Russian Academy of
Sciences): Social Movements as Actors of
Institutional Change in Contemporary Russia
Christian Fröhlich (Södertörn University):
Informal Grass-Roots Activism as Alternative
Way to Democracy in Russia? Citizen’s Col10
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
lective Action for Social and Political Issues
in the Urban Setting of Moscow
Discussant: Meri Kulmala (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
6H: Politics of Social Media in Russia
(Auditorium IV)
Chair: Jukka Pietiläinen (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Anna Sanina (Higher School of Economics): Visual Political Irony in Russian New
Media: Evidence from Empirical Research
Andrey Shcherbak (Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, Higher School of
Economics): LiveJournal Libra! The Political
Blogosphere and Voting Preferences in Russia in 2011−12
Discussant: Markku Lonkila (University of
Jyväskylä)
11:30-13:00 Lunch Break
13:00-14:30 Panels 7A - 7H
7A: Values Change in Russia: Evidence from
the World Values Survey (Auditorium I)
Chair: Andrey Shcherbak (Laboratory for
Comparative Social Research, Higher School
of Economics)
Eduard Ponarin (Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, Higher School of
Economics): Understanding the Russian Malaise: The Collapse and Recovery of Subjective Well-being in Post-communist Russia
Julia Zelikova (Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, Higher School of
Economics): Capitalism and Nationalism in
Russia, East and West Europe
Irina Vartanova (Higher School of Economics): Effect of Religiosity on Tolerance
for Homosexuality and its Dynamics in postSoviet Countries
Discussant: Simo Mannila (National Institute for Health and Welfare)
7B: Public and Private in Social and Health
Services (Hall 20)
Chair: Aino Saarinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
Ekaterina Borozdina (European University at Saint Petersburg): Institutionalization
of Natural Childbirth Practices in Russia: on
the Crossroads of State Paternalistic Care,
Liberal Ideology, and Neotraditionalist
Values
Maija Jäppinen (University of Helsinki):
Domestic Violence, Gender and Agency in the
Working Practices of Russia’s Crisis Centres
Irina Grigoryeva (Saint Petersburg State
University): Transformation of Welfare State
in Elderly Society
Discussant: Elena Zdravomyslova (European University at Saint Petersburg)
7C: Effect of the Ukraine Crises on Russian
Domestic and External Dynamics (P674)
Chair: Edwin Bacon (University of London)
Graeme Herd (University of Plymouth):
Domestic Consolidation in Russia before and
after Crimea: Adaptation and Anti-Fragile
Regime Legitimation?
Peter Rutland (University of Wesleyan):
Energy Politics and Political Economy
Tuomas Forsberg and Sirke Mäkinen
(University of Tampere): Russian Policy on
Borders and Thinking of Territorial Issues
before and after the Ukrainian Crisis
Discussant: Ted Hopf (National University
of Singapore)
7D: State and Society in Russian and East
European History I (Auditorium VI)
Chair: Sari Autio-Sarasmo (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
Anna Lenkewitz (Ruhr-University Bochum): Finding Justice in Russian Peasant
Petitions. Images of a Just Authority and
Ways of Justification during the Late Tsarist
Empire
Olga Velikanova (University of North Texas): Mass Political Culture under Stalinism.
Popular Discussion of the Soviet Constitution
of 1936
Susan Ikonen (University of Helsinki):
It’s a Crime to Let That Kind of People Go
Abroad Discussing Nomenklatura in the
Soviet Union of 1956
Discussant: Markku Kangaspuro (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
7E: Collective Action and Social Movements
in Russia (Auditorium XV)
Chair: Meri Kulmala (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki)
Mikhail Piskunov (European University
in Saint Petersburg): Vyborg Pulp and Paper
Plant Workers: Labor Collective and Plant
Occupation in 1998−2000
Vladimir Kostyushev (Higher School
of Economics): People, Social Movements,
and Governments in Emergency Situations
(on Materials of Field Studies in Krymsk,
2012−2013)
Andrei Nevsky (Sociological Institute, Russian Academy of Science): Disaster Volunteers: Mobilization of Civic Activists in the
Course of Natural Disasters
Discussant: Markku Kivinen (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki)
7F: Patterns of Territorial Governance in
Contemporary Russia (Hall 4)
CONFERENCE VENUES AT THE CITY CENTRE CAMPUS
Chair: Tuomas Suutarinen (University of
Helsinki)
Nadir Kinossian (Kazan Federal University): Russia’s New Forms of Territorial
Governance
Andrey Starodubtsev (Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki; European
University at Saint Petersburg)
Il’ia Bykov (Saint Petersburg State University): An Authoritarian Pattern of Territorial
Governance: Evidences from Russia
Lobbying in the Russian North-East: A Comparative Study
Discussant: Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
Welcome to the University of Helsinki City Centre Campus! This year the Aleksanteri Conference takes place at three different buildings: the Main Building, Porthania and Metsätalo
(U40). You will find a printed map in your conference bag, but we hope that the photos below
will make it easier for you to navigate around the campus area. To further help you locate
your panel there’s a listing on page 12 of all the halls/auditoria in our use.
Main building from the Unioninkatu 34 (Senate Square) side.
All Auditoria are located on this
“old side”.
7G: Governance and Policy-Making (U40, Hall 8)
Chair: Elena Minina (Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki)
Igor Fedyukin (Higher School of Economics): State Capacity in Post-Petrine Russia:
Collection of Poll-Tax
Marina Khmelnitskaya (St Antony’s College): Tools of Government for the Russian
Modernisation
Anna Dekalchuk and Ivan Grigoriev
(Higher School of Economics): School of
Autocracy: Pensions and Labour Reforms of
the First Putin Administration
Discussant: Vladimir Gel’man (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki)
14:30-15:00 Coffee (Small Hall Lobby)
Main building from Fabianinkatu
33 side. All Halls are located on
this “new side”.
Porthania, Yliopistonkatu 3.
Lecture halls P674, P723 & P724
15:00 -16:30 Plenary session III (Small Hall)
Chair: Meri Kulmala, Researcher, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki
Keynote speakers:
Alena Ledeneva, Professor, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University
College, London: Russia’s Practical Norms
and Informal Governance: Modernisation v.
Corruption
Alexander Etkind, Professor, European
University Institute, Florence: Towards a
Critical Theory of Hyper-Extractive State: An
Exemplary Case of Russia
are on the 6th & 7th floor.
U40 (Metsätalo), Unioninkatu 40,
from the corner of Fabianinkatu
and Varsapuistikko. Halls U40 s8
16:30-17:00 Closing Ceremony (Small Hall)
Vladimir Gel’man, Finland Distinguished
Professor, Aleksanteri Institute, University
of Helsinki
Markku Kivinen, Director, Aleksanteri
Institute, University of Helsinki
& s9 are on the 3rd floor.
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
11
WHERE IS MY PANEL?
Small hall Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 4th floor
Hall 4 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 3rd floor
Hall 7 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 3rd floor
Hall 8 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 3rd floor
Hall 11 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 3rd floor
Hall 14 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 4th floor
Hall 15 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 4th floor
Hall 17 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 4th floor
Hall 18 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 2nd floor
Hall 20 Fabianinkatu 33, New side of the
Main Building, 5th floor
Auditorium I Unioninkatu 34, Old side of
the Main Building, 2nd floor
Auditorium III Unioninkatu 34, Old side of
the Main Building, 2nd floor
Auditorium IV Unioninkatu 34, Old side of
the Main Building, 2nd floor
Auditorium VI Unioninkatu 34, Old side of
the Main Building, 3rd floor
(Note: No elevator accessible)
Auditorium X Unioninkatu 34, Old side of
the Main Building, 3rd floor
(Note: No elevator accessible)
Auditorium XI Unioninkatu 34, Old side of
the Main Building, 3rd floor
(Note: No elevator accessible)
Auditorium XII Unioninkatu 34, Old side
of the Main Building, 3rd floor
(Note: No elevator accessible)
Auditorium XIV Unioninkatu 34, Old side
of the Main Building, 3rd floor
(Note: No elevator accessible)
Auditorium XV Unioninkatu 34, Old side
of the Main Building, 4th floor
(Note: No elevator accessible)
Auditorium XVI Unioninkatu 34, Old side
of the Main Building, 4th floor
(Note: No elevator accessible)
P674 Yliopistonkatu 3, Porthania Building,
6th floor
P723 Yliopistonkatu 3, Porthania Building,
7th floor
P724 Yliopistonkatu 3, Porthania Building,
7th floor
U40, s8 Unioninkatu 40, Metsätalo Building,
3rd floor
U40, s9 Unioninkatu 40, Metsätalo Building,
3rd floor
12
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS OF 2014 ALEKSANTERI CONFERENCE
ALEXANDER ETKIND
STEPHEN E. HANSON
Professor Alexander Etkind is Mikhail M.
Bakhtin Professor of History of Russia-Europe Relations at the Department of History
and Civilizations of European University
Institute in Florence, Italy. Previously, he
taught in Cambridge University and the
European University at St. Petersburg. He
was a visiting professor or researcher at
Harvard, New York University, Georgetown,
Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, and Aleksanteri Institute.
Stephen E. Hanson is Vice Provost for International Affairs, Director of the Wendy and
Emery Reves Center for International Studies, and Lettie Pate Evans Professor in the
Department of Government at the College of
William & Mary. Previously, he taught at the
University of Washington, Seattle. At the moment, he is also the President of the Association of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian
Studies (ASEEES).
His highly distinguished research has
dealt with Russian cultural and intellectual history in global perspective. He has
conducted comparative memory studies. In
2010-2013 directed the European research
project Memory at War: Cultural Dynamics
in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. Currently, he
is working on a new project A Cultural History of Natural Resources: Postcolonial and
Postsocialist Perspectives. He is also an expert on the Russian novel, film, and cultural
forms of protest in the 21st century.
He has recently published Internal
Colonization: Russia’s Imperial Experience
with Polity and Warped Mourning: Stories
of the Undead in the Land of the Unburied
with Stanford University Press. He has also
co-edited Memory and Theory in Eastern
Europe, published by Palgrave Macmillan.
His Aleksanteri conference key-note
address is titled: Towards a Critical Theory of
Hyper-Extractive State: An Exemplary Case
of Russia.
Alexander Etkind received his PhD in
Psychology from V.M. Bekhterev Research
Institute (Leningrad, USSR), and another
PhD in Slavonic Literature from University
of Helsinki.n
He is well-known as a scholar of comparative historical analysis of political ideas
and institutions. He has published numerous
journal articles and book chapters examining
post-communist politics in comparative perspective. Among other books, he is the author
of Post-Imperial Democracies: Ideology and
Party Formation in Third Republic France,
Weimar Germany, and Post-Soviet Russia
published by Cambridge University Press
(2010) and Time and Revolution: Marxism
and the Design of Soviet Institutions by University of North Carolina Press (1997), which
won the Wayne S. Vucinich book award from
ASEEES.
In addition to this key-note speech
Russia, Ukraine, and the Borders of Europe,
in this year’s Aleksanteri conference he will
participate in the Special Session Russia after
2014, which has been dedicated to the analysis of most topical events in Russia.
Stephen E. Hanson received his PhD in
Political Science from University of California at Berkeley and his BA from Harvard
University. n
Listen to Stephen E. Hanson on Wednesday 22nd
October at 10:00-11:30 in the Special Session (Small
Hall, Main Building), on Thursday 23rd October at
13:00-14:30 in Plenary session II (Small Hall, Main
Listen to Alexander Etkind on Friday 24th October at
15:00 -16:30 in Plenary session III (Small Hall, Main
Building).
Building) & Friday 24th October at 10:00-11.:30 in
Panel 6B (Hall 14, Main Building).
OLEG KHARKHORDIN
ALENA LEDENEVA
MARIA LIPMAN
Oleg Kharkhordin is Professor and Rector of
the European University at St. Petersburg,
Russia. Previously, he taught, among other
places, in the U.S. at Harvard and Yale Universities, and at Sciences Po in Paris, France.
He is a member of the Russian Presidential
Council for Science and Education since
2012.
He is a leading Russian scholar on
modern political theory with a special
emphasis on republicanism and its applications to Russian and international studies.
He teaches on theory of practices, republican theory and science and technology
studies. Among others, he is the author of
Teoriia praktik (Theory of Practices) that
was published in 2008 by EUSP Press and
co-authored with Vadim Volkov), of Main
Concepts of Russian Politics, published in
2005 by University Press of America, and
The Collective and the Individual in Russia.
A Study of Practices by University of California Press (1999).
His key-note speech, Is Russia Doomed to Creativity? Technology,
Entrepreneurship and Society in Russia
in Comparative Perspective at the Aleksanteri Conference draws on extensive
cross-cultural study that compared patterns
of technological entrepreneurship in four
Russian regions (Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Kazan
and St. Petersburg) and in Korea, Taiwan
and Finland.
Oleg Kharkhordin received his PhD in
Political Science from University of California at Berkeley. n
Alena Ledeneva is Professor of Politics and
Society at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies of University College London
in the United Kingdom.
Maria Lipman is an independent political
analyst on Russian affairs. From 2004 until
recently she was the editor-in-chief of Pro
et Contra, the policy journal published by
Carnegie Moscow Center.
Before joining Canegie Moscow Center,
she was co-founder and deputy editor of the
Russian weekly newsmagazines Ezhenedel’ny
zhurnal (2001-2003) and Itogi (1995-2001).
She writes frequently about the state of Russian politics. From 2001 till 2011 Lipman
wrote a monthly op-ed column in the Washington Post. She has contributed to a variety
of Russian and US publications; she has
written a monthly blog for The New Yorker
online since 2012.
She has featured as editor and contributor in several books on Russian domestic
politics: most recently, she contributed to,
and co-edited with Nikolay Petrov, Russia
2025: Scenarios for the Russian Future published in 2013 by Palgrave Macmillan.
In addition to her key-note address in
the conference The Kremlin’s Ideological
Turn: Causes, Content, and Consequences,
she served (with Nikolay Petrov) as a coinitiator of the special session Russia after
2014, which is dedicated to the most topical
events in the region, including the situation
in Ukraine. n
She is an internationally renowned
expert on interdisciplinary study of informality and informal governance in Russia and
beyond. Her research interests include corruption, informal economy, economic crime,
informal practices in corporate governance,
and role of networks and patron-client relationships in Russia and other post-communist societies. She has published a number of
scholarly books and articles. Her books Russia’s Economy of Favours: Blat, Networking, and Informal Exchange (Cambridge
University Press, 1998), How Russia Really
Works: Informal Practices in the 1990s (Cornell University Press, 2006), and Can Russia
Modernize? Sistema, Power Networks and
Informal Governance (Cambridge University
Press, 2013) have become must-read pieces
in Russian studies and social sciences. She is
currently working on the Global Encyclopedia of Informality.
Her key-note address in the Aleksanteri Conference is entitled Russia’s Practical
Norms and Informal Governance: Modernisation v. Corruption. n
Listen to Alena Ledeneva on Friday 24th October at
15:00 -16:30 in Plenary session III (Small Hall, Main
Building).
Listen to Maria Lipman on Wednesday 22ndOctober
at 10:00-11:30 in the Special Session (Small Hall, Main
Building) & Thursday 23rd October at 13:00-14:30 in
Plenary session II (Small Hall, Main Building).
Listen to Oleg Kharkhordin on Wednesday 22nd
October at 12:45-14:30 in Plenary Session I (Small
Hall, Main Building).
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
13
15th Annual
Aleksanteri
Conference
INTEREST FOR UKRAINIAN AND EASTERN
EUROPEAN STUDIES GROWS RAPIDLY
Niina Into
Arseniy Svynarenko has taught at the Ukrainian
Studies coordinated by the Aleksanteri Institute
since 2008. He’s happy about the amount of
interest also in Ukrainian history and culture.
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ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
The courses offered by the Aleksanteri
Institute on East Central European, Balkan
and Baltic Studies and Ukrainian studies
have enjoyed a steady popularity for close to
a decade. “This autumn we expected there
to be more than usual interest in Ukrainian
studies”, says Minna Oroza, coordinator of
the two study programmes. “However, the
amount of students signing up for some individual courses has taken us by surprise.”
Dr. Arseniy Svynarenko from the
University of Tampere is the teacher of a lecture course entitled Between East and West:
Ukrainian nation and state from Perestroika
to Euromaidan. “After recent dramatic events
in Ukraine including Euromaidan, annexation of Crimea by Russia and military conflict
in Eastern Ukraine, I did expect that courses
about Ukraine will attract more students.
I also see a growing interest in Ukrainian history and culture”, Svynarenko says.
Arseniy Svynarenko is one of the few scholars
that have conducted systematic, long term
research on Ukraine in Finland.
“Being or not being European?” is
a lecture course coordinated by Emma
Hakala and Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus
from the University of Helsinki. The course
gives an overview how the national identity is
constructed in Central and Eastern European countries in relations with Europe and
European Union. One week before deadline
there were a hundred students wishing
to participate. “At this point we couldn’t
arrange a large enough room to seat more
than 80 people”, regrets Oroza. Hakala and
Kaasik-Krogerus are looking forward to the
discussions with motivated students. “Construction of national identities in European
countries is very topical right now, due to
negative developments such as the 'crisis' of
the EU and conflicts occurring within Europe. We are glad that so many students from
different backgrounds found our course”,
they agree. n
The 2015 Aleksanteri Conference will be held
in Helsinki on October 21 to 23. The conference focuses on the cultural challenges and
intellectual choices Russia and its citizens
face today.
The 2015 Conference is organised in
cooperation with the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies Choices of Russian
Modernisation, and its cluster “Cultural
and Philosophical Interpretations of Russian Modernisation”. It is also a part of the
University of Helsinki’s 375th anniversary
cenebration.
Call for papers will be published in
February 2015 – keep an eye on Aleksanteri
website www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri n
ALEKSANTERI INSTITUTE VISITING SCHOLARS PROGRAMME
Edwin Bacon
“Anticipating Russia’s Future: a Multivocal
Perspective”
Fellowship period: October 2014
Regina Smyth
“The Anatomy of Evolution”
Edwin Bacon is Reader in Comparative
Politics at Birkbeck, University of London.
He has worked closely with the policy and
consulting worlds for two decades, including
serving as Parliamentary Special Adviser to
the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the
House of Commons, and working as a Senior
Research Fellow in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
During his stay at the Aleksanteri
Institute, Dr. Bacon is working on his
project ‘Writing Russia’s Future: a Century
of Discerning Russia’s Path’ which analyses
the approaches employed in anticipating
Russia’s future over the past hundred years.
The objective of the project is to develop
a comprehensive account and typology of
retrospective Western and Russian writing
about Russia’s future. The project stems
from an insight that writings about Russia’s
futures over the past century represent a rich
and largely untapped seam of material that
tells us as much about the constitution of
Russian culture, and the culture of Western
Russia-watchers, as it does about Russia and
forecasting.
Dr. Bacon has previously published on
the rational-political elements of forecasting,
and during the research visit he looks into
the ways in which people including writers,
philosophers, journalists and religious leaders talk about Russian futures. n
Regina Smyth is an Associate Professor of
Political Science at Indiana University. Her
research and teaching explores the evolution
of state - society relations in the post-Communist region, focusing on the conditions
that thwart effective state representation of
social interests in new democratic regimes.
Her work focuses on the pathologies of party
formation in new democracies, the role of
parties in legislative decision-making, the nature of patronage linkages in post-Communist society, and most recently, the efficacy of
protest as a mechanism of political change in
electoral authoritarian regimes.
Dr. Smyth’s current project places the
Russian experience in the context of modern
electoral authoritarian regimes. It explores
the social response to the Kremlin’s strategy
to secure popular support through a mix
of institutional manipulation, symbolic appeals, and coercion, focusing on the ways in
which the 2011-2012 protest cycle altered the
relative distribution of these factors in that
strategy.
During her fellowship at the Aleksanteri Institute, she is writing a part of her book
that explores how the Kremlin launched a
moral panic during the Pussy Riot trial that
defined the opposition as the Other, while
defining Mr. Putin’s silent majority as a cohesive group that celebrates Russian traditions
and values. n
Fellowship period: August – November 2014
CALL FOR PROPOSALS OPENS IN JANUARY
The Visiting Scholars Programme annually
invites highly-qualified scholars studying
Russia, Eastern Europe and the countries
of the former Soviet Union to undertake
a grant-supported research stay of two to
three months at the University of Helsinki.
The call for proposals for the academic year 2015-2016 will open 8 January and close 20 February 2015. The
call details will be found on the Aleksanteri
Institute website. The selection of proposals is based on academic excellence, while
also taking into consideration the potential
for mutually-beneficial research visits. Applicants must hold a PhD degree.
The Visiting Scholars Programme
was established in 2008 with the aim of
supporting the advancement of Russian and
Eastern European studies and strengthening
links between the international and Finnish
research communities. During the academic
years from 2008-2009 to 2014-2015, the
Visiting Scholars Programme has invited
over 90 Visiting Fellows working on various
fields and themes within the social sciences
and humanities, and representing 24 countries from Europe, through North America
to China.
VISITING FELLOWS RESEARCH SEMINARS
30 October
Regina Smyth
Indiana University, USA
What Just Happened? Competing Opposition Narratives of Russia’s Snow Revolution
Time: Thursdays, starting at 14:15
Venue: Aleksanteri Institute, Unioninkatu 33,
Meeting room 2nd floor
For the whole programme, see
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/english/news/
events/2014/visitorseminars_autumn_2014.html
The series will be continued in Spring 2015.
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
15
DIFFERENT GENERATIONS, DIFFERENT IDEAS - WHY THE 19852000 REFORMS TURNED OUT AS THEY DID
RECENTLY PUBLISHED
BOOKS
A recent book by Vladimir Gel’man, Dmitry Travin and & Otar
Marganiya, Reexamining Economic and Political Reforms in Russia, 1985–2000: Generations, Ideas, and Changes analyses the impact of generational changes and ideational changes on major political
and economic reforms conducted in Russia during the late twentieth
century. The authors examine how the policy agenda was shaped by
the ideas of the generations’ representatives for the “sixtiers” who and
“seventiers” - how the succesive generations’ different emphases led to
inconsistent and controversial outcomes from both stages of reforms.
Miklóssy, K. & Ilic, M. (eds.): Competition in Socialist Society.
Routledge, 2014, 209 p., ISBN 9780415747202.
Kansikas, S.: Socialist Countries Face the European Community:
Soviet-Bloc Controversies over East-West Trade. Peter Lang, 2014,
224 p., ISBN 9783631648025.
Starodubtsev, A.: Платить нельзя проигрывать:
Региональная политика и федерализм в современной России.
European University at St. Petersburg Press, 2014, 196 p.,
ISBN 9785943801747.
ARTICLES
Gel’man, V.: “Trajectories of Russian Politics”. In: Developments in
Russian Politics 8 by White, S., Sakwa, R. & Hale, H. (eds.). Palgrave
Macmillan, 2014, ISBN 9781137392138.
Kansikas, S.: “Acknowledging Economic Realities: The CMEA Policy
Change vis-à-vis the European Community, 1970-73”. In: European
Review of History, 2014, Vol. 21, Issue 2, pp. 311-328.
Gel’man, V., Travin, D. & Marganiya, O.: Reexamining Economic and Political Reforms in
Russia, 1985-2000: Generations, Ideas, and Changes.
Lexington Books, 2014, 192 p.,
ISBN 9780739183618.
ALEKSANTERI INSIGHT - SNAPSHOTS OF EURASIA
Aleksanteri Insight is a series of expert
opinions, published by the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki
since 2013. It presents in a short
format analysis of specific issues, their
underlying causes and implications in
the Eurasian context. The expert views
address different trends, grasp hidden
agendas and provide context to popular
media headlines.
The series is published online at
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/english/insight
Kivinen, M., Aalto, P., Dusseault, D. & Kennedy, M.: “Russia’s energy relations in Europe and the Far East: towards a social
structurationist approach to energy policy formation”. In: Journal of
International Relations and Development, 2014, Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 1-29.
Nikula, J. & Kopoteva, I.: “From Social Innovation to Innovation
System: LEADER in European and Russian Rural Areas”. In: Мир
России, 2014, Vol. 23, Issue 3, pp. 95-123.
http://ecsocman.hse.ru/mags/mirros/2014-23-3/128426631.html
Saarinen, A. & Jäppinen, M.: “Political and Labour Market Inclusion of Migrants in Finland”. In: Contesting Integration, Engendering
Migration: Theory and Practice by Anthias, F. & Pajnik, M. (eds).
Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, ISBN 9781137293992.
Van der Vet, F.: “Holding on to Legalism: The Politics of Russian
Litigation on Torture and Discrimination Before the European Court
of Human Rights”. In: Social and Legal Studies, 2014, Vol. 23, Issue 3,
pp. 361-381.
For the complete list of publications, see research database TUHAT
https://tuhat.halvi.helsinki.fi/portal/en/publications/searchall.
html?searchall=aleksanteri-instituutti
ALEKSANTERI INSTITUTE
Finnish Centre for Russian and Eastern European Studies
The Aleksanteri Institute is affiliated with the University of Helsinki and oper-
Aleksanteri Institute
ates as a national centre of research, study and expertise pertaining to Russia
P.O. Box 42 (Unioninkatu 33), FI-00014 University of Helsinki
and Eastern Europe, particularly in the social sciences and humanities. The
[email protected], Tel. + 358 50 3565 802
institute co-ordinates and promotes co-operation and interaction between the
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/english
academic world, public administration, business life and civil society in Finland
and abroad.
Editor: Niina Into Writers: Vladimir Gel’man, Niina Into, Hanna Ruutu, Iiris
Virtasalo Layout: Niina Into
The institute was founded in 1996. It has grown rapidly into a working
community of around 50 people, including doctoral students in the Institute’s
ISSN 2323-8291 (print), 2323-8305 (online)
Graduate Programme. The institute hosts the Centre of Excellence in Russian
www.helsinki.fi/aleksanteri/english/news/newsletter
Studies - Choices of Russian Modernisation and a Finland Distinguished Professor project. The Institute has an Executive Board that represents the University
of Helsinki and other interest groups. The Institute also has an Advisory Board.
16
ALEKSANTERI NEWS 4/2014
The next issue will be published in February 2015.