28 June 2013

Conference to examine Russian demonstrations

Photo opportunity: 12.45pm to 2pm on Saturday, 29th June at Baxter Suite, Tower Building, University of Dundee.

High level academics from Russia, Ireland and the UK will gather at the University this weekend for a conference exploring the internal and external tensions driving events in Europe's easternmost country.

The conference 'State and Civil Society in the Russian Federation: National and Regional Dimensions' takes place at the Baxter Suite, Tower Building, on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June.

The mass demonstrations which have rocked Moscow following disputed elections to the Russian Parliament in 2011 and the Russian Presidency in 2012 will be explored in seven panels looking at papers covering a number of subjects, including Putin and the political opposition, the new Russian middle class, and the regional implications of political protest.

The conference is being organised by Dr Cameron Ross, convenor of the Politics and International Relations programme at Dundee and an expert in Russian politics. He says that events in Moscow can be felt around the world.

'Russia is of enormous geopolitical importance and Moscow's influence can be felt in almost every corner of the globe,' he said. 'Politicians around the world watch every development in the country with great intensity and the wave of protest unleashed by the 2011 and 2012 elections is something that people of all political stripes are trying to examine in order to work out their implications, locally, regionally and internationally.

'The conference will ask whether civil society has at last been revived in Russia after a long period of slumber and citizen apathy. It will look at the context of these demonstrations, how the Russian government has reacted, and what this means for Russian citizens and the international community.'

In addition to top academics from Moscow and the regions, a number of high profile Russian public figures will participate in the conference including Mikhail Dmitriev (Head of the Centre for Strategic Research in Moscow) Olga M. Zdravomyslova (Executive Director of the Gorbachev Foundation), and Evgeny Gontmakher, (Deputy director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations).

This is the fourth conference focusing on Russian politics to be hosted in Dundee. It is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the School of Humanities.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277