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20.05.2025
09:30–11:00
Foreign Interference: Lessons from History
Justice Quarter, conference hall E10
Broadcast
States are established and evolve not only under the influence of internal factors, but external ones as well. The Russian state was no exception to this rule. An analysis of historical facts shows that there has been a foreign influence in most key events of Russian history to one degree or another. The Time of Troubles, the reforms of Peter the Great, and the revolutions of 1905 and 1917 – foreign actors overtly or covertly tried to extract their own benefit from all these events and expand their influence on the Russian state and its rulers. Russia’s very existence came under threat on more than one occasion as a result of such actions. At the same time, foreign influence has not always been definitively negative. There are historical examples when reforms that were carried out based on the model of Western countries became a driver of socioeconomic development in Russia. Is it possible to conduct an unambiguous assessment of the role of foreign influence in Russian history? Should Russia completely ignore global trends or can it find a balance between its distinctive identity and its involvement in global processes?
Panellists
Ruslan Gagkuev
Chairman of the Board of the Russian Historical Society, Executive Director of the History of the Fatherland Foundation
Alexander Zvyagintsev
Deputy Director for International Cooperation, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Andrey Loginov
Rector, Russian State University for the Humanities
Aleksey Pushkov
Senator of the Russian Federation; Chairman of the Commission of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Information Policy and Cooperation with the Media; Author and Host of the Analytical Program "Postscriptum"
Konstantin Chuychenko
Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation
Mikhail Shvydkoy
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation
Broadcast
Ruslan Gagkuev
Chairman of the Board of the Russian Historical Society, Executive Director of the History of the Fatherland Foundation
Alexander Zvyagintsev
Deputy Director for International Cooperation, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Andrey Loginov
Rector, Russian State University for the Humanities
Aleksey Pushkov
Chairman of the Commission of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Information Policy and Cooperation with the Media; Senator of the Russian Federation
Russian Senator and Chairman of Federation Council's Commission on Information Policy and Cooperation with the Media.
Born 10 August 1954 in Moscow.
Higher Education: graduated in 1976 from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations with a specialization in International Relations.
Speaks two foreign languages: English, French.
Candidate of Historical Sciences.
1983–1988 – Editor-Consultant to Problems of Peace and Socialism/World Marxist Review (Prague).
1988–1991 – Consultant of the International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1991–1995 – Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Moskovskiye Novosti (Moscow News)
1995–1998 – Deputy General Director, Public Russian Television (ORT)
From 1998 – Head, Author, and Anchor of Postscriptum (TV Centre).
2004–2016 – Member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights.
2008–2011 – Director of the Institute of Current International Issues of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
2011–2016 – Member of the State Duma from Perm Territory. Chair of the Committee on International Affairs of the 6th convocation of the State Duma.
From 2004 – Honoured Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation
He holds honourary degrees from Moscow University for the Humanities (MosGU), Russian-Armenian University (Yerevan), and Azerbaijan University of Languages (Baku).
Author of seven books on Russian foreign policy and international relations. His book Globalnye shakhmaty. Russkaya partiya (Global Chess: The Russian Game; Moscow, 2018) has also been published in France.
He has been awarded the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland’ 3rd and 4th class, the Order of Honour, and the Order of Friendship. He has also been bestowed the Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Honour (2020) and a Letter of Appreciation from the President of the Russian Federation. He is a laureate of the Russian Ludwig Nobel Prize and a number of other public and professional awards. He is a member of the MGIMO University Board of Trustees, St. Petersburg Dialogue Forum Coordinating Committee, Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, and the Public Council of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
Married, with a daughter.
Born 10 August 1954 in Moscow.
Higher Education: graduated in 1976 from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations with a specialization in International Relations.
Speaks two foreign languages: English, French.
Candidate of Historical Sciences.
1983–1988 – Editor-Consultant to Problems of Peace and Socialism/World Marxist Review (Prague).
1988–1991 – Consultant of the International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1991–1995 – Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Moskovskiye Novosti (Moscow News)
1995–1998 – Deputy General Director, Public Russian Television (ORT)
From 1998 – Head, Author, and Anchor of Postscriptum (TV Centre).
2004–2016 – Member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights.
2008–2011 – Director of the Institute of Current International Issues of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
2011–2016 – Member of the State Duma from Perm Territory. Chair of the Committee on International Affairs of the 6th convocation of the State Duma.
From 2004 – Honoured Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation
He holds honourary degrees from Moscow University for the Humanities (MosGU), Russian-Armenian University (Yerevan), and Azerbaijan University of Languages (Baku).
Author of seven books on Russian foreign policy and international relations. His book Globalnye shakhmaty. Russkaya partiya (Global Chess: The Russian Game; Moscow, 2018) has also been published in France.
He has been awarded the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland’ 3rd and 4th class, the Order of Honour, and the Order of Friendship. He has also been bestowed the Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Honour (2020) and a Letter of Appreciation from the President of the Russian Federation. He is a laureate of the Russian Ludwig Nobel Prize and a number of other public and professional awards. He is a member of the MGIMO University Board of Trustees, St. Petersburg Dialogue Forum Coordinating Committee, Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, and the Public Council of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
Married, with a daughter.
Konstantin Chuychenko
Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation
Born on July 12, 1965 in Lipetsk.
Graduated from the law faculty of Leningrad State University in 1987.
1987–1989 – intern and investigator for the Prosecutor's Office in Leningrad, Kalininskii District.
1989–1992 – served as an officer in the security services.
1992–1994 – Managing Director of Interiuraudit De Faria and T (joint stock company).
1994–2001 – member of the Saint Petersburg International Bar Association.
2001–2002 – Head of Gazprom’s Legal Department.
2002–2008 – Head of Gazprom’s Legal Department, member of the board at Gazprom.
Since May 13, 2008 – Aide to the President of the Russian Federation and Head of the Presidential Control Directorate.
Graduated from the law faculty of Leningrad State University in 1987.
1987–1989 – intern and investigator for the Prosecutor's Office in Leningrad, Kalininskii District.
1989–1992 – served as an officer in the security services.
1992–1994 – Managing Director of Interiuraudit De Faria and T (joint stock company).
1994–2001 – member of the Saint Petersburg International Bar Association.
2001–2002 – Head of Gazprom’s Legal Department.
2002–2008 – Head of Gazprom’s Legal Department, member of the board at Gazprom.
Since May 13, 2008 – Aide to the President of the Russian Federation and Head of the Presidential Control Directorate.
Mikhail Shvydkoy
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation
Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation for international cultural cooperation (since 2008).
Ph.D. in the History of Theatre, National Institute of Art Research, Moscow (1991). Professor at Faculty of Foreign Theatre, Russian Academy of Theatre Art; Professor, Member of Academic Council, Moscow State Lomonosov-University.
Founder and Artistic director of Moscow Theatre of musical (since 2011). Moderator of several TV programs. Columnist of the “Rossiyskaya gazeta”. Author of 3 books, 10 films and more than 1000 publications on culture.
Head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography (2004-2008), Minister of culture (2000-2004), Chairman of the All-Russia State TV and Broadcasting Company (1998-2000), Deputy Minister of culture (1993-1997).
Ph.D. in the History of Theatre, National Institute of Art Research, Moscow (1991). Professor at Faculty of Foreign Theatre, Russian Academy of Theatre Art; Professor, Member of Academic Council, Moscow State Lomonosov-University.
Founder and Artistic director of Moscow Theatre of musical (since 2011). Moderator of several TV programs. Columnist of the “Rossiyskaya gazeta”. Author of 3 books, 10 films and more than 1000 publications on culture.
Head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography (2004-2008), Minister of culture (2000-2004), Chairman of the All-Russia State TV and Broadcasting Company (1998-2000), Deputy Minister of culture (1993-1997).