A Historical and Diplomatic Centre established at St Petersburg University

Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, welcomed the participants at the opening ceremony. He noted that holding such event at the St Petersburg University venue was quite symbolic. St Petersburg University has taken many initiatives in the internationalisation of education and science. Over the recent five years, it has been recognised as the most popular university in Russia among applicants from other countries. Today, about 5,000 international students from more than 100 countries study here. At the beginning of March 2022, St Petersburg University was among the top 5 universities in the world in terms of the number of online courses on the Coursera platform and ranked first in Europe. St Petersburg University is the only Russian higher education institution whose online courses are featured on XuetangX, a Chinese national platform of open education. Our University is also a co-founder of the Global Alliance for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Representative offices of St Petersburg University operate in seven countries of the globe, and its language testing centres have already been opened in 50 countries.

’As the organisers we set ourselves the task of creating a convenient venue for a broad expert discussion of global and regional issues in modern international relations, as well as challenges and prospects for Russia’s foreign policy, especially in the formation of a multipolar world order,’ said St Petersburg University Rector Nikolay Kropachev.

Combating global threats is becoming an urgent task for all responsible governments on the planet. In this regard, a deep professional analysis, an honest expert position, and a broad exchange of views on the most important international issues are an urgent need.

Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences

’For our part, we tried to do everything so that the 1st Congress of International Relations Researchers could fulfil that task. Together we took another step towards resolving international problems and creating conditions for peaceful progressive development of future generations,’ Nikolay Kropachev added.

Academician Alexander Chubarian is Academic Director of the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He noted that international relations experts should study: the theory and methodology of international relations; their role in the modern world; the relationship between foreign and domestic policies from a modern point of view; and other equally significant issues. ’The issue of trust in international relations is also important. It is related to the problem of finding a compromise. Diplomacy is always confidentiality; it has nothing to do with publicity,’ Academician Chubarian emphasised. ’Now the role of the media in the world has increased so much that they interfere in everything. They are depriving diplomacy of its main sense. The study of the role of diplomacy in historical terms is very important and interesting.’ Academician Alexander Chubarian also wished that the University inventoried the documentary base on the history of international relations and initiated publication of new documentary sources.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN in New York, expressed confidence that at present we have the opportunity to observe international relations at an important turning point, when a new coordinate system is being formed. According to him, the global community is now facing the tasks of preserving all the best that has been developed in recent years, and discarding things that prevented moving forward. At the same time, the society understands that this process should be as painless as possible. He also noted that young researchers of international relations have the opportunity to observe the motion of global processes, which was almost static in the past. He added that later they would be able to project them onto the future of their country and other states. Yet, they should be considered from different angles. One has to keep in mind that the world cannot be simply divided into black and white. Dmitry Polyanskiy added that St Petersburg University students have all the tools for that, and the acquired pool of knowledge should become their key to successful work and new professional and personal achievements.

Welcoming addresses were also delivered by: Evgeny Grigoriev, Member of the Government of St Petersburg — Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St Petersburg; and Vladimir Zapevalov, Ambassador-at-Large, Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St Petersburg. It was Vladimir Zapevalov who proposed establishing a Historical and Diplomatic Centre at the School of International Relations of St Petersburg University. That proposal was supported by all congress participants. Soon, Professor Irina Novikova, Dean of the School of International Relations and chair of the plenary session of the congress, announced the order just signed by the Rector on the creation of the Historical and Diplomatic Centre at St Petersburg State University. Professor Novikova was appointed acting director of the new centre.

The address from Dmitriy Kobitskiy, Secretary General of the Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), was announced by Alexey Dolzhikov, Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat. Professor Andrey Klemeshev, Doctor of Political Science and President of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, welcomed the congress participants on behalf of the Board and the Scientific Council of the Russian Political Science Association. He noted that the School of International Relations of St Petersburg University is one of the most authoritative Russian institutions for research and teaching the theory and practice of international communication. A prominent school of thought in international relations and political science has developed and successfully operates there. Its professional interests are focused on understanding the key problems of the current world order.

The congress also received a welcoming address from Russian diplomats, graduates of St Petersburg University. They noted that they regularly referred in their professional activities to speeches and publications prepared by various scientific and educational communities of St Petersburg University. In their message, the University alumni noted that combining the efforts of the research community and the foreign policy department is one of the important components of diplomatic success.

The congress was supported by the St Petersburg Dialogue Forum. This is an event bringing together the civil societies of Russia and Germany. More than 600 international relations experts took part in the congress. They represented leading research centres and educational institutions of 30 countries, from Brazil to China, India and Türkiye.

During the plenary session, leading experts in the field of international relations presented their reports. Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, presented a report titled "The World Today: The Confrontation Between the Great Powers Is Gaining Momentum". He noted that globalisation had so far provided so many advantages for a number of developing countries that many of them began to claim occupying advanced positions in the world economy and politics. Yet the answer to their legal rights was purely a non-market one: politics is bringing the economy to heel. At present, we can observe a speed-up of political confrontation intensifying every year. During his speech, Dr Gromyko shared his forecasts regarding the development of international relations for the next decade.

’Once again, international relations experts are observing an elusive world, constantly getting out of control. One gets the impression that we are always one step behind. On the other hand, in addition to competent explanation of the past and the present, professional international analytics is capable of a thorough understanding of the parameters of the near future,’ explained Alexey Gromyko. ’The transformation of the Congress of International Relations Researchers into a permanent venue would be a great help in this work. If it is required, we are ready to take an active part in it.’

Professor Stanislav Tkachenko, Head of the master’s programme in Diplomacy of the Russian Federation and Foreign States at St Petersburg University, made a presentation titled ’From the Unipolar World to G Zero: Political Economy of the World with No Superpowers’. He said that back in 2009, America came up with a project to create a "big two", an informal alliance of the United States and China. That would involve deepening strategic interaction and partnership, implementation of global governance, and determination of the world economy development. However, Washington’s plan to establish control over Chinese foreign policy was unravelled rather quickly, and Beijing did not like the role of a junior partner. The metaphor of the G Zero group reveals that the unipolar world is crumbling; it is no longer possible to save it.

According to the speaker, in a new world with no superpowers, building integration alliances with supranational institutions is impossible, so states will have to learn how to negotiate and fulfil their obligations. Stanislav Tkachenko noted that in modern conditions, attempts to maintain a unipolar model looked utopian. The emerging world will be arranged in a more complex way. The war for the leading positions in chip production is a minor illustration of how national interests and global institutions will interact. The speaker was confident that the chip production conflict would be the first stage of the US—China war. Its results will finally formulate the rules of conduct in a world without superpowers.

As part of the work of the 1st St Petersburg Congress of International Relations Researchers ’Global and Regional Challenges in the Changing World’ many round tables, scientific conferences, seminars, youth sections, master classes, meetings of heads of scholarly journals, and open lectures by foreign diplomats were successfully held. The round table co-organised by the Committee for External Relations of St Petersburg was extremely popular with the participants. Scholars and representatives of the city’s government authorities spoke about St Petersburg’s current achievements and international activities prospects.

During the round table, Sergey Andryushin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of St Petersburg University, presented a report on the University’s international activities under the new conditions. Sergei Markov, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for External Relations, spoke about the work devoted to perpetuation in other countries of the memory of the besieged Leningrad’s feat and USSR’s victory in the Great Patriotic War. Vyacheslav Kalganov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for External Relations, shared his information about the cooperation of St Petersburg with Vietnam and the countries of Southeast Asia.

Ivan Bodak, Head of the Division of International Humanitarian Cooperation, spoke about the interaction of St Petersburg with the Slavic countries of Europe and the Balkan Peninsula. Tatiana Mudrova, Head of the Division of CIS Countries, informed the audience about the current areas of cooperation between St Petersburg and the CIS countries. Ekaterina Lebedeva, Vice-President of the St Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, reported about the development of external economic relations of the city. The presentation of Nadezhda Poltavchenko, Artistic Director of the Moroshka Song and Dance Theatre, aroused great interest. It revealed the role of Russian song and dance as a tool of Russia’s "soft power" abroad. The round table was also attended by the consuls general of Russia-friendly states.

The work of the round table ’Russia and Türkiye in the Afro-Eurasian Space’ was also successful. It was moderated by Aleksandr Kolesnikov, Director of the Centre for Eurasian Studies at St Petersburg University. The participants in the discussion came to the conclusion that at the present stage the relations between the two leading Eurasian powers are complex and multivariate. While maintaining the potential for further progressive dynamics, Russia and Türkiye are increasingly defending their global and regional interests. Together with the School of International Relations of Dalian University, the section titled "The US—China—Russia Triangle" was organised under the guidance of Professor Natalia Tsvetkova. This event also aroused great interest among the participants.