St Petersburg University offers the Federation Council to collaborate in developing international activities

During the meeting with the senator, Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about the University’s collaboration with China. To date, St Petersburg University partners up with about 80 universities. Among them are such famous institutions as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Also, 2022 saw the opening of the joint campus of St Petersburg University and Harbin Institute of Technology.

Over the last five years, St Petersburg University scholars have produced more than 1,200 publications with colleagues from more than 250 scientific centres in China. The weighted average citation index is often several times higher than the global average: articles with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) have a 12.99 times higher citation index; and articles with the National Taichung University of Science and Technology have a 14.72 times higher citation index. Additionally, St Petersburg University continues to open new academic programmes in a variety of fields of knowledge that include a Chinese component. At present, there are already more than 60 of them.

I believe that in order to develop closer relations between Russia and China, we need to ensure real cooperation not only between large companies but also between medium and small businesses.

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

The University also actively develops international relations with other countries. As part of the Korea−Russia Dialogue Forum, humanitarian projects are carried out and events for journalists and specialists in various fields are held. For five years, St Petersburg University has been the most popular Russian university among international applicants. Competition during the 2022 admission campaign reached 21 applications per place. At present, students from 90 countries of the world are studying at St Petersburg University. The University makes extensive use of its cultural potential to attract international applicants. For example, the eight foreign representative offices of St Petersburg University operate in Spain, Italy, Greece, Türkiye, Iran, the Republic of Korea, China, and Uzbekistan. Last year, they hosted more than 250 in-person and online events that attracted an impressive audience.

During the meeting, Nikolay Kropachev came up with a number of initiatives aimed at developing international cooperation. In particular, he invited Andrey Denisov to: head the Council of the master’s programme "Political Governance and Public Policy (in English)" or the Council of the master’s programme "World Politics"; and deliver a series of lectures on China and Chinese civilisation for the University’s students. The Rector of St Petersburg University also suggested: organising induction training for students at the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs; and using St Petersburg University as a venue for expert forums on international relations and security issues as well as on other issues. He concluded by stating that St Petersburg University experts are ready to do expert analytical and translation work for the Federation Council.

Andrey Denisov noted that St Petersburg has always had a strong language and country studies school and said that he is ready to consider the proposals received. After the meeting with the Rector, the Senator delivered an open lecture to the students and academics of the University. The speaker spoke about: his professional career; his diplomatic service in Egypt, where he was ambassador in 2000-2001, and in China, where he headed the Russian embassy from 2013 to 2022; and inter-parliamentary cooperation. At present, he is a member of the Federation Council and First Deputy Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the upper house of parliament. Andrey Denisov listed the key objectives of inter-parliamentary diplomacy. Among them are: the exchange of legislative experience; development of practical cooperation with other countries; and multilateral communication at various platforms.

When I was working in Egypt, I got the feeling, which was reinforced later on when I was working in other countries, that the world objectively needs us, Russia, as a counterbalance to the other pole. As the relations between the poles are becoming more strained, the need for us is growing. We have the so-called global majority on our side today.

Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the People’s Republic of China (2013-2022)

He added that today out of 196 UN countries, only 54 represent a cohesive anti-Russian coalition, while the rest actually have a neutral or benevolent stance towards Russia, which they do not always openly demonstrate for various reasons.

Senator Andrey Denisov also spoke about several aspects of China’s history and its relations with the United States that have become prerequisites for the current global political situation. At the end of the meeting, Andrey Denisov urged those present to master Oriental languages in order to work for the benefit of the development of our country and relations with Eastern countries in future.