Georgetown - MIMEO -  Kazan University Videoconferencing Event

On February 18 Alexander Petrov, in cooperation with E. Agoshkov, director of the Russian Cultural Center of Washington, D.C., organized a video conference between Georgetown University graduate students and graduate students at the Moscow Institute for International Economic Relations (MIMEO) and Kazan University in Naberezhnye Chelny. The conference was held at the Russian Cultural Center using the internet phone/videoconferencing program Skype.

After brief introductions from Petrov, Agoshkov, Angela Stent, and V.N. Kostornichenko, professor at MIMEO, the students were given the floor and the questions went back and forth between the two universities, including translations on both ends. In response to a question from students at MIMEO about education at Georgetown, the Georgetown students responded that they were satisfied with their education and that Georgetown is quite a prestigious university. The American students observed that government and political science are the most popular undergraduate majors, and Security Studies might be the most popular MA program. The Russian students asked how important are security issues in U.S. academic programs? and do you think this issue really deserves so much attention? The Georgetown students answered that security issues receive much more careful consideration in American academic institutions than in the American media, and that they do think the issue deserves ser ious attention.

Caroline Bledsoe of the Wilson Center asked what do Russian students see as the largest international security threats currently? The MIMEO students laughed at first, and then answered that international players are trying to change the security system. They cited the example of Kosovo in particular, which they see as a one-sided decision. A MIMEO student noted that the Kosovo issue is viewed as a point of tension and it is believed that it will fuel separatist movements around the world, including in Russia. They also said they viewed the Islamic world as a threat. At that point the MIMEO students asked what the most realistic spheres of cooperation for Russia and the U.S. are. The students suggested counterterrorism, the space program, and cooperation in Central Asia and the Middle East. At that point, a Georgetown student asked the MIMEO students opinion about Russias cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Russian students answered that relat ions between Russia and China have become better and better, but the Russian elite still tends to lean toward the West.

The Russian students mentioned that they were following the U.S. presidential elections, and that they would choose Barack Obama, as they thought he was the most democratic choice. The Georgetown students were reluctant to reveal their preference, but they said in general Barack Obama has been the most popular candidate among U.S. students. The MIMEO professor noted that he saw ethnic, cultural, and religious tolerance in the U.S. educational system as a positive characteristic. Kostornichenko went on to say that there is much less tolerance in Russia, perhaps because of the transformation it is going through. Right now people are less friendly and less tolerant, whereas American children are taught tolerance from an early age. Once you get to the university level, it is often too late to change attitudes. Tolerance must be taught at a young age.

A short call to Kazan University in Naberezhnye Chelny resulted in a continuation of the discussion of tolerance. The overall reaction from the Kazan students was that they had no problems with the nationality question and that they felt their fellow students were quite tolerant of ethnic minorities, giving a few examples from their lives.

Alexander Petrov thanked everyone for their participation and he hopes such university to university discussions will continue in the future. He also apologized for some technical difficulties with the connection, but added that now knowing what they are would help him try to correct for them in future videoconferences.

Full announcement here.