This course teaches the primary discourses in the study of recent post-communist history. It will analyze various approaches to state-building, democratic governance, and market economy implementation. Additionally, it will provide tools for interpreting key economic and political phenomena in Soviet and post-Soviet politics across Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and the Balkans. Students will explore questions such as: - What is the relationship between democracy and the market? - Do states undermine or support markets? - How does private property emerge in post-communist contexts? - Why have some successful democracies recently deviated from core democratic principles? - Where are post-communist countries headed? - Has Russia truly "left the West"? - Will Ukraine become a stable democracy?

This course offers an in-depth analysis of Russia's political and legal development since 1991, focusing on the evolution of local and municipal governance as well as civil society institutions. Students will: - Assess the state of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches in the Russian political system by examining institutions such as the Constitutional Court, the State Duma, and the super-presidential system of governance; - Analyze changes in local and municipal governance as well as in civil society institutions; - Investigate the transformations of political institutions since the early 2000s and their impact on the political system; - Understand the processes of electoral authoritarianism and the degradation of core institutions of power after 2014.

This course examines the evolution of Russian society's value system from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the present day. Over the past 30 years, Russian society has experienced radical transformations. It has shifted from ideals of freedom, openness, and a desire for integration with the West to embracing notions of sovereignty and a unique Russian path, culminating in the current state of isolationism and autarky. These value shifts are evident both within society and among the elites, significantly influencing the country's foreign policy priorities. The course will analyze key programmatic documents such as the National Security Concept and the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation to understand these changes. The main part of the course focuses on examining the fundamental value complexes in Russia from 1991 to 2022, tracing their evolution over this period. The course concludes with an in-depth analysis of Russian imperial consciousness and value orientations, particularly in the context of the war with Ukraine. This final section aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how historical and contemporary values influence Russia's current geopolitical stance and internal dynamics. Students will study: - The concept of the value matrix, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and the methodology of Inglehart’s World Values Survey - The issue of identity as the foundation for a political community and its impact on security (the concept of "societal security" by the Copenhagen School) - The mapping of Russian values, including binary oppositions like "freedom vs. security," "state vs. individual," "liberalism vs. traditional values," "revolution vs. stability," "Europe/West vs. unique path"

This course provides an in-depth examination of Soviet and Russian foreign policy through various lenses, including political, philosophical, religious, historiographic, socio-economic, foreign policy, and military-strategic perspectives. It will explore how totalitarian Soviet and later Russian authoritarian regimes responded to the concept of "democracy" and the alternative ideologies they proposed. Special attention will be given to the roles of economics, trade, nuclear weapons, and other critical factors that have significantly shaped both Russian and Soviet foreign policies. Through this comprehensive analysis, students will gain a nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics driving Soviet and Russian interactions on the global stage. Students will: - analyze Russian foreign policy through various theoretical lenses, including conservatism, constructivism, Marxism/post-Marxism, globalization, colonialism/post-colonialism, imperialism/post-imperialism, and nationalism/supranationalism. Investigate the roles of ideology, morality, and attitudes towards religious groups in shaping Soviet and Russian foreign policy. - gain familiarity with interpreting foreign policy within the frameworks of totalitarianism/post-totalitarianism, modernism, social history, revisionism, and other pertinent theories. - study the strategic approaches and foundational principles driving contemporary Russian foreign policy.

This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the situation in Russian media within the context of global perspectives on the functions of media in society. Key topics will include citizens' rights to access information, internet freedom, the independence of regulatory bodies, excessive media restrictions, and disproportionate punishments. Students will engage with major works on media theory. Students will: - analyze the levels of freedom and pluralism in the Russian media, and assess the role and status of journalists. - study major contemporary media theories to understand different approaches to evaluating the role of media in society. - examine political-legal obstacles and unresolved issues in the Russian media landscape from the late 1980s to the present day. - learn about technological changes and their impact on the Russian media landscape.

Since the fall of the Bretton Woods system, economists believed that the «market first» approach may solve all the problems of struggling economies. It seemed that the whole world acknowledged the victory of the liberal approach. However, as time went on, it became obvious that the neoliberalist approach did not work well for all the countries in the post-Soviet space. Some of them adopted a different approach to addressing the economic problems. The course is primarily aimed at non-economists. Its main purpose is to provide students with an understanding of the political economy of developments in the post-Soviet space and the debates surrounding the transformation process. In comparison with purely economic science courses, the course covers a broader field of the change of political-economic systems. Students will study: - When did the transformation begin? What were the main differences between the situation in Central Europe and the situation in the post-Soviet space? - Why did the transformation evolve to a semi-failed state in Ukraine, an authoritarian state in Russia, or full dictatorships in Central Asia? What was the role of initial conditions? - Is there any «right» approach, universal to all the countries? Why can't economic science agree on one single approach?

This course is designed to equip students with the essential methodological skills required for writing a thesis. Students will learn to: - develop a coherent concept and methodology for their thesis; - enhance their academic writing style; - apply effective principles for working with academic literature; - сompile a comprehensive bibliography and adhere to citation rules.

The course helps students learn to understand how contemporary social and political research is designed and to choose methodological solutions for their own research. Students will learn to: - analyze methodological designs of scientific research, - distinguish scientific research from non-scientific research, - recognize the capabilities and limitations of major methodologies and approaches, - develop a research design for their own research projects.