Igor Georgievich KOSIKOV, DSc (history), professor, chief researcher of the Centre for Ethno-political Studies of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Principle topics of interest are: ethno-political processes in to-day Russia and Russian regions; federalism in Russia and in the world; state national and regional politics in federative states; relations between the federal center and the regions; ethno-politics in the Northern Caucasus.
I.G. Kosikov worked with NGO International Alert in its studies of the situation in Tatarstan and Chechnya (1993-1994). He participated in the international project Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Area together with Conflict Management Group (USA, Cambridge, MA). In 1997-1998, as a part of the UN international project Ethnicity, Conflict and Harmony worked to adopt the international model of ethnological and ethno-political monitoring to Russian regions (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous region). In 2004-2005, he participated in the EU international project Russian-European Centre of Economic Policy as chief expert, and among other things prepared two international conferences and publication of studies based on the results of the conferences: 1) Regional Development: Multilevel Administration, Budget Policy and Regional Development Strategy (Moscow, March 2005 ; together with the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation); 2) Bologna Process and the EU/Russia Common Space of Science and Education (Мoscow, December 2005, together with the Higher School of Economics.
I.G. Kosikov was expert of the Constitutional Commission of the Russian Federation (1993). As an expert, he participated in talks between the Russian Federation and Republic of Tatarstan on the conclusion of a bilateral agreement on the delineation of powers (1993-1994). He is one of the founders of NGO Law Assembly (1998). Since 1998, he is a board member of the NGO Peacemaking Mission in the Northern Caucasus – Peace Mission of General Lebed. I.G. Kosikov is a member of the Fund for Humanitarian Assistance to the Chechen Republic and was one of the organizers of the international conference Contribution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Higher Educational Institutions to the Economy of the Chechen Republic (jointly organized by the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology and the Fund for Humanitarian Assistance to the Chechen Republic). On many occasions, he has prepared reports for different European analytical centers and major private companies evaluating the situations in Russian problematic regions. For many years, he has been expert of the History Department of the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation. He scientifically evaluates projects on such topics as “ethnography”, “ethno-politology” and “ethno-sociology”.
More than once, I.G. Kosikov headed temporary research bodies formed within the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology and supported by grants from the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation. During the last five years, he has headed researches on such topics as: Russian Autonomous Regions in the Conditions of Federative Reform (ethno-political and ethno-cultural issues), 2004-2006; Ethno-political Aspects of Optimization of Federative Relations in the Northern Caucasus, 2007-2009.
As a research advisor, he assisted several post-graduate students in their preparation of PhD theses in history and was a scientific advisor to several researchers working for their doctorate degrees.
Since 2010, he is a member of the editorial board of the Caucasus Scientific Review.
He was invited as a visiting professor to lecture in the universities and research centers in Canada (Carlton University, Ottawa), Great Britain (SOAS., University of London), Italy (The Altiero Spinelli Institute for Federalist Studies (Рavia); University of Brescia), France (Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS), Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS); College de France, Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI), Centre for Documentation Scientific of the French Government – Paris; Universite de Lion-3, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Politiques, Aix-en-Provance), Taivan (Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University (Taipei)), as well as Finland, Hungary and Germany. He participated in three annual congresses of the European federalists (Ventotene, Italy), and was published in the reviews: “The Federalist”, “The Federalist Debate” and “Communi d'Europa”.
In 1998-1999, he was elected permanent foreign member of the research center СЕМI de l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS, Paris, France).
He is the author of 5 books in Russian: “Kampuchea” (1982); “Ethnic processes in Kampuchea” (1988); “Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region / Model of Ethnological Monitoring” (1998); “Northern Caucasus / Social and Economic Reference Book” (written together with L.S. Kosikova) (1999) (in 2000 the book was awarded an international prize); “Reform, Federation. The enlargement of the Russian regions” (2008). I.G. Kosikov has published over 200 articles in academic reviews and news magazines, co-authored chapters in multi-author monographs and collected works in our country and abroad. He was author and compiler of several reference books on Russian regions and headed relevant publication projects: “Russian regions. Investment Guide” 1993-1994. (1995) (in Italian), “Les Régions de la Russie: Guide et Classement des Opportunities. Paris.” (1995); “Les Régions ruses après la crise. Paris.” (1999); “Russia: All 89 Regions. Trade and Investment Guide.” Moscow. (2003).