Yakov Andreevich PLYAYS, DSc (political sciences), DSc (history), professor, full member of the Academy of Political Sciences, head of the chair of politology of the Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation, professor of the school of economics of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, deputy chairman of the expert council of the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles (political sciences), member of the board of the Russian Association of Political Sciences, member of two academic degree commissions at the Moscow State Lomonosov University, member of the editorial boards of the reviews: “POLIS” (since 1999), “Power” (since 2001), “World and Politics”, “Obosrevatel - Observer”.
He has been awarded by the Badge of Honor medal.
Principal topics of academic interest are: political sciences in Russia; national history; international relations and Russia’ foreign policy; issues of parliamentarism; party systems.
He has been working for more than 30 years in the areas of academic research and education.
He is the author of over 300 academic publications and has participated in various international conferences on social-political and foreign policy topics. He is one of the authors of the first Russian text book “Politology” for the students studying economy (Moscow, Infra-M publishing house, 2008).
Here is the list of some books and publications by Ya.А. Plyays:
Peculiarities of to-day modernization in Russia // “Obosrevatel - Observer”. 2010. № 8.
Is there any future for political ideologies? // “Obosrevatel - Observer”. 2010. № 9.
New project of reconstruction of the power elite in Russia: content and implementation perspectives // Democracy. Power. Elites: Democracy vs elitocracy. М.: RОSSPEN, 2010.
Politology in the context of a transitional era in Russia. М.: RОSSPEN, 2009.
Politology. Textbook. Moscow, Infra-M, 2008.
On the state and peculiarities of the to-day stage in the development of the political sciences in Russia // Vestnik Moscovskogo Universiteta, Series 12. Political sciences. 2007. № 5.
Sovereign democracy – a new concept of the power party // Vlast, 2008. № 4.
Foreign policy strategy of Russia // Mir i Politica, 2008. № 4 (19).
Topical issues of domestic politology // POLIS, 2008. № 2.
New election laws and party construction in Russia // «PRO NUNG: to-day political processes». Issue 8. 2008.
Vladimir Pavlovich BEKH, DSc (philosophy), PhD (sociology), professor, First Vice-President of the Ukrainian Academy of Political Sciences, academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Political Sciences, Honored Master of Sciences and Engineering of Ukraine, First Deputy Principal, Head of Chair of Management, Information and Analytical Activities and Euro-Integration of the National Pedagogical University named after M.P. Dragomanov, Ukraine, Kiev.
V.P. Bekh is a contemporary Ukrainian learned philosopher who researches noospheric sociogenesis: self-organization and self-regulation of social systems of vacuum or quantum and wave character in the Universe; the sphere of his academic interests include philosophy, sociology, pedagogics and politology; he is the founder of a new sphere of academic research: noospheric sociogenesis: self-organization and self-regulation of social processes and he has developed a comprehensive concept of self-development of social life as a contradiction between the individual and society. As a research advisor, he assisted more than 50 post-graduate students in their preparation of PhD theses and 12 researchers in preparation of their DSc theses.
V.P. Bekh is the author and co-author of over 500 academic publications, to be exact: of 486 academic and academic-methodological publications, 10 single-author, 32 multi-author monographs and 31 monographs where he was editor-in chief.
He has received the following awards: medal “For the Development of Virgin Lands” (Russia, 1972), Honored Master of Sciences and Engineering of Ukraine (2007), Medal of Merit, ІІІ degree (2010), badge of honor “Honored Educationalist of Ukraine (2002), badge of honor “Petr Mogila” (2007), gold medal of the Ukrainian Academy of Political Sciences “Grigory Skovoroda” (2011); M.V. Lomonosov Medal (2012); Certificates of Merits of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Ukrainian National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences.
V.P. Bekh is chairman of the Specialized Board at the Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after M.P. Dragomanov, member of Specialized Board at the Institute of Higher Education of Ukrainian National Pedagogical University, editor-in chief of the New Paradigm review, chief editor of academic publications: “Memory of the Centuries” (Pamayat Vekov) and “Spiritual Studies” (Dukhovnye Studii), member of editorial boards of a number of academic reviews in Ukraine and Russia on philosophy, sociology, politology, social phycology, management and social communications, he is co-author and member of the editorial board of the seven-volume publication “Social work”.
Anatoly Ivanovich YANCHUKOV, PhD (political sciences), assistant professor at the chair of history and world politics of the North-West Management Institute of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
He is the author of the monograph “State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation under the Multiparty System” and of several academic works devoted to the issues of development of the modern models of representative power in Russia and abroad.
He is specializing in topics connected with the development of parliamentarism, as well as transformation of party and electorate systems under globalization.
Eduard Mikhailovich KOLOMEITSEV, PhD (politics), director of Anapa branch of the Academic Law Institute, colonel, ex-deputy of the chief enlistment officer of the Krasnodar Krai. He has graduated from two higher military educational institutions and occupied various military posts, including a brigade commander. He took an active part in the resolution of the Osetia-Ingush conflict and in the military operations in the territory of Chechen Republic and was awarded government medals.
After finishing his studies at the Russian Presidential Academy of Public Administration at the Chair of National and Federative Relations and completing an internship, he has prepared and defended his dissertation on the issues of transformation of ethno-national and federative relations in the Northern Caucasia. He is the author of over a dozen academic publications on this topic. He is a member of the National Union of Politologists, military expert on the issues of Northern Caucasia, member of editorial board of the review “Issues of Politology”.
He has a number of academic publications on the issues of ethno-politics, he is the author of monograph “Ethno-political process in the Northern Caucasia under the Condition of Transformation of Federal Okrugs (2011).
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).
Grigor Vanikovich KETZYAN, PhD (political sciences), deputy editor -in-chief of the review “Issues of Politology”.
In 1996, after his service in the Soviet Army, he graduated from the Mountain-Altai State University and qualified as a school teacher. For a number of years he worked as a school teacher and then successfully engaged in business. From 2006 to 2009, he studied at the Russian Presidential Academy of Public Administration specializing in Public and Municipal Administration.
In 2011, after completing an internship at the Chair of National and Federative Relations of the Russian Presidential Academy of Public Administration, he prepared PhD dissertation on the topic “Ethno-language policy as an institutional factor for the improvement of relations between nations (with Russia, Armenia and Ukraine as an example)”.
He has a number of publications on the issues of ethno-language policy. He is the author of monograph “Ethno-language policy in the post-Soviet space: Armenia, Russia, Ukraine” (2012).
At present, he is professor at the Chair of Economics and Public Administration of the Institute for the Infrastructure of Business.