Yuli Anatolievich NISNEVICH, DSc (political sciences), professor at the Chair of Political Behavior, National Research University - Higher School of Economics (since 2004) and at the Chair of Political Sciences of the Russian Friendship University (since 2002).
Yu.A. Nisnevich was born in Moscow on September 19, 1951. He participated in the Constitutional Meeting for the development of the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993). From 1993 to 1995, he was a member of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, member of the Committee on Information Policy and Communications, chair of the sub-committee on communications and informatics. He presented the following draft federal laws in the State Duma : “On Information, Informatization and Protection of Information”, “On Communication”, “On International Information Exchange”, “On Postal Service”, “On Federal State Messenger Service”, on the ratification of documents of the International Union of Electrical Communication and Universal Post Union.
In 1994, he was elected full member of the International Informatization Academy.
From 1996 to 1999, he headed the Centre for Legislative and Parliamentary Work of the Foundation for the Support of Legislative and Parliamentary Initiatives. In 1996-1997, advisor to the Chairman of the Committee on Informatization Policy attached to the President of the Russian Federation. In 1997, advisor to the deputy head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation.
From 2000 to 2001, head of the Centre for Legislative and Parliamentary Work of the Institute of Economics of the Transition Period.
In 2002, head of research programs of the Noosfera Foundation, chief advisor to the Board of Directors of Nikkolo – M Centre for Political Consulting.
From 2002 to 2007, director of the Institute of the Problems of Liberal Development.
From 2002 to 2008, advisor, chief specialist of the Centre for the Research of the Telecommunication Development Problems.
From 2007 to 201, expert of Transparency International — R, Anticorruption Research and Initiatives Centre.
From 2004 to 2007, member of the expert board, the State Duma Committee on Energy, Transport and Communication.
From 2008 to 2011, member of the expert board, the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communication.
From 2007, member of the expert board, Moscow City Duma Commission on Legislation.
From 2011, board member of Transparency International — R, Anticorruption Research and Initiatives Centre.
He is the author of over 250 academic works and articles published in periodicals and also author of over 26 inventions and co-author of such monographs as: “Law is the Weapon of Liberals” (1998), “PR in Politics and Public Administration” (2001), “Post-Western Civilization” (2002), “Management of Civil Relations” (2003), “We are Russia” (2005), “Legislation Activities: Political and Legal Analysis” (2007), “Twenty Years of Religious Freedom in Russia” (2009). He is the author of such monographs as: “Information Policy in Russia: Problems and Perspectives” (1999), “Information and Power” (2000), “Compromise and Conformism” (2001), “Law and Politics” (2005), “Audit of the Political System of the Post-communist Russia” (2007), “State Power in To-day Russia” (2008), “Vertical to Nowhere: Essays of Russia’s Political History in 1991-2008” (2010), “21-st Century State: Tendencies and Development Problems” (2012), “Newspaper Hedgehog. Political Journalism: Politics, Corruption, Elections” (2012).
Sergei Ivanovich CHERNYSHOV is one of the prominent Russian partologists. Partology is a branch of politology that studies processes of formation and functioning of political parties.
The area of his academic interests is the study of party systems and political parties in Europe, North and Latin Americas, South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand and the European Union. He studies processes connected with the formation of political parties, relations among them, with the government, civil society and businesses.
Research is carried out on the interfaces between politics, law and history and represents work on the actual issues of political system of a modern state. Under the academic guidance of S.I. Chernyshov a number of PhD theses have been written.
The results of academic studies have been summed up and presented in two monographs “Customs Policy and Legal Conflict” (1999) and “Party Systems of the European Union” (2008) as well as in over than forty articles published in Russian academic publications.
For more than thirty years, S.I. Chernyshov has been working in the sphere of politics and diplomacy in the central governing bodies of the USSR and the Russian Federation, including International Department of the CPSU Central Committee and Administration of the President of the RF.
S.I. Chernyshov is a highly qualified professor who skillfully combines his wide hands-on experience in politics with his knowledge of political theory and academic research.
S.I. Chernyshov has been awarded by the Order of Badge of Honor.
At present, he is professor at the Chair of Political Sciences of the Russian Friendship University.
He is also deputy editor -in-chief of the review “Issues of Politology” and Vice-president of the National Union of Politologists.
Olivier VEDRINE is Chief Editor of the Russian edition of the “Revue Défense Nationale”. The revue has been published for more than 70 years by the Committee for National Defense Studies and deals with strategic issues from the point of view of safety and defense. The review carries out an independent editorial policy and strives to publish articles of a high academic standard in order to maintain its academic status. Since 2007, it has been published on a monthly basis in English and since 2011 – on a quarterly basis in Arabic. The aim of the Russian edition is to be in the center of topic discussions on strategic issues and contribute to the rapprochement between the European Union and the Russian Federation.
Olivier Vedrine is a speaker of the European Commission, Editor of the Franco-German magazine on foreign politics “European Union Foreign Affairs Journal” and Rector of the Continental University in Kiev.
Gulnara Orlenbaevna NASIMOVA, DSc (political sciences), professor, head of the chair of politology, Kazakh National University named after El Farabi.
She is the author of over 80 academic and methodological works on the topic of prevention and settlement of political conflicts in Kazakhstan.
Principal works: “Sayasi conflcitology”, “Principal concepts and factors of electoral behavior”, “Technology of conflict prevention in Kazakhstan”, “Social partnership development: foreign experience and Kazakhstan (politological analyses)” (as a co-author), “Political advertising: theory and practice” (as a co-author).
Vladimir Mikhailovich PLATONOV, PhD (law), professor, engages in research and teaching at the Russian Friendship University, lectures at other higher educational institutions (Moscow State Lomonosov University, Moscow City Government University of Management), heads research and chairs Scientific and Methodological Council of the Institute of Modern Politics of the Russian Friendship University.
Since 2000 up to present time, he is heading the chair of political sciences of the Russian Friendship University. During the years when it has been headed by V.M. Platonov, the chair has turned into a leading academic and educational unit of the University and of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The chair is engaged in the training of bachelors, masters and post-graduate students specializing in politology. To-day, students from over 90 countries of the world (Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and CIS countries) are studying there. Under the guidance of V.M. Platonov a modern and effective structure for the development of principle lines of academic and training activities has been formed. Taken together those basic academic and training lines of activities of the chair solve one of the main tasks of national culture and higher education that has been described by V.M. Platonov as education and training of leaders capable of strategic thinking and actions.
V.M. Platonov is a prominent specialist in the area of drafting legislation and Russia’s sustainable development. He is the author and co-author of the following books: V.M. Platonov, Yu.A. Nisnevich, D.E. Slizovsky “Legislative process: Political and legal analyses,” Text book. М.: Аspect Press, 2007; V.M. Platonov “Delimitation of authority matters between the Federation and its subjects as the basis of Russian federalism,” Мonograph. М., 2010.
Since July 1994 up till now, V.M. Platonov chairs Moscow City Duma. During his term as a Duma deputy, V.M. Platonov has been 14 times elected by the deputies as chairman of the Moscow City Duma in accordance with the election procedure.
From 1996 to October 2001, he has been member of the Federation Council. When he was deputy of the upper parliament chamber, he was elected Chairman of the Committee on constitutional legislation and judicial matters. From 1998 to 2001, he was deputy chairman of the Federation Council. From November 2012, he is heading commission on the coordination of legislative activities and monitoring of legislation of the Legislators’ Council of the Russian Federation.
Vladimir Mikhailovich Platonov was among the drafters of a number of principle laws of the Russian Federation, including Criminal Code of the RF, Criminal and Procedural Code of the RF, amendments and additions to the Civil Code of the RF, federal laws “On Judicial System of the RF”, “On the procedure for introducing amendments to the Constitution of the RF”.
In the Moscow City Duma, Vladimir Platonov personally participated in the drafting of the Moscow city Charter and a number of other most important city laws, including “On legislative acts”, “On the Moscow city laws and the Moscow city Duma resolutions”, “On the status of the Moscow city Duma deputy”, “On the organization and activities of the notaries in the city of Moscow”, “On the procedure for licensing retail sale of alcohol products in the city of Moscow”, and of the Moscow city Duma procedural rules.
He is chairman of the commission on the organization of work of the Moscow city Duma, chairman of the commission of the Moscow city Duma and Government of Moscow on the consideration of materials and proposals regarding awarding the title “Honored city of Moscow Citizen”, member of the following Moscow city Duma commissions: on security; on legislation; on HR within the competence of the Moscow city Duma. He is co-chairman of a joint commission of the Moscow city Duma and Moscow Region Duma on coordination of legislation. He is chairman of the commission on the coordination of legislative activities and monitoring of legislation of the Legislators’ Council of the Russian Federation attached to Federation Council of the Russian Federation.
He is chairman of the Presidium of the International Association of NGOs – Societies for Friendship with the Peoples of Foreign Countries. He is chairman of the Moscow branch of the Russian Book Union. He heads the board of guardians of the Moscow regional branch of the All-Russia NGO “Association of Russian Lawyers”.
Nikolay Pavlovich MEDVEDEV is one of the leading specialists in a new field of political science “Political regionalistics and ethno-politics” in the development of which he played a prominent role. It studies the transformation of territorial and political government mechanisms and the influence of the ethnic factor on political stability, as well as the evolution of scientific views on the ethnos and nation theory, ethno-political relations and ethno-political consensus. The area of N.P.Medvedev’s scientific interests is the study of various models of federalism and the influence of the ethno-territorial principle on the stability of territorial and political system of today Russia, the nature of ethno-political separatism, methods of consensus settlement of ethno-political conflicts and transformation of the government’s national policy. The studies are being carried out at the intersection of several areas of scientific knowledge, including politics, sociology, law and history, and concern one of the most complicated issues for state regulation.
A new school of thought “Political regionalistics and ethno-politics” has been formed under the leadership of N.P. Medvedev and under its auspices two DScs and twenty four PhDs in political science, one PhD in law and one PhD in history have carried out their studies and defended their dissertations. At the moment, N.P. Medvedev is an academic advisor to two researchers working on their DSc thesis and five researchers working on their PhD thesis. Since 2007, a review “Works by N.P. Medvedev’s School of Thought” is published annually. Several research projects have been implemented, including one using an NTF grant, one project was a part of the project “Aristotle. Political Education in the 21st Century» (2003-2005), and one was a part of the research project “Open State” (2005) of the Institute of State and Law of the RAS. One project was done for the competition “Implementation and Ratification by the Russian Federation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages” (2008-2009) organized by the Russian Ministry of Regional Development.
Basic academic achievements and results obtained by N.P. Medvedev personally and by other researchers under his academic guidance within the frameworks of the above school of thought include:
- evaluation of the influence of ethnic factor on the stability of the territorial and political system of the Russian Federation;
- development of proposals for the new concept of the government’s national policy in the post-Soviet Russia;
- development of a draft Federation Treaty (1992);
- development of recommendations regarding the concept of modern Russian federalism and drafting of Chapter 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation “The Federal Structure” (1993);
- development of basic provisions of the general theory of political consensus and drafting of Federal Law “On the Procedure for Overcoming Differences and Resolution of Disputes between the Organs of Power of the Russian Federation and the Organs of Power of the Subjects of the Russian Federation» (1997-1999);
- determination of the content and structure of the new academic discipline “Political regionalistics” (2001-2005);
- determination of basic principles for the implementation of regional policy under the conditions of an open state (2005);
- development of recommendations regarding the content and structure of a new academic field “Ethno-political conflictology” (2005-2008);
- analyses of the outcomes of the centralization of the Russian power system and perspectives for the modernization of the today model of Russian federalism.
The results of academic studies have been summarized and published as 8 treatises, 1 text-book, 5 manuals, and 150 research papers and teaching guides, including more than 30 articles published in leading Russian and foreign publications. Auteur text-book “Political regionalistics” (2002, 2005) was published in the total number of 8 thousand copies. The manual “Ethno-political conflictology” was edited in 2008.
Specific academic results are reflected in the following treatises:
Inter-ethnic conflicts and political stability. (1992; Saransk. Research Institute of Regionology).
National Policy of Russia: from Unitarism to Federalism. (1993; М., Molodaya Gvardiya).
Formation of Federalism in Russia. (1995; М., Molodaya Gvardiya).
Political Consensus: Theory and Practice. (1999; М., Yuridicheskaya Kniga).
Political Institutes and Processes: Comparative Research. (2006; М., Ucheba).
Subjects of the Russian Federation in the Period of State and Legal Reforms. (2006; М.,Institute of State and Law of the RAS).
Political Russia: from Centralization to Burocratization. (2010; М., Publishing House of MISiS).
N.P. Medvedev actively participates in scientific and practical work, acts as an expert and takes part in awareness campaigns aimed at the bodies of federal and regional power of Russia. As a part of the project “Institute of political regionalistics,” the efficiency of the Russian multi-level system of power is regularly monitored. During his years as a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Council of the Russian Federation, at the Administration of the President and the Government of Russia, N.P. Medvedev was successfully implementing basic scientific principles implied by the modern concept of territorial and political structure of Russia and the strategy of the Government’s national policy. From 1991 to 1995, he has more than once headed Russian Parliamentary and Government expert and working groups on the settlement of ethno-political conflicts in Abkhazia, Trans-Dniester, Chechnya and South Osetia. In 1995, he was the main drafter of the agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia regarding trans-border cooperation between the two states.
During the last twenty years, N.P. Medvedev participated in, and made presentations at several international scientific conferences and discussions on the topics connected with the today concept of development of Russian federalism and the issues of ethno-political stability held at universities and parliamentary centers in the USA, France, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Tadzhikistan. In 1993, he made a presentation on the influence of the ethno-national factor on the political stability at the Tartu University in Estonia, in 1998, a presentation on the today concept of development of Russian federalism at the Institute of Federalism in Switzerland. In 2003, he delivered a series of lectures on “Political Regionalistics” at the Institute of Geopolitics of the Paris University (Paris-8), and in 2011, a series of lectures on “Today ethno-politics” at the Kazakh National University named after Al-Faraby.
N.P. Medvedev is a member of the dissertation council on political sciences: D. 504.001.14 (at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration), D. 501.001.47 (at the Moscow State Lomonosov University), and D. 212.203.20 (at the Russian Friendship University).
Since 2011, N.P. Medvedev is editor-in-chief of the scientific review “Issues of Politology.” He is President of the National Union of Politologists and an organizer of international and all-Russia research-to-practice conferences.
N.P. Medvedev is a highly skilled lecturer, who expertly links theory with practice, and gets well deserved respect from his colleagues at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. N.P. Medvedev constantly collaborates with many Russian regional higher education institutes, leading educational institutions in Moscow and academic institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences, including Moscow State Lomonosov University, Russian Friendship University, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Antropology, the S.A. Esenin Ryazan State University, Bashkir State University, Pskov State University and others.
The high level of academic research carried out by Professor N.P. Medvedev and his disciples, as well as his reputation in Russia and abroad make it possible to say that the N.P. Medvedev’s school of thought has won public acclaim.
N.P. Medvedev has received government awards: a medal “To the Defender of Free Russia,” letters of gratitude from the President of Russia for active participation in the drafting of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.