School of Political Science

(The School ceased to exist on September 2, 2019. A School of Politics and Governance was created in the Faculty of Social Sciences on the basis of the School of Political Science and the School of Public Administration).

Aims and tasks

The people of our school and the way we work are different from political science departments in most Russian universities. We have not been subject to the many 'birth traumas' characteristic of Russian political science, which has for the most part grown out from under the overcoat of academic communism.

Our mission is to teach students contemporary political science and give them the necessary skills for serious political research in line with the practices of the world’s best universities.

This requires us to meet international standards in our own research and helps us to prepare a new generation of competitive political scientists to work in many professional fields.

We believe that political science can only be developed creatively in a free and democratic environment.

We are solving many serious problems:

• We build our teaching programme on the basis of the most recent theoretical and methodological achievements in political science;
• We give students a basic grounding in history, philosophy, economics and law, and with that knowledge they are equipped to master a wide range of disciplines in contemporary political science;
• What makes us unique is that our students receive professional training in contemporary methodology and rigorous qualitative and quantitative political analysis;
• Our most important task is to internationalize education and research, to develop international projects and partnerships.

History of the Department

1998

Faculty of Applied Political Science opens. Professor Dr. L. G. Ionin is appointed as Dean. Departments of General Politics (head, Dr. A. M. Salmin), Public Policy (head, Professor N. Y. Belyaeva), Political Consulting and Public Relations (head, Prof. A. P. Sitnikov) also open.

First admission of 30 students.

Under the guidance of Professor D. S. Shmerling, the faculty’s student bureau begins its work of supporting student initiatives and functioning as a career development centre of sorts.

2002

The Faculty of Applied Political Science begins its partnership with the elite Institute of Political Sciences in Paris — Sciences Po. Ekaterina Feofanova and Anush Mkhitaryan are the first students sent there to study.

2003

The Faculty opens a Department of General and Russian History (headed by Prof. L. S. Vasiliev). Prof. I. B. Orlov who has taught at the Faculty since the outset becomes Deputy head of the department. Post-graduate courses in Applied Politics begin.

2004

Prof. Mark Urnov, the president of the Fund for analytical programmes ‘Expertise’ becomes the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Political Science. Prof. L. V. Polyakov becomes Head of the Department of General Politics and Deputy Dean for Research. Associate Prof. V. A. Kasmara becomes first Deputy Dean.

The Teaching materials office begins its work at the Faculty to improve teaching programmes and courses.

First elections for chairman of the Faculty Student Council.

2007

First intake of students for the ‘Advertising’ specialisation.  Master’s programme in Political Analysis and Public Policy opens at the Department of Public Policy.

A new Master’s in Applied Political Science opens on the basis of three departments (applied politics, political consulting and election technology, theory and practice of the interaction between business and power).

Student exchanges with the University of Helsinki begin.

The summer and winter schools ‘Escapes from Modernity’ directed by S. A. Medvedev* begin in Spain, Estonia, Finland and Germany.

2008

The doctorate’s council for political sciences opens, chaired by Prof. L. V. Polyakov.

The Department of Advertising Theory and Practice and the Research-teaching Laboratory of Political Studies open.

2009

Andrei N. Medushevsky becomes the faculty’s first tenured professor.

2010

Prof. A. Y. Melville becomes Dean of the Faculty and Associate Prof. M. G. Migronyuk, First Deputy Dean. Prof. M. V. Ilin becomes Deputy Dean for Research and a series of new research seminars begin.

Mark Y. Urnov, former Dean, is appointed Director of Research.

Student exchanges begin with the University of Paul Cezanne (France), University of Cologne and University College London.

2011

The faculty undergoes restructuring. The old departments are replaced with new ones:

• Department of Comparative Political Studies, headed by Prof. Andrei Y. Melville.
• Department of Political Behaviour, headed by Prof. Mark. Y. Urnov.
• Department of Integrated Communications, headed by Prof. Sergei A. Zverev.
• Department of Political Theory and Political Analysis, headed by Prof. Gleb I. Musikhin.

The Department of General Politics continues its work with Professor Leonid V. Polyakov at the helm.

Staff at the faculty participate actively in the work at the HSE Centre for Fundamental Research.

A new Laboratory for Regional Political Research opens headed by R. F. Turovsky.

Mark Y. Urnov becomes tenured professor.

2012

A series of open meetings between students and the most success alumni begin.

GR club starts.

The new make-up of the Dissertation council is confirmed (by an order of the Russian Ministry of Science and Education on councils for defence of doctoral and candidate dissertations from November 2, 2012).

Andrei Melville becomes chairman of the council and Prof. I. B. Orlov is the academic secretary.

Master’s programme in Applied Political Science is presented.

The full-time advanced postgraduate programme opens.

The international research project, Transition versus Transformation: Comparing Paths to Democratic Change in the Former USSR Using Case Study Based Evidence from Civil Society, International Aid and Domestic Politics with the HSE Faculty of Applied Politics, Dublin City University, Tallinn University, Marmara University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and others.

2013

The faculty’s double diploma Master’s programme and Institute of political science, Toulouse (France).

Mikhail V. Ilin is elected to the collegium of tenured professors.

The faculty successfully undergoes an international inspection of its teaching programmes under the auspices of the World Bank.

2014

The Faculty of Applied Politics becomes a School of Political Science in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Andrei Melville is appointed Head of the School and  I. B. Orlov his deputy.

The new school is made up of several sectors (based on former departments): Political Anthropology (headed by M. Urnov), Comparative Politics (headed by M. Migronyuk), Political Theory (headed by G. Musikhin), Political Regionalism (headed by R. Turovsky) and Political Ethics (headed by A. N. Medushevsky).

Master’s programme in Politics, Economics, Philosophy directed by Prof. O. Ananyan opens.

Online courses from the world’s top universities for Politics students are organised.

2015

Public online-course “Comparative Politics” is opened on the “Coursera” platform, designed by Professor of the School of Political Science Mikhail Ilyin and Associate Professor of the School of Political Science Mikhail G. Mironyuk.

“Lecture Hall” for Senior Students in Moscow started its work with participation of lecturers and staff members of the School of Political Science.

Creation of “Global Politics” section (Academic Supervisor: Andrey Korotayev).

The book “Democracy in a Russian Mirror” edited by Adam Przeworski was issued by Cambridge University Press in May 2015. Three of the authors — Andrei Melville and Mikhail Ilyin — are staff members of the School of Political Science.

2016

Minor “Comparative Politics” for the HSE student was launched for the first time.

Public online-course “Introduction to Modern Political Science” is opened on the National platform, designed by Professor of the School of Political Science Andrei Y. Melville and Lecturer of the School of Political Science Ilya Lokshin.

Master Program “Political Challenges of Modernity” was transferred from the School of Historical Sciences to the School of Political Science (Academic Supervisor: Igor B. Orlov).

Lecturers and staff members of the School of Political Science participated in organization and performing Faculty Day at NRU HSE Lyceum.

The “Challenges for Social Development” Strategic Academic Unit belongs to the first type of HSE Strategic Academic Units with Andrei Melville as an Academic Leader and Timothy M. Frye as a research adviser. School of Political Science has become its part.

2017

Senior Lecturer of the School of Political Science Elena Panfilova became Executive Director of Transparency International.

Master Program “Political Challenges of Modernity” is renamed to “Contemporary Political Science in Social Studies Instruction at Secondary Schools” (Academic Supervisor: Igor B. Orlov).

HSE has made it to the group 51-100 ranking «QS – World University Rankings by Subject» for the Politics & International Studies subject, which made it first in Russia.

HSE has made it to the top-1 of Shanghais ranking «Academic Ranking of World Universities» (ARWU) for the Political Sciences subject, in the group 101-150 of the top world universities.

Associate Professor of the School of Political Science Varvara M. Vasileva has become Deputy Dean for Development of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

2018

In March, faculty member A.А. Poretskova took part in the interdisciplinary seminar of the Faculty of Social Sciences on gender studies.

School teachers and students of political science took part in the 76th annual conference of the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago (April 2018).

In June, in the frame of summer school "New Challenges for Political Research", organized by Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, HSE (Moscow) and Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad), lectures of leading professors of school were held.

The bachelor's programme “Political Science” (Academic Supervisor: I.M. Lokshin) and Master's programmes “Applied Political Science” (Academic SupervisorA.S. Ahremenko) and “Politics. Economy. Philosophy” (Academic Supervisor: O.I. Ananyin) successfully passed the international accreditation.

In 2018, educational programme “Political Science” outpaced all other Russian universities on quality of admission. This is evidenced by the results of monitoring the quality of budgetary admission to Russian universities.

The school conducted preparatory work for the opening of the Bachelor and Master educational programmes “Russian Studies” in the next academic year.

In September, school was replenished with the Public Policy Department (Department Head N.Y. Belyaeva).

In October, ordinary professor M.Y. Urnov became the first professor-researcher in school.

* (Sergei Medvedev) Сергей Медведев включен Минюстом в список физлиц, выполняющих функции иностранного агента.