The block of lectures on the discipline “Modern Geopolitics of Russia” for French students of the Catholique Institut de Vendée (La Roche-sur-Yon) was completed at the IPACS RANEPA
For several weeks, professors from the Institute of Public Administration and Civil Service RANEPA participated in the academic mobility program for faculty professors as part of a partnership agreement with the French Catholique Institut de Vendée.
Karolina Sikirinskaya and Yury Boikov, lecturers from the Faculty of International and Regional Research, gave lectures to students on modern Russian geopolitics. As part of the lectures, students were told about the main features of Russia’s geopolitics, outlined the relationship between geopolitics and geoeconomics, and were also told in detail about the modern concept of the national policy of the Russian Federation.
During the lectures, students actively asked questions about the interaction between Russia and China, the BRICS+ projects, as well as further opportunities for cooperation between Russia-France, Russia-EU. Of particular interest were the practical sessions, where students were invited to watch and discuss Vladimir Putin’s Munich speech, as well as his speech at the meeting of the “Valdai 2022” discussion club.
As a final homework assignment, students were asked to write an essay on one of the topics discussed at the lecture. All students noted that the lectures and practical exercises were very educational and informative.
Karolina Sikirinskaya, Lecturer in the Department of Regional Management of the Faculty of International and Regional Research, Head of the International Cooperation Department at IPACS, noted:
“This is truly an incredible experience of international educational cooperation and cross-cultural interaction. I believe that within the framework of educational organizations we are fulfilling an important mission of promoting the Russian image abroad, and it is especially important to understand that even in the current difficult geopolitical situation, foreign students are growing interest in our region, the history of Russia and the role of Russian geopolitics in the world”.
Yuri Boykov, lecturer at the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and International Cooperation, director of the program “Management of international projects and programs”, emphasized:
“For me, the experience of interacting with French students was unique. Excellent students who showed an active and lively interest in the discussions. Many students are fond of Russian classics, the history of Russia, someone is studying the language. In the current situation, such interaction is an extremely important tool of soft power, and we have tried to make the format of our classes diverse and rich in practical material that will be useful to students in their future work”.