Denis V. Volkov

HSE University hosted a presentation of the Centre for South Arabian Studies, established under the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies at the Faculty of Humanities. The centre’s work aims to enhance the study of languages and cultures while fostering closer collaboration with scholars and universities in the Arabian Peninsula. The presentation was attended by HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov and diplomats from Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

The new centre will operate as part of the Institute of Oriental and Classical Studies (IOCS) at the HSE Faculty of Humanities, and its flagship project will focus on the study of the language and oral folklore of Socotra Island. The centre is a trilateral international partnership between HSE University, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a consortium of leading universities in the UAE. Read on to find out about what South Arabian studies involves and what research HSE scholars do in this field.

On February 12, an official signing ceremony was held for an agreement on the free transfer of literature published by the Organisation for Researching and Composing University Textbooks in the Islamic Sciences and the Humanities under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran (SAMT) to HSE University. The event took place in the HSE University library on Pokrovsky Bulvar.

The British journal Middle Eastern Studies, a flagship journal for the study of Middle Eastern history and culture, has recently published an article by Associate Professor Denis V. Volkov entitled "Bringing democracy into Iran: a Russian project for the separation of Azerbaijan". The article presents the results of a study which is part of a major international project entitled "The Caspian World: Connections and Contentions at Modern Eurasian Crossroads", carried out under the auspices of Yale University (USA) with the participation of scholars from Britain, France and the Netherlands.

The results of the competition for the best academic and popular science papers in Russian by HSE staff members have been announced. This competition is a new one, organized by the university to celebrate the Year of Science and Technology. 257 applications were submitted, with 35 winners announced in the academic category and 30 in the popular science one. The winners were announced on Alexander Pushkin’s birthday. The organizers plan to make the competition annual, potentially opening it up for all Russian and international researchers writing papers and involved in science communication in Russian.

Middle Eastern Studies, a leading journal in the field, has published an article authored by Associate Professor Denis V. Volkov. ‘The evil genius of Iranian constitutionalism? “Bloody Shapshal” at the Qajar court’ presents the findings of Volkov’s research that is part of a major international project ‘Life Writing and Historiography of the Modern Middle East’ carried out under the aegis of the Centre for the Study of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia (CSMECCA) with the participation of the IOCS’ researchers as well as scholars from France, Austria, United Kingdom and the USA.

The Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, HSE congratulates Dr Denis V. Volkov, Associate Professor and Leading Research Fellow, Head of the Center for the Study of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia (CSMECCA) on the occasion of a new honourable award. Dr Volkov’s monograph Russia’s Turn to Persia: Orientalism in Diplomacy and Intelligence (Cambridge University Press, 2018) has been graced by the IRI World Award for Book of the Year.

The paper of Dr. Volkov was presented on December 11th, 2019 at the seminar “Oriental Cultures” (Moderator: Dr. Natalia Chalisova). This talk was about the interim research results achieved in a project carried out under the aegis of the International Institute of Social History (IISH, Amsterdam) and funded by the Farman‑Farmaian Family and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Methodologically drawing on the most recent works in Migration Studies and Russian Emigré Studies the current research studies migration from the USSR into Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan (1917–1946). Using recently declassified documents from archives in Britain, France, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran, research looks into the phenomena, such as displaced statehood, political activism and cross‑cultural interaction in the context of the migration/refugees policies of the relevant states (Britain, the USSR and the host countries).