The course surveys both the history and the contemporary situation of the Russian Orthodox Church and its relation to the Russian State. During the course we discuss the church’s rising political influence and the role of Patriarch Kirill I (Gundiaev) in this process, ROC’s role within the Russian military, and the phenomenon of “political orthodoxy”. We pay special attention to the rise of radical nationalistic orthodox groups, and the ROC’s prosecution of some art exhibition and performances during the last decade.

The course is organized in cooperation with Aleksanteri Institute's Russian and East European Master's School.

Aim of the course:

The aim of this course if to present an overview of changing patterns on youth transitions, participation and youth cultures in Russia. This teaching course is designed as introduction to the youth studies in Russia. The main ideas of the course are: (1) to connect the past and present of youth studies in Russia in the context of current social and political processes; (2) to demonstrate new theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of youth in Russia; (3) to show new trends in the empirical studies of youth and current transformations of youth's everyday life, cultures, political aspirations in the global and local context in Russia. Lectures will cover such issues as youth policies, contemporary youth cultures and styles, and civic participation.

The course will be completed in a following way:

1)     By taking part in lectures (3 times) on Wednesdays 8 October and 12 November at 2-6 pm, and on Wednesday 10 December at 12 pm – 6 pm.

2)     By writing a lecture diary (15 pages) in which suggested research literature will be used:

• Pilkington, H, (1994) Russia's Youth and Its Culture, London: Routledge.
• Pilkington, H, Omelchenko, E., Flinn, M., Bludina,U., Starkova, E. (2002) Looking West? Cultural Globalization and Russian Youth Cultures. The Pennsylvania State University Press.
• Konttinen, Jussi (2000) Diskosad andegraund : mitä alakulttuuri viestii?. Tampere: Tampeeren yliopisto.
• Svynarenko A. (2005) Growing to be a citizen: civil society and youth policies in Russian Karelia, in Harri Melin (ed.) Social Structure, Public Space and Civil Society in Karelia, Helsinki: Kikimora.
• Omelchenko E. L., Pilkington H. (2013) Regrounding Youth Cultural Theory (in Post-Socialist Youth Cultural Practice)  Sociology Compass. 2013. Vol. 7. No. 3. P. 208-224. 
• Sabirova, G. (2011) Young Muslim-Tatar Girls of the Big City: Narrative Identities and Discourses on Islam in Postsoviet Russia, Religion, State and Society 2011, № 39(2-3). Р. 327-345.
• Omelchenko, E., Pilkington, H.  and Garifzianova, A. (eds.)   (2010)  Russia’s Skinheads: Exploring and Rethinking Subcultural Lives, London and New York: Routledge

More information on enrolment will be added later.

Course outline

8 October, 2014: Introduction to youth scenes and youth cultures in Russia (Arseniy Snyvarenko)

• Introduction to the course and course themes
• Youth cultures: overview of theories and reflections on their availability in the Russian context
• Empirical examples of youth scenes in the past (e.g. Neformaly in Perestroika) and present

12 November, 2014:  Introduction to youth work and youth policies in Russia (Arseniy Snyvarenko)

• Youth policies in Soviet Union
• Youth policies and youth work in contemporary Russia

10 December, 2014:  From everyday life to political movements: discussion and observations based on recent Russian studies on young people (Guzel Sabirova & Elena Omelchenko)

• Contemporary trends in youth culture in Russia: globalization and identities; body regimes of youth everyday life
• “Odnoklasniki” “V kontakte”: cyber communities, blogging, political and cultural movements online
• Multicultural encounters and tensions: skinheads community in Northern region of Russia, adaptation of children of migrants in Russian schools, young Muslim women in mosques of big city
• Participation and empowerment: youth organizations, youth political and protest movements
• Young female former prisoners: any chances for new life?

Course outline:

29.10. Classes in History, Harri Melin

5.11. Entrepreneurs in Russia, Jouko Nikula

12.11. Social inequalities in Russia, Mikhail Chernysh

19.11. Class and Culture, Saara Ratilainen

26.11. Classes and Media, Jukka Pietiläinen

03.12. Classes in contemporary Russia, Harri Melin

Aim of the course:

The aim of this course if to present an overview of changing patterns on youth transitions, participation and youth cultures in Russia. This teaching course is designed as introduction to the youth studies in Russia. The main ideas of the course are: (1) to connect the past and present of youth studies in Russia in the context of current social and political processes; (2) to demonstrate new theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of youth in Russia; (3) to show new trends in the empirical studies of youth and current transformations of youth's everyday life, cultures, political aspirations in the global and local context in Russia. Lectures will cover such issues as youth policies, contemporary youth cultures and styles, and civic participation.

The course will be completed in a following way:

1)     By taking part in lectures (3 times) on Wednesdays 8 October and 12 November at 2-6 pm, and on Wednesday 10 December at 12 pm – 6 pm.

2)     By writing a lecture diary (15 pages) in which suggested research literature will be used:

• Pilkington, H, (1994) Russia's Youth and Its Culture, London: Routledge.
• Pilkington, H, Omelchenko, E., Flinn, M., Bludina,U., Starkova, E. (2002) Looking West? Cultural Globalization and Russian Youth Cultures. The Pennsylvania State University Press.
• Konttinen, Jussi (2000) Diskosad andegraund : mitä alakulttuuri viestii?. Tampere: Tampeeren yliopisto.
• Svynarenko A. (2005) Growing to be a citizen: civil society and youth policies in Russian Karelia, in Harri Melin (ed.) Social Structure, Public Space and Civil Society in Karelia, Helsinki: Kikimora.
• Omelchenko E. L., Pilkington H. (2013) Regrounding Youth Cultural Theory (in Post-Socialist Youth Cultural Practice)  Sociology Compass. 2013. Vol. 7. No. 3. P. 208-224. 
• Sabirova, G. (2011) Young Muslim-Tatar Girls of the Big City: Narrative Identities and Discourses on Islam in Postsoviet Russia, Religion, State and Society 2011, № 39(2-3). Р. 327-345.
• Omelchenko, E., Pilkington, H.  and Garifzianova, A. (eds.)   (2010)  Russia’s Skinheads: Exploring and Rethinking Subcultural Lives, London and New York: Routledge

More information on enrolment will be added later.

Course outline

8 October, 2014: Introduction to youth scenes and youth cultures in Russia (Arseniy Snyvarenko)

• Introduction to the course and course themes
• Youth cultures: overview of theories and reflections on their availability in the Russian context
• Empirical examples of youth scenes in the past (e.g. Neformaly in Perestroika) and present

12 November, 2014:  Introduction to youth work and youth policies in Russia (Arseniy Snyvarenko)

• Youth policies in Soviet Union
• Youth policies and youth work in contemporary Russia

10 December, 2014:  From everyday life to political movements: discussion and observations based on recent Russian studies on young people (Guzel Sabirova & Elena Omelchenko)

• Contemporary trends in youth culture in Russia: globalization and identities; body regimes of youth everyday life
• “Odnoklasniki” “V kontakte”: cyber communities, blogging, political and cultural movements online
• Multicultural encounters and tensions: skinheads community in Northern region of Russia, adaptation of children of migrants in Russian schools, young Muslim women in mosques of big city
• Participation and empowerment: youth organizations, youth political and protest movements
• Young female former prisoners: any chances for new life?

Situation at the labour market in Russia is still conditioned by character of labour relations formed in the Soviet Union. Transformation of economic-political system in the second half of 1980s led to gradual overcoming of ‘relic’ forms of out-economic compulsion in the labour sphere and forming labour market. Labour market as a global socio-economic system has essentially transformed on the way to the socio-oriented market economy; however, it has not yet measured up the western liberal model of labour relations. Mismatch between formal and informal labour market institutions led to forming ineffective models of behavior from the part of social subjects, fixation of these models and creation of sustainable ineffective establishments.

Content of the course:

1. Introduction to the course. Russian model of labor market: general description.
2. Historical aspects and specificity of the Russian labor market’s development. From administrative-command to the market economy and to the human-oriented labor market.
3. Transitive economy, decentralization of power, transformation of regional labor markets and imbalance in their development.  
4. Institutional modernization of Russian labor markets.  
5. The Employment Policy in Russia.
6. Formal and Informal Employment in Russia.
7. Unemployment.
8. Mobility of work places. Dynamics. Migration.
9. Quality of Employment.

The course materials such as power point presentations, articles and other
materials will be saved on the online learning platform of the course. In the
Moodle it is offered also a discussion forum for all the participants of the
course.

Students from other master's degree programmes are welcome to join the course. 

The course provides an insight into the phenomenon of virtualization of politics. During the course, the student gets acquainted with the interrelation between Post-Soviet political culture and the contemporary virtual world from an interdisciplinary perspective. The students familiarize themselves with the Russian political Internet, Russian social media, the blogosphere, and online memory wars.

The course is organized in cooperation with Aleksanteri Institute's Russian and East European Master's School.

The course addresses Russia’s foreign policy from Gorbachev’s New Thinking until 2014. Students will learn about key events, phenomena, actors, and  different foreign policy schools, and concepts to characterize them. The course will also encourage students to pay attention to interaction between the domestic and foreign policy in the Russian context.

Please enroll in NettiOpsu by 17 March.  A maximum of 50 students will be accepted to the course (on the basis of first come, first served). The first lecture will take place 26 March and the last one 21 May. You cannot take this course unless you are able to come to the last lecture – a conference with your presentations will take place on that particular day (at 14-19).

Situation at the labour market in Russia is still conditioned by character of labour relations formed in the Soviet Union. Transformation of economic-political system in the second half of 1980s led to gradual overcoming of ‘relic’ forms of out-economic compulsion in the labour sphere and forming labour market. Labour market as a global socio-economic system has essentially transformed on the way to the socio-oriented market economy; however, it has not yet measured up the western liberal model of labour relations. Mismatch between formal and informal labour market institutions led to forming ineffective models of behavior from the part of social subjects, fixation of these models and creation of sustainable ineffective establishments.

Content of the course:

1. Introduction to the course. Russian model of labor market: general description.
2. Historical aspects and specificity of the Russian labor market’s development. From administrative-command to the market economy and to the human-oriented labor market.
3. Transitive economy, decentralization of power, transformation of regional labor markets and imbalance in their development.  
4. Institutional modernization of Russian labor markets.  
5. The Employment Policy in Russia.
6. Formal and Informal Employment in Russia.
7. Unemployment.
8. Mobility of work places. Dynamics. Migration.
9. Quality of Employment.

The course materials such as power point presentations, articles and other
materials will be saved on the online learning platform of the course. In the
Moodle it is offered also a discussion forum for all the participants of the
course.

Students from other master's degree programmes are welcome to join the course.