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Students of the international Master’s programme in Comparative Social Research, which opened in 2014, spent their first semester studying at the Moscow campus of the Higher School of Economics; the second semester was spent in St. Petersburg. Another six months will be devoted to study abroad. Mobility in the educational process is an important principle of the programme that allows future sociologists to better understand social reality. The English-language programme turned out to of interest not only to Russian students, but also to graduates of prestigious foreign universities.

In 2015, the international MA in English will launch, called Applied and Interdisciplinary History 'Usable Pasts'. The programme is headed by Associate Professor at the School of History, Julia Lajus, who told us about it.

Attitudes towards family and sexual norms vary widely across the former Soviet Union republics. At the country level, economic development and the level of religiosity both help to determine attitudes, while age plays an important role at the individual level. Middle-aged people tend to be more liberal than those who are older or younger, according to a study conducted by Sofia Lopatina, Veronica Kostenko, and Eduard Ponarin of the HSE's Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR) in St. Petersburg.

The Department of History of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg presents a new summer school: "The Topography of Imperial Power: the Political Space of St. Petersburg." The summer school will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia from September 8 to 29, 2015

Most research into social change limits itself to social factors causing change. However, other factors, such as natural disasters, climate and geographical peculiarities of the particular place, or infectious diseases also have a significant impact on societal evolution.

On November 10−15, the IV International Conference ‘Cultural and Economic Changes in a Comparative Perspective’ took place in St. Petersburg. Organized by HSE’s Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, the conference has traditionally brought together Russian and foreign scholars working on issues of values, trust, social capital, corruption and inequality in a changing world, as well as the role of religion in political activity and other social issues in Russia and other countries.

On the 6th of November a round table ‘The Fall of the Berlin Wall: Past, Present, Future’, took place to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. Professor Alexander Semenov, Director of the History department at HSE St Petersburg and assistant at the Laboratory for Historical Research, Yana Kitaeva presented a paper on ‘The Question of German Reunification in Teymuraz Stepanov-Mamaladze’s Diaries’.

Ronald Grigor Suny, Academic Director of international research project 'Comparative Historical Studies of Empire and Nationalism' talks about his academic career and research interests.

Christian Welzel, leading professor at the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR) HSE St Petersburg received the 2014 Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research in recognition of his book 'Freedom Rising: Human Empowerment and the Quest for Emancipation'. 

The report by Professor Evgeniy Anisimov, Academic Director of the Faculty of History, was introduced to the audience on the September 11th, 2012, as the part of the academic seminar "The Boundaries of History" of The Faculty of History of Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg and the Center for Historical Research.