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Despite the crucial role of schools and universities in shaping the worldviews of their students, education has been a marginal topic in international relations. In a plea for more engagement with the power and effects of education, this paper analyzes the interplay of discipline and knowledge in the formation of geopolitical subjects. To this end, it employs material from ethnographic research at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the premier university for educating future Russian elites in the field of international relations. The paper draws on Foucault to chart the ensemble of disciplinary practices producing 'docile bodies' and objective knowledge and traces how these practices are bound up with the geopolitical discourse of Russia as a great power: while they fashion the great power discourse with objectivity, disruptions in the discourse also disrupt disciplinary practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper refers to a contemporary discussion of S&T and innovation activities of Russian universities and respective national policies against the background of institutional transformation of the national innovation system. It emphasizes the Russian NIS structure and subsequent positioning of universities and the research institutions of the Academy of Sciences. The analysis makes it evident that the innovation activity of Russian universities is strongly challenged by various interdependent hampering factors. These factors arise directly from traditional barriers between science and education, which in turn relate to the imperfection of Russia's NIS originating from deep structural breaches far beyond S&T and education activities. National policies nowadays are aimed at increasing the innovation activity of universities, and the article concludes with an overview of the current debate on the most urgent issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental changes in the political and economic domains in Russia in the late 1990s affected the Russian scientific community profoundly. This paper focuses on the effects on the Russian higher education system. Today about 75% of the students study in the provinces. The new multi-channel funding system in Russia had a strong impact on R&D in the universities. Provincial universities are becoming a key source of new knowledge and skills. This paper discusses the factors influencing research activity in the different geographical regions and looks at intra- and international collaboration and at access to information and communication technology as important factors for sustainability in the Russian regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an examination into trends regarding the study of American history in Russia since the end of the Cold War. Discussion is offered concerning ways in which the cross-cultural academic relations between the two nations have grown significantly, citing the expansion of university programs offering American studies, the increased access of U.S. primary and secondary resources through the Internet and translation, and the use of foreign exchange programs by teachers and students alike. Comments remarking on existing tensions and difficulties between the two nations are also included.