Arrangement

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs have the great pleasure of inviting you to the seminar

Russian ultra-nationalism and the new ‘others’

Russian ultra-nationalism is often associated with a desire to restore the Soviet Union, but lately the need to preserve the Russian nation against a perceived danger of incoming hordes of aliens from the Caucasus and Central Asia increasingly dominates the nationalist discourse. Muslims and migrants take over as the new ‘others’. Into this mix also gays and other sexual minorities are thrown in as perceived threats to the nation. To discuss these developments, we have invited two of Russia’s most well-known experts in the field.

Programme 13-15:

• 13.00–13.10:Introduction: Russian nationalism and the new ‘others’Pål Kolstø, Professor of Russian Studies, University of Oslo
• 13.10–13.40:
  Contemporary ultra-nationalist movements and the response of Russian authoritiesAlexander Verkhovsky, Head of SOVA Centre for Information and Analysis, Moscow (pictured above)
• 13.40–14.10:   The new ‘others’ in Russia: migrants and gays/ LGBT-personsStefania Kulaeva, Head of Anti-Discrimination Centre, HRC Memorial, St Petersburg
• 14.10–14.50: Q&A / discussion
• 14.50–15.00:
  Concluding remarksGunnar Ekeløve-Slydal, Deputy Secretary General, Norwegian Helsinki Committee

The seminar will be moderated by Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal, Deputy Secretary General, Norwegian Helsinki Committee

The seminar is part of the ‘New Russian Nationalism’ seminar series, a series of quarterly presentations on various aspects of Russian nationalism and part of the research project ‘Nation-building, nationalism and the new “other” in today’s Russia’, a joint project between NUPI and the University of Oslo funded by the Research Council of Norway under the NORRUSS programme.