Dear colleagues! Dear friends!
I am sincerely glad to welcome the participants of our meeting today. Today we are holding the General Meeting of the Russian Historical Society for the thirteenth time. Since its re-establishment, RIO has been making a significant contribution to improving historical literacy, consistently defending historical truth and setting the agenda in the field of historical education. Due to the fact that the Society's projects are visible and in demand, there are already almost a thousand individuals and 175 organizations in the ranks of RIO. Among them are leading higher education institutions, academic institutes, archives, museums and libraries. Their activities are based on the unchanging principles of patriotism, scientific objectivity and unconditional respect for the past of our country.
There are 68 regional branches of the Company throughout Russia. By bringing together historians and local historians, these platforms ensure interaction between them, regional authorities and the general public. In order to successfully carry out such coordination, branch chairmen need to regularly initiate new projects and remain open to the media. This social work requires dedication and the ability to unite people around you. I would like to thank those colleagues who, having been confirmed as chairman of the council of the regional branch, approach their duties in this way.
There are 68 regional branches of the Company throughout Russia. By bringing together historians and local historians, these platforms ensure interaction between them, regional authorities and the general public. In order to successfully carry out such coordination, branch chairmen need to regularly initiate new projects and remain open to the media. This social work requires dedication and the ability to unite people around you. I would like to thank those colleagues who, having been confirmed as chairman of the council of the regional branch, approach their duties in this way.
The 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War was chosen as the key theme of the General Meeting. Many RIO members participated in the relevant anniversary events. Volumes of the fundamental series "People's Commissars of the Great Victory" are being published one after another. I am grateful to our partners from the Federal Treasury, the publishing house "Historical Literature", the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and all the authors for this. The Victory Dictation held at the end of April and the large-scale exhibition "Without the Right to be Forgotten", prepared by the Society and the Federal Archive at the State Historical Museum, also became important milestones.
International cooperation is actively developing. RIO's priority remains to strengthen ties with conscientious colleagues from foreign countries, both scientists and historical popularizers. On the initiative of Alexander Chubaryan, on the eve of May 9, a conference was held that brought together almost all the directors of the Institutes of History of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In September, we will also hold an international historical conference within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum, which will help to "check the clock" with historians from the Asia-Pacific region.
I would like to add that in May a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Russian Historical Society and the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences. And joint Russian-Vietnamese historical research can now receive support through a scientific project competition announced by the Ministries of science and Education of our two countries.
Reflecting on the Great Patriotic War, we all involuntarily draw certain parallels with the events of today. Preserving the memory of the heroes of the special military operation has become one of the key areas of the Society's work in recent years. Regular visits by the intermuseum group of the Russian Ministry of Culture continue, collecting valuable objects in the frontline zone. RIO is working on the creation of concepts for new military memorial museums, such as, for example, the Museum of Heroism in Gubkin, Belgorod region.
I know that our comrade Alexander Yevseyevich Khinstein, acting Governor of the Kursk region, recently addressed Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin with a proposal to create a regional museum of special military operations in Kursk with a branch in the Sudzhansky district. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the office of the Russian Historical Society in the Kursk region, together with the regional government and colleagues from the Russian Military Historical Society, to take a substantive look at this.
Since the first days of the liberation of Mariupol, RIO has taken over the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore, which was destroyed by neo-Nazi militants. Repair and restoration work has almost been completed in it, and the process of creating a new museum exhibition will begin soon. Its concept has already been developed under the leadership of Alexey Konstantinovich Levykin. Together with the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic, we need to help the museum complete the restoration that has begun. I ask the RIO Board to step up this work.
In addition, at the beginning of the year, members of the Society began work on identifying accounting documents on state-protected monuments in Donbass and the Azov region. The issue of including RIO in the work on the certification of cultural heritage sites located on the territory of all four reunified regions is also being considered.
Given that the scale of the Kiev regime's crimes against cultural heritage is not fully understood abroad, I believe it is advisable to consider the possibility of creating an appropriate portal translated into foreign languages. Photos of cultural heritage sites before and after the destruction, eyewitness accounts and a description of the restoration process of each monument could be posted there!
Our meeting is taking place within the walls of the Higher School of Economics, one of the leading humanitarian universities in the country. The development of higher historical education has been and remains a priority of the Russian Historical Society as a "center of responsibility" for the enlarged group of specialties "History and Archeology". Together with colleagues from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, we continue to work on a balanced allocation of budget places for historical specialties, as well as on improving the quality of historians' training and ensuring their relevance in the labor market. On July 3, the RGGU will host a strategic session on the future of higher historical education. I am grateful to Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko and Valery Nikolaevich Falkov, who supported the idea of organizing such a discussion.
Today, according to tradition, we will have to approve a new list of priority topics for 2026-2027. At the same time, the Society has plans for the longer term. This includes the upcoming 650th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo, the 300th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Catherine the Great. Preparations for these landmark anniversaries are already underway.
In conclusion, on behalf of all those present, I would like to congratulate Yuri Alexandrovich Petrov, member of the RIO Presidium, on his 70th birthday today and on his recent election as a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Having headed the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2010, Yuri Alexandrovich participated in the reconstruction of RIO and made an invaluable contribution to solving the problems facing Society. I sincerely wish you, dear Yuri Alexandrovich, good health and new achievements in the field of historical science and historical education!
Thank you for your attention.
Moscow
Higher School of Economics,
June 10, 2025
I am sincerely glad to welcome the participants of our meeting today. Today we are holding the General Meeting of the Russian Historical Society for the thirteenth time. Since its re-establishment, RIO has been making a significant contribution to improving historical literacy, consistently defending historical truth and setting the agenda in the field of historical education. Due to the fact that the Society's projects are visible and in demand, there are already almost a thousand individuals and 175 organizations in the ranks of RIO. Among them are leading higher education institutions, academic institutes, archives, museums and libraries. Their activities are based on the unchanging principles of patriotism, scientific objectivity and unconditional respect for the past of our country.
There are 68 regional branches of the Company throughout Russia. By bringing together historians and local historians, these platforms ensure interaction between them, regional authorities and the general public. In order to successfully carry out such coordination, branch chairmen need to regularly initiate new projects and remain open to the media. This social work requires dedication and the ability to unite people around you. I would like to thank those colleagues who, having been confirmed as chairman of the council of the regional branch, approach their duties in this way.
There are 68 regional branches of the Company throughout Russia. By bringing together historians and local historians, these platforms ensure interaction between them, regional authorities and the general public. In order to successfully carry out such coordination, branch chairmen need to regularly initiate new projects and remain open to the media. This social work requires dedication and the ability to unite people around you. I would like to thank those colleagues who, having been confirmed as chairman of the council of the regional branch, approach their duties in this way.
The 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War was chosen as the key theme of the General Meeting. Many RIO members participated in the relevant anniversary events. Volumes of the fundamental series "People's Commissars of the Great Victory" are being published one after another. I am grateful to our partners from the Federal Treasury, the publishing house "Historical Literature", the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and all the authors for this. The Victory Dictation held at the end of April and the large-scale exhibition "Without the Right to be Forgotten", prepared by the Society and the Federal Archive at the State Historical Museum, also became important milestones.
International cooperation is actively developing. RIO's priority remains to strengthen ties with conscientious colleagues from foreign countries, both scientists and historical popularizers. On the initiative of Alexander Chubaryan, on the eve of May 9, a conference was held that brought together almost all the directors of the Institutes of History of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In September, we will also hold an international historical conference within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum, which will help to "check the clock" with historians from the Asia-Pacific region.
I would like to add that in May a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Russian Historical Society and the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences. And joint Russian-Vietnamese historical research can now receive support through a scientific project competition announced by the Ministries of science and Education of our two countries.
Reflecting on the Great Patriotic War, we all involuntarily draw certain parallels with the events of today. Preserving the memory of the heroes of the special military operation has become one of the key areas of the Society's work in recent years. Regular visits by the intermuseum group of the Russian Ministry of Culture continue, collecting valuable objects in the frontline zone. RIO is working on the creation of concepts for new military memorial museums, such as, for example, the Museum of Heroism in Gubkin, Belgorod region.
I know that our comrade Alexander Yevseyevich Khinstein, acting Governor of the Kursk region, recently addressed Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin with a proposal to create a regional museum of special military operations in Kursk with a branch in the Sudzhansky district. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the office of the Russian Historical Society in the Kursk region, together with the regional government and colleagues from the Russian Military Historical Society, to take a substantive look at this.
Since the first days of the liberation of Mariupol, RIO has taken over the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore, which was destroyed by neo-Nazi militants. Repair and restoration work has almost been completed in it, and the process of creating a new museum exhibition will begin soon. Its concept has already been developed under the leadership of Alexey Konstantinovich Levykin. Together with the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic, we need to help the museum complete the restoration that has begun. I ask the RIO Board to step up this work.
In addition, at the beginning of the year, members of the Society began work on identifying accounting documents on state-protected monuments in Donbass and the Azov region. The issue of including RIO in the work on the certification of cultural heritage sites located on the territory of all four reunified regions is also being considered.
Given that the scale of the Kiev regime's crimes against cultural heritage is not fully understood abroad, I believe it is advisable to consider the possibility of creating an appropriate portal translated into foreign languages. Photos of cultural heritage sites before and after the destruction, eyewitness accounts and a description of the restoration process of each monument could be posted there!
Our meeting is taking place within the walls of the Higher School of Economics, one of the leading humanitarian universities in the country. The development of higher historical education has been and remains a priority of the Russian Historical Society as a "center of responsibility" for the enlarged group of specialties "History and Archeology". Together with colleagues from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, we continue to work on a balanced allocation of budget places for historical specialties, as well as on improving the quality of historians' training and ensuring their relevance in the labor market. On July 3, the RGGU will host a strategic session on the future of higher historical education. I am grateful to Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko and Valery Nikolaevich Falkov, who supported the idea of organizing such a discussion.
Today, according to tradition, we will have to approve a new list of priority topics for 2026-2027. At the same time, the Society has plans for the longer term. This includes the upcoming 650th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo, the 300th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Catherine the Great. Preparations for these landmark anniversaries are already underway.
In conclusion, on behalf of all those present, I would like to congratulate Yuri Alexandrovich Petrov, member of the RIO Presidium, on his 70th birthday today and on his recent election as a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Having headed the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2010, Yuri Alexandrovich participated in the reconstruction of RIO and made an invaluable contribution to solving the problems facing Society. I sincerely wish you, dear Yuri Alexandrovich, good health and new achievements in the field of historical science and historical education!
Thank you for your attention.
Moscow
Higher School of Economics,
June 10, 2025