Lomonosov Moscow State University holds conference on Russian state history in Moscow

Moscow, Sept. 28 / Trend special corr. I. Bragina / Moscow is hosting a two-day international conference 'From ancient Russia to the Russian Federation: the history of the Russian statehood' today. The conference has been timed to coincide with the Year of History in Russia and 1150th anniversary of the Russian state. It has been organised by the Lomonosov Moscow State University together with the Department of History and Philology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the information and analytical agency 'Bulletin of the Caucasus' correspondent reported specially for Trend. Famous specialists in the field of Russian humanities, CIS and other foreign countries and representatives of the federal bodies and public organisations are attending the conference. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, chairman of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin, Moscow State University Rector Viktor Sadovnichy, rector of the Russian State University of Humanities Yefim Pivovar, Rector of the Baku branch of Moscow State University Nargiz Pashayeva are among the participants of this scientific event. Assistant Professor of the historical department at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Ph.D. Ismail Agakishiyev and director of the political centre 'North-South', editor-in-chief of the information and analytical agency 'Bulletin of the Caucasus' Alexei Vlasov also participated in the plenary session. Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill spoke at the conference and stressed that there is no future without a past as the true value is transmitted by tradition. In this regard, the Patriarch warned listeners of the "mad Westernisation" of Russia's state and cultural system. "Do not copy because the copy is always worse than the original," he said. "If we build a civilisation on imitation, we will always lag behind the original". The Patriarch added that it is more important to understand that the preservation of power institutions is the key to society's prosperity. Moscow State University rector Viktor Sadovnichy awarded Patriarch Kirill with an Honorary Doctorate diploma of the Moscow State University. Naryshkin made the first report at the plenary session of the conference. Sadovnichy expressed his gratitude to the speaker for attending. Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Makarov, Rector of Moscow State Institute of International Relations Anatoly Torkunov, Dean of Public Administration Faculty of the Moscow State University Vyacheslav Nikonov, director of the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Chubarian, director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory Vasiliy Soldatenko, director of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Petrov and rector of the Baku branch of Moscow State University Nargiz Pashayeva will also deliver a speech. 2012 has been declared as the Year of Russian History. According to the text of the presidential decree, this decision was made to focus public attention towards Russian history and the role of Russia in the world historical process. The reason for paying such attention to 2012 was the fact that the anniversaries of two significant events in Russia are marked this year. The first symbolic date is 1150 years of the Russian statehood. The period of its occurrence is approximately 862, when the Slavs called Varangian Rurik to rule in Novgorod. Second important date is when Russians celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino and, in general, the war of 1812. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az