Research & Expertise news at HSE University

Widespread consumption of toxic surrogate alcohols is not the only cause of lethal alcohol poisoning in Russia; even more important may be the country’s ‘culture of drinking'. This habit of drinking large quantities of strong spirits – such as vodka, brandy or whiskey – often leads to dangerous intoxication and early death.

HSE’s Faculty of Law  is a partner of the Fulbright Scholar Programme and each year has the opportunity to host a Distinguished Chair in Sustainable Development. David Wirth, a Professor who teaches and supervises research at Boston College Law School, arrived at HSE in this capacity in September 2016 and spent the past academic year in Moscow. He has talked to HSE News Service about his impressions.

In Russia, the job of a public official is one of the least transparent to the public: more than 50% of Russians assume that 'people in power' are concerned only with their own material wellbeing and careers. Yet the civil servants' own perspectives on the meaning and priorities of their occupation are vastly different from these popular assumptions.

The HSE Institute for Social Policy held an event entitled ‘Demographic Challenges of the 21^st Century’ on 13 June 2017. At the event, Lauren Woodard, PhD candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, presented her report ‘Politics of Return: Resettlement of Compatriots Programme in Primorsky Territory’. Here she talks to HSE News about the event, her research, and her interest in the complex issues of identity in Russia and the Former Soviet Union.

HSE released its fifth Russian Regional Innovation Ranking, based on the 2015 findings, at a press conference hosted by TASS. Almost half Russia’s regions are relatively stable in terms of innovative development: their positions in the ranking have not changed significantly.

Students of engineering and economics, undergraduates of state universities, high performers, young people from wealthier families, and those working part-time while at university tend to expect higher salaries upon graduation.

On June 15, 2017, the tenth Global Innovation Index was presented at the UN headquarters in Geneva. It includes the key indicators of innovative activities in 127 countries. Russia took 45th place in the ranking. Switzerland is leading the ranking for the seventh year in a row.

This year VTB is launching the Endowment for Comparative Social Research at HSE. The endowment will make it possible to invest 10-20 million roubles in research each year. The exact amount will depend on trust management of the endowment assets, implemented by VTB Capital Investment Management.