‘Working at the HSE has given me more time to think, to do research and write’

John P. Round is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Sociology and a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies. His has written about the informal economy in Russia and Ukraine and currently he is working on protest and ideas of rejecting the state. We asked John to tell us about his experience of working as a foreign academic in Russia.

— Were you interested in Russian culture before your invitation to the HSE?

— I did my PhD in Magadan. I’m a geographer and Magadan was really interesting because geographically it’s isolated from the rest of the country. Flights to Magadan are very rare and expensive. It’s normal for the majority of people to leave their cities and move where there are more jobs, where it’s cheaper. But you can’t actually move from Magadan even if you want. So academically it was very interesting.

The Russian North is quite a new and little known area of research in the West. Since I was there a famous British actor went around the world on his motorcycle and he passed through Magadan. So now a few people in Britain have heard of Magadan and even been there.

— Why did you choose the HSE?

— First I knew some people who worked here in sociology and management – I worked at a summer school with them. It was a great opportunity to come and work in Moscow and do some research afterwards. Watching how Moscow changes over a period of time – is one of my academic interests.

I remember when I first came to Moscow I was really worried about security. It’s a totally different city now. I’ve done a lot of travelling, I’ve lived in India, Australia, the USA. Even so, coming to Russia was a cultural shock. I was impressed by the size of Moscow, the number of people. The way of life, working – everything is different here.

— What do you consider to be your major achievements during your time at the HSE? What are you proud of?

— I’ve published a book since I’ve been here on informal economies in Russia and Ukraine. It’s called ‘The role of informal economies in the post-Soviet world: the end of transition? I’ve started two new areas of research, one on opposition, ways of protest in Russia, ideas of rejecting the state. This I couldn’t have done if I was in Birmingham. If I’m in Birmingham, it becomes very expensive, I can only come here for a few weeks. It really facilitates the research – just being here. The second area which we’ve got a grant for is the every-day life of migrants.

— Besides the research work there is some teaching activity in the HSE. Howwould you describe your teaching experience at the HSE?

— The teaching is really interesting. But there's still a problem of getting students to take English language courses: both of the courses I teach have a relatively small number of listeners. But the thing I'm most proud of is that I teach in Russia, in Moscow. When someone says by the end of the course : «You make me think in some different way» – it is a great experience. I really love to teach “in the field”. We go to the Strelka Red October factory with one of my courses and we do teaching there on site. I don't think any other course does, I like it, it’s a great experience. But I have to say that the Russian education system has lots of problems with the timing of lectures.

Two blocks of forty minutes – that is quite alright, but with four academic hours it's really hard to hold students’ attention. I also don't think the system of lectures and seminars is needed at master’s level. I think there should be much more reading, a large set of questions you discuss in a group, some presentations. I'm trying to do it with my students.

— You’ve been here for 2 years, what are the main advantages and drawbacks of working at the HSE?

— For me the main advantage of working here is time. There's much more time to do research here than in Britain. Less administrative work, much more time to think, do research and to write.

The disadvantage is the bureaucracy system itself, which is really needed to be thought through. It's not a criticism of the HSE itself, but of the entire Russian education system. Imagine, if I want to go on a business trip – it's got to be signed by a lot of people, it's got to be approved by them. In Britain you have much more freedom. If you need a business trip – you just have your credit card and you can do everything online. Another problem is the grants system - you've got a half of the budget at the beginning of your working process and another half of it at the end. But what can you do with these halves?

We don't have access to Russian Federal Government fund. The HSE should push this question. The lack of access to research funding is a big disadvantage.

— Is there something you would like to change in the HSE, given the chance?

— I would like to beef up the research culture: making reading groups, more spaces for students to gather and to work. For example, a library. Libraries are not about books, they should be about spaces for students to work, to communicate. It’s a concept that doesn't really exist in Russia yet.

But I have to say things are changing and they will continue to be changing when new people come. The more new people, the more the system changes.

Text by Ruslan Sleptsov, HSE LooK