Political science at RSUH. Genesis and development of a scientific and educational project

March 2023 has marked thirty years since the decision was made by the Academic Council of the RSUH to open a department of political science at the Institute of History and Archives of the RSUH. Over the years, a long way has been passed in the formation and development of educational programs in political science and scientific and pedagogical schools in the field of political science. The article analyzes the institutional and scientific grounds for the emergence and formation of political science programs at the Russian State University for the Humanities, the main directions of scientific research on the basis of documents of the Academic Council, archival documents and interviews. The specifics of the scientific and educational project genesis in the field of political science at RSUH in comparison with other universities, the main stages of its development, personnel composition, features of curricula, scientific and pedagogical personnel training, fields of graduates’ activity are determined.

It is shown that the emergence of political science programs at RSUH was defined by the uniqueness of the conditions developed in the scientific and educational sphere in the early 1990s: during that period, Soviet norms in the field of education and science were no longer in effect, and new ones had not yet been formed. It gave the opportunity to launch experiments that allowed the university in general and political science programs in particular to acquire their face. The ideas of the founders of political science and political science education at RSUH, which were laid down in the early 1990s, have not lost their potential and relevance today, when the Russian higher school has once again entered the path of serious transformation.

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