Thematic Approach
GIRES, the Global Institute for Research Education & Scholarship wishes to revisit the Soviet Union and explore its impact in the Russian Federation and the world. 

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the Soviet Union has been a multifaceted enigma for decades. After its collapse the world shuttered and the region experienced a period of instability and changes. The Russian Federation, the successor of the Soviet Union, has long been a key player in the global arena and its increasing power, at times, it has affected the world equilibrium. 

In our new conference we wish to re-examine the Soviet Union, its ideology, its role in world politics and also analyze the life of the people in order to offer and unbiased, scholarly and interdisciplinary perspectives of this unique case.

What was the everyday life in the Soviet Union? What was the ideal Soviet Citizen? What was the role of education and arts how educational system formed the Soviet identity? What was the role of arts in the Soviet Union and how it was used as a tool in soft power foreign relations? What was the political life and political powers within the communist party? How Russian Federation survived the collapse of Soviet Union? These are only some of the topics we would like to discuss and frame the reality and life in the Soviet Union.

GIRES, dedicated to interdisciplinarity, invites scholars from diverse fields including but not limited to philosophy, religion, theology, sociology, anthropology, history, literature, art, economics, geography, cultural and political studies along with representatives from think-tanks and organizations to contribute to the discussion and to debate these issues.

Proposed Topics
-Communism and Economy
-Socialism vs Communism
-Everyday Life
-Society and Ideology
-Social Life
-System of Education
-Politics: Periods and Leadership
-Wars and Armed Conflicts
-Economy: Theories and Reality
-Space and Arms Programs
-Media Representation of the United States
-Samizdat: Underground Publishing
-Propaganda and Media
-Arts under the Soviet Reality
-Soviet Pioniers in Arts
-Athletics, Olympic Games Representations
-(Anti)Doping Programs
-Architecture and Space: Urban and Rural
-Film Industry in Soviet Union
-Literature in Soviet Era
-Soviet Ballet and Dance
-Artistic Expression: Painting and Visual Arts in Soviet Union
-The Role of Religion in the Soviet Union
-Shaping the Soviet Identity
-Soviet- Russian Power against/within the Warsaw Pact members
-Leninism & Stalinism
-Gulag and Oppression
-Reasons for the Collapse of the Iron Curtain
-Glasnost and Perestroika
-Foreign Connections: Cuba and China
-KGB,Stasi: Documentation, (Un)Censored & Publicly Accessible Files
-Teaching about the Soviet Union: Modern Approaches
-Perception and Self-representation of Soviet Fatherhood in the Male Letters to Authorities
-Soviet Emancipation and Feminism
-Soviet Morality, Creativity, and Spirituality
-Crisis Analysis: the case of Chernobyl
-Soviet Tactics in modern Russian Federation Policies
-Soviet Economy After the Collapse
-Soviet Republics: History and Stories

Proposed Formats (Lingua franca: English)
-Individual papers (GIRES will include it in a panel)
-Panels (up to 4 presentations-chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Roundtable presentations (chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Poster presentations
-Student presentations (one paper presented by up to 3 young scholars)
-Keynote speech (depending on the time availability)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Asynchronous Platform)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Synchronous-live- Sessions: live participation of presenter (s) during the Q&A sessions)

Publication Opportunity 
The Organizing Committee and GIRES Press will publish the most powerful and dynamic presentations of the conference and include them
in a collective volume in the form of short articles and/or long essays. For more information please contact us

Live Sessions & Recording
All speakers are offered up to 30 minutes to present their work. All speakers have the option to have their presentations recorded (during live sessions) in HD quality.
The recordings will be uploaded to GIRES media for unlimited access and dissemination.

Asynchronous Options
All participants have the option to have their presentations (video/audio/text) uploaded to our Virtual Platform. All  registered participants will have access to the material for 5 days.

Our proposed topics & formats are not restrictive and we invite additional germane ideas
Due to the restrictions of Corona Crisis our event (for the time being) will take place VIRTUALLY