Open Lecture

Open Lecture was launched in winter 2013 by journalist Katerina Gordeeva. The programme of open lectures and debate brings the knowledge and cultural experience of the Russian intellectual elite to the general public in Russia.

Open Lecture has rapidly proved to be one of the most popular civil society projects in Moscow, St Petersburg, and many cities across the regions, demonstrating the interest that exists for direct communication by the general public with moral, ethical, and aesthetic issues.

Since the autumn of 2014, Open Lecture has been supported by the Open Russia, thereby allowing Open Lecture to expand its geographic scope. In spite of the frequent attempts made by the Russian authorities to impede its sessions, Open Lecture has managed to present more than twenty seminars given by such prominent public figures as Mikhail Gorbachev, Vladimir Posner, Andrey Makarevich, Elizaveta Glinka, and many more.

Throughout the four-month work of the regional project, its lectures and seminars have been attended by over 4,000 people, and had more than 2 million views online.

Kaliningrad

The debut of the regional format of Open Lecture took place in Kaliningrad on September 13, 2014. Social activist and critically acclaimed novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya was invited to give the first regional lecture, “A Little Man Changing a Great Story. In Memory of Natalia Gorbanevskaya.” Presenting her book Poetka. A Book in Memory: Natalya Gorbanevskaya, devoted to Ulitskaya’s lifelong friend, the late dissident poet Gorbanevskaya, the lecturer immersed the audience in the Soviet dissident movement. Attended by over 200 residents of Russia’s westernmost city, Ulitskaya’s lecture triggered a vigorous debate that brought up controversial issues from her novels, drew parallels with today’s circumstances, and demonstrated the willingness of citizens to make a difference.

Following the pioneer regional talk, and so as to give the Kaliningrad audience more hands-on knowledge, Open Lecture presented two practical Open Seminars in Kaliningrad on September 14, 2014. The first seminar, titled “How Russian Media Changes History and People’s Memory” was conducted by journalist and television critic Arina Borodina who explored the negative influence of the propagandist state media on people’s consciousness, and explained how one can nevertheless use television to draw constructive energy for taking care of those in need rather than to disseminate hatred. During the second Open Seminar, “How to Stop Despairing and Start Changing Lives Around You”, the founder of the humanitarian project Nuzhna Pomosh [help is needed] Mitya Aleshkovsky, furthered the idea of helping others by revealing the most effective ways of getting involved in charity work in Russia. “Charity work should be done by professionals because targeted assistance poses a number of problems such as inefficiency, fraud promotion and more,” stressed Aleshkovsky, subsequently describing how one can participate in the activities of charity organisations, and detailing the benefits of such cooperation. On this hopeful note, the first regional weekend of Open Lecture, supported by Open Russia, came to a successful end.

St Petersburg

In October 2014, Open Lecture was planning an event in Novosibirsk, however, due to the pressure from the city authorities, the location had to be changed to St Petersburg. On October 28, 2014, Russia’s cultural capital welcomed Sergei Yenikolopov, one of the leading conflict analysts, and with him Andrei Makarevich, veteran Russian rock musician; and the two men brought up highly contrasting themes during their talks. The primary purpose of Professor Yenikolopov’s seminar, “On the Nature of Human Aggression” was to look into aggression from an often-disregarded scientific perspective. He started by explaining the difference between the essence of aggression and violence in psychology, and examining how aggression has been treated at different times. Referring to the results of scientific research, Yenikolopov discussed the scientific substantiation of fascism in Germany, the impact of television on the increase of aggression level, and the biological basis of violence. Answering a question from the audience, Professor Yenikolopov concluded that, despite the apparent positive trend, humanity will never be able to completely eradicate the problem of aggression and violence, but can reduce it if scientists and society act together. Mirroring somewhat the dark topic of Yenikolopov’s seminar, Andrei Makarevich chose a peaceful theme for his lecture, “What is Beauty?” that yet triggered some ill-wishers’ attempts to interrupt his talk by blocking the venue entrance. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the lecture hall was one of absorption: engaging the audience in a vibrant discussion, Makarevich presented a definition of beauty achieved through an analysis of the history of art and his own personal experiences.The world is both horrifying and beautiful; it contains all colours of the spectrum and has much goodness that we are not able to see. You have to think about the goodness,” proclaimed Makarevich optimistically, when asked whether there is a place for beauty in a world on the edge of a precipice.

Voronezh

On November 15, 2014, in Voronezh, film director Aleksandr Sokurov presented a lecture “On the Responsibility of each Person for History” during which he elaborated on his idea of enlightenment being the key to the development of society. “Society must find the strength to insist on enlightenment and to be its source because anything can happen at dusk”, said Sokurov. His lecture was followed by questions asking about historical processes; one in particular reflected the essence of the regional Open Lecture project. Yuri Ananiev, a Voronezh bus driver asked, “I’ve come to the conclusion that a person who wants to change something should first and foremost be cultured?” To which Sokurov succinctly replied, “Of course”.

Two Open Seminars were then given in Voronezh, dedicated to the subject of charity work. In her seminar, “How to Help Those You Do Not Agree With”, philanthropist Elizaveta Glinka talked about the activities of Spravedlivaya Pomosh [fair aid] fund in Moscow, and her humanitarian mission in Donbas. In his seminar “What Should One Do If There Is No Hope”,journalist and writer Valery Panyushkin shared his charity work experience and answered questions from the politically vigilant audience. These full-house events in Voronezh were attended not only by locals but also by Lipetsk and Belgorod citizens who had hired minibuses to get there.

Yekaterinburg

The final destination of the regional Open Lecture series in 2014 was Yekaterinburg where government agencies and nationalist NGOs demonstrated an ill-disposed attitude towards the project’s humanitarian and civic aims. Their hostility resulted in the venue being moved three times. But none of this stopped the Open Lecture events finally taking place in the Art Bird gallery on December 14, 2014. This time, both lecture and seminars were centred on practical themes. In his lecture “How to Live”, music critic and social activist Artemy Troitsky shared his tips on how one can live in harmony with oneself under the existing circumstances. The subject of a long and possibly happy life was continued in the Open Seminar, “How to Grow Old in Russia”, delivered by Nyuta Federmesser, the director of the hospice charity fund Vera. In her highly emotional talk she discussed how to cherish life and make it worthy until the very end. Notwithstanding the inconvenience of the power being cut during the sessions of both Troitsky and Federmesser, this deliberate provocation of the authorities failed to dissipate the enthusiasm of the lecturers and the audience.

With the lights on, the rector of the Holy Trinity church in Khokhli, Father Aleksei Uminsky concluded the regional Open Lecture 2014 programme with one of the most anticipated seminars “What Do I Want from the Church?” during which he talked about preserving faith in a world where the role of religion is distorted by misconceptions.

To find out more about Open Lecture and its upcoming events please visit www.open-lecture.ru