Professional Affiliation

Director, Center for Inter-Disciplinary Studies, Icesi University, Cali, Colombia

Expert Bio

Vladimir Rouvinski is Director, Laboratory of Politics and International Relations (PoInt), and Associate Professor, Department of Political Studies, at Icesi University in Cali, Colombia. He graduated from Irkutsk State University, in Russia, majoring in history and international relations, and he also holds MA and PhD in International Development and Cooperation from Hiroshima University in Japan. Before joining Icesi University in 2007, Vladimir worked with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), education and research institutions in Russia, Japan, and Colombia, and he speaks Russian, English, and Spanish. Vladimir’s area of expertise is Russian and Asian countries relations with Latin America.

Wilson Center Project

From Comrades to Cossacks: The Symbolic Politics of Russia in the US “Near Abroad"

Project Summary

Facing difficulties in allocating tangible resources for sustaining its incidence in Latin America, Russia now relies on the symbolic use of politics in the US “near abroad”. The expansion of the Russia Today Spanish language broadcast, commemoration of symbolically important events together with Latin American leaders, support for memorials to iconic figures and the increasing presence of the Russian Orthodox Church are just some of the evidences. The author will examine the political settings and symbolic discourse in Russia as well as in Latin America that can be linked to both Russian domestic agenda and foreign policy. The project is important not only because it helps to better understand the nature of the Russian commitment to the area of the immediate geographic proximity to the United States, but since it also allows researchers to appreciate the political value of the issues that are normally not considered a foreign policy priority.

Major Publications

Rouvinski, Vladimir (2015). “Russia and ALBA: A Marriage of Convenience?” in Bruce M. Bagley and Magdalena Defort, eds. , Decline of the U.S. Hegemony?: A Challenge of ALBA and a New Latin American Integration of the Twenty-First Century (Security in the Americas in the Twenty-First Century), Lexington Books

 

Rouvinski, Vladimir (2015). “Russian Re-Engagement with Latin America: Energy and Beyond” in Bruce M Bagley, Dina Mouliokova and Hannda S.Kaab, eds. “The Impact of Emerging Economies on Global Energy and the Environment: Challenges Ahead”, Lexington Books

 

Rouvinski, Vladimir (2007). "History Speaks Our Language! A Comparative Study of Historical Narratives in Soviet and Post-Soviet History Textbooks", in Internationale Schulbuchforschung, v.29 (3): 235 – 257