Past co-curricular and public events
Film screening, The Eastern Front (2023), and conversation with the director Vitaly Mansky. November 3, 2023.
Dr. Volodymyr Kulikov (UT Austin) discussing a photographic collection documenting Donbas Region, one of the most industrialized areas in the late Russian Empire and Soviet Union, which became one of the hottest areas of Russia's war on Ukraine. October 27, 2022.
One of the sections of the conference How Science Became Popular (March 25, 2022).
Dr. Vojin Majstorović (University of North Texas), "The Red Army's Encounter with the Holocaust." March 4, 2020.
Dr. Brigid O'Keeffe (Brooklyn College), "Lost in Translation: The Language Politics of Global Communism in Revolutionary Russia," October 4, 2019.
Dr. Daria Gritsenko (U of Helsinki), "Digitalization, Democracy, and Governance in Russia: 'Active Citizen' and the Digital Dictatorship Dilemma," March 29, 2019.
Dr. Sören Urbansky, "Different Shades of Yellow: Sinophobic Discourses in San Francisco, Singapore and Vladivostok, 1880s-1930s." March 7, 2019.
Dr. Alexey Golubev, "Digitizing Archives in Russia: Epistemic Sovereignty and Its Challenges in the Digital Age." February 21, 2019
The Holocaust in Lithuania: How It Happened and How It Is Remembered, a public talk by Ruta Vanagaite (Lithuania), November 29, 2018.
Shaping Unreality: Specifics of Russian Political Warfare in Eastern and Central Europe, a public talk by Dr. Kiril Avramov (UT Austin), November 9, 2018.
Second-Hand Nostalgia: On Soviet Things and Post-Soviet People, a lecture by Serguei Oushakine (Princeton), April 4, 2018.
Consul General of the Russian Federation in Houston Alexander Pisarev speaks at the UH Honors College. February 22, 2018.
Dr. David Rainbow opens the photo exhibition Russia. 1917. October 25, 2017.
Dr. Boris Kolonitsky at the exhibit Fight of the Red Knights: Russian Propaganda Art, 1917-1930.
Unpredictable Past: Anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 2017, a lecture by Dr. Boris Kolonitsky (European University at St.Petersburg, Russia). October 10, 2017.
Opening of the exhibit Fight of the Red Knights: Russian Propaganda Art, 1917-1930.
The Main Street Theater in Houston launched its 2017-2018 season with “Enemies,” a play by Maxim Gorky.
An adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by the UH School of Theatre and Dance. April 2017.
Night with the Conductor: A performance of Russian classical music with Maestro Franz Anton Krager, September 17, 2017.
Students and faculty of the UH Honors College at Moscow's Red Square during a study trip to Russia. May 2017.
Recent REEI events listed below were organized in collaboration with several UH departments, colleges, and Houston cultural organizations. They involved hundreds of UH students and engaged thousands of audience members, on and off campus.
Events have been generously sponsored by: UH Global; The Center for Public History; U.S. Department of Education; U.S. Department of State, Critical Language Scholarship Program; Tocqueville Forum for American Institutions and Thought; The Honors College, UH; Grand Challenges Forum; UH Energy; UH Department of Mathematics; Moores School of Music; UH Program in Art History; Office of Undergraduate Research; UH Libraries; Department of Modern and Classical Languages, UH; Russian Cultural Center "Our Texas"; and others.
Public talks:
Volodymyr Kulikov, University of Texas at Austin, "Soviet Industrialization in Visual Media." October 27, 2022.
Alexander Martynov, a former member of the Soviet and Russian space programs, "From Sputnik to Mars." With CREEES at UT Austin. November 18, 2020 (online).
Dr. Vojin Majstorović, University of North Texas, "The Red Army's Encounter with the Holocaust." March 4, 2020.
Dr. Andrew Chapman, University of Texas at San Antonio, "Queuetopia: The Phantasmagoria of Everyday Consumption in Late Soviet Culture." November 6, 2019.
Dr. Brigid O'Keeffe, Brooklyn College, a Grand Challenges Forum lecture "Lost in Translation: The Language Politics of Global Communism in Revolutionary Russia." October 4, 2019.
Dr. David Rainbow, UH, a Grand Challenges Forum lecture "Why History Matters: Russia, the U.S. and the 'New Cold War'." April 19, 2019.
Dr. Daria Grizenko, University of Helsinki, "Digitalization, Democracy, and Governance in Russia: 'Active Citizen' and the Digital Dictatorship Dilemma." March 29, 2019.
Dr. Sören Urbansky, German Historical Institute DC, "Different Shades of Yellow: Sinophobic Discourses in San Francisco, Singapore and Vladivostok, 1880s-1930s." March 7, 2019.
Dr. Alexey Golubev, UH, "Digitizing Archives in Russia: Epistemic Sovereignty and Its Challenges in the Digital Age." February 21, 2019.
Ruta Vanagaite, a Lithuanian journalist and writer, "The Holocaust in Lithuania: How It Happened and How It Is Remembered." November 28, 2018.
Dr. Kiril Avramov, Intelligence Studies Project at the UT Austin, "Shaping Unreality: Specifics of Russian political warfare in Central and Eastern Europe." November 9, 2018.
Dr. Grigori Feiguine, St. Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences, "Russian Economy in a Globalizing World: Actual Trends." April 9, 2018.
Dr. Serguei Oushakine, Princeton University, "Second-Hand Nostalgia: On Soviet Things and Post-Soviet People." April 4, 2018.
Dr. Howard Pollack, UH, "Russian Music and the Cold War." March 7, 2018.
Alexander Pisarev, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Houston, "Russian-American Relations." February 22, 2018.
Andrew Pidgirsky, Chairman of the U.S.-Russian Chamber of Commerce in Houston, "Oil and Gas in Russia, Past and Present." February 6, 2018.
Dr. Boris Kolonitsky, European University of St. Petersburg. "Russia’s Revolution, 1917." October 10, 2017.
Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, Vice President of British Petroleum in Baku, "Oil in Baku, Yesterday and Today" (by Skype). July 2017.
Dr. Katya Kudryavtseva, Stetson University, a Grand Challenges Forum lecture "Malevich and the Russian Revolution in Art." March 31, 2017.
Dr. David Rainbow, UH, a lecture series "Russian Revolution." March 23-April 27, 2017; The Women’s Institute of Houston.
Dr. Mark Tomforde, UH, "Russia’s Revolutionary Mathematics." February 13, 2017.
Dr. Jeremi Suri, University of Texas, Austin, a Grand Challenges Forum lecture "Hostilities between Russia and the West from Lenin to Putin." January 27, 2017.
Conferences, symposia, and panels:
Workshop Colonial Legacies, Radical Histories (with UT Austin's Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies), September 22, 2023.
Workshop Alternative Beliefs after State Socialism (with UT Austin's Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies), October 8, 2022.
Conference How Science Became Popular: Epistemic Governance and Scientific Citizenship in the Twentieth Century, March 25-26, 2022.
Book launch event: Ideologies of Race: Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union in Global Context, ed. by David Rainbow (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019), a panel featuring Drs. Rainbow and Golubev (UH) and Dr. Brigid O'Keeffe (Brooklyn College). November 11, 2019, Honors College, University of Houston.
Russia in the World Today: Security and Peace, a panel featuring Mr. Mikael Ahlberg (Presidential Advisor to Russia, Rotary International); Ms. Jennifer Jones (Vice President, Rotary International, 2016-2017); Dr. William H. Hill (Wilson Center, Washington, DC). February 8, 2019, Honors College, University of Houston.
Revolution and the Making of the Soviet Union: A symposium led by UH undergraduates, March 30, 2017; Honors College, University of Houston.
Exhibits:
Russia in 1917 (opening remarks by Dr. David Rainbow), October 25 (opening) – November 30, 2017; Williams Tower Gallery, Houston, TX.
Fight of the Red Knights: Russian Propaganda Art, 1917-1930 (exhibit)
March 30 (opening) - July 31, 2017; M.D. Anderson Library, University of Houston.
Theater:
Enemies: A play by Maxim Gorky (Post-show discussion with Dr. David Rainbow), September 16 – October 15, 2017; Main Street Theater, Rice Village.
Animal Farm: A play by Sir Peter Hall, based on the story by George Orwell
April 7-9 & 12-15, 2017; Wortham Theatre, University of Houston.
Travel:
Exchange visit of engineering students from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University to the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture, coordinated by Dr. Olga Bannova, April 2018; University of Houston.
Cities of Revolution: An Honors College Study Abroad trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg (Dr. David Rainbow), May 15-25, 2017; Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novgorod.
Music:
Moores Symphony Orchestra and Combined Choruses: Russian Classical Music (opening remarks by Dr. David Rainbow), September 29, 2017; Moores Opera House, University of Houston.
Night with the Conductor: A performance of Russian classical music with Maestro Franz Anton Krager, September 17, 2017; Russian Cultural Center of Houston.
Film:
Film screening and conversation with the director: Vitaly Mansky, The Eastern Front (2023). November 3, 2023.
Film screening and conversation with the director: Vitaly Mansky, Gorbachev. Heaven (2020). February 4, 2022.
Czech movie night featuring Vinyl Generation (dir. Keith Jones, 2016), a story of art, revolution, and vinyl from 1980s Communist Czechoslovakia, followed by a discussion with producer Jeffrey Brown. January 15, 2020.
Russian Documentary Film Festival: 100 years of Revolution, October 23-28, 2017; University of Houston, Russian Cultural Center of Houston, and other locations (sponsored by Department of Modern and Classical Languages).
Annual Soviet Film Night and Potluck, takes place each spring.