The Contemporary Latin American Studies in Russia: Between Academy and Politics

• In Event: The Evolution of Latin American Studies in Asia: New Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The centers for Latin American studies, which have proliferated in many academic institutions of the Soviet Union following the 1959 Revolution in Cuba, suffered serious decline because of the political and economic transformations in Russia in the 1990s. As Moscow was retreating from the Latin America, the Latin American Studies ceased to be considered as one of the areas of primary interest for scholars, with one notable exception, that is the schools of ethnographic and anthropological studies. However, in recent years, the so- called “Russia’s return to Latin America” turned the attention of scholars in other disciplines back to the sub-continent. The main aim of this paper is to examine the main areas of research by Russian Latin Americanists and to discuss how they correspond to Russian government’s interests in that part of the world. Another objective is to look over the organization of these studies in Eurasian geopolitical space with a purpose to establish how it fits into the current political and economic ties between Russia and Latin American countries.

Author

• Viktor Kheifets, Saint-Petersburg State University