Ekaterina Arslanova is a graduate of the Department of International Relations of Ural State University (USU). Since 1998 Ms. Arslanova is a Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate School of USU. Ekaterina is an assistant professor at the Department of International Relations where she teaches a course “Western European Union: foundation, history and  modern development” which is offered within a wider framework of “World integration”. Ms. Arslanova published several research and conference papers on topics of democratic development, international relations, European history and European integration. From January to July 2000 she held a position of Research Assistant to the UNESCO chair in the Department of International Relations. Currently, in addition to her academic duties Ekaterina also coordinates domestic and international outreach programs in the Department of International Relations of USU.

Mikhail D. Besedin was born on December 5th 1958 in Chelyabinsk.  He received his Diploma in History and Social science from Chelyabinsk State University in 1984. During 1984 - 1986 he was an assistant lecturer at the Department of Scientific Communism, Southern Ural State University. In the Fall of 1986 Mr. Besedin departed for Moscow to take a postgraduate course at Moscow State University, Department of the CPSU History. His dissertation thesis on historiography of the Comintern's united front tactics was successfully defended in February 1990 and later that year he received his Ph. D.

Since 1990 Mr. Besedin has worked at the Department of Political Science, Southern Ural State University. As an associate professor he conducts a general course in political science and gives an additional course "Democracy Theory and Practice".

At the same time, in 1991 - 1998, Mr. Besedin also worked for the Chelyabinsk State Television and Radio Company as an author and presenter of a weekly program which included reports on Russian and world events as they were covered by correspondents from the USA and Europe.

Dr. Besedin is the author of several publications that deal with separation of powers, electoral system and elections in modern Russia".

Dr. Igor Y. Kiselev,  YSU

Igor Kiselev has been working with the Initiative on Distance Learning since its inception in 2000. He is a professor at Yaroslavl State University, and in 2005 was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC. At YSU, he teaches in the Department of Social-Political Sciences, and also works as the Dean’s deputy in charge of scientific research and development. Kiselev received his Doctor of Sociology (PhD) from St. Petersburg University. Research foci include sociology and psychology of international relations. His latest publications in Russian: “Formation of the Image of the State in International Relations and Social Cognition”, Issues of Philosophy, 2003, N 5, pp. 3-13; “State Images in International Relations: Mechanisms of Transformation”, POLIS (Political Studies), 2003, pp. 50-57. He is currently working on a manuscript entitled, “Political Communication at the Turn of the Centuries”, Moscow: Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2002, 320 p.

Nickolai Kukharenko was born in 1976. In 1998 he received his degree from the department of foreign languages, Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University, with a specialization in English and Russian philology. From 1998 until 2001 he taught English language at the Department of International Relations at Amur State University. From 2000 until 2004 Nickolai first worked as an interpreter and later as a head of the International Office at the same university. In 2004 successfully he defended thesis “Chinese ethic-religious communities in the USA” at Moscow State University and received a candidate of science degree in Philosophy. In 2001 he started working as a local instructor for IDL courses 101, 103, 104. Currently Nickolai teaches Theory and Practice of Translation at Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University and gives lectures in the History of World Religions at Amur State University. He is also the head of International Cooperation Department at Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University.

Svetlana Kurganova graduated from Saratov State University, Department of Sociology in 2001. Currently she is a postgraduate student in sociology, Saratov State University. She is an assistant and instructor in the Center of Regional Sociological Research, Saratov State University. Among the courses she teaches are: Data Analyses in Sociology, Theory and Methodology of Sociological Research, and others.

Svetlana’s active participation in 3-year joint project of Wyoming State University and Saratov State University, aimed at the modernization of the educational process, gives her international experience in joint courses and distance learning activities.

Svetlana is an instructor for IDL courses 101 and 102 at Saratov State University.

Anna Smirnova is Assistant Professor at the Chair of Social and Political Psychology, Department of Psychology, Yaroslavl State University. She has a Candidate of Science Degree in Political Science from Moscow State University (Russia). Awards include a Medal from the Russian Academy of Sciences for the competition among young scholars for accomplishment in research (2004), and a nomination for the “World Economy and International Relations”. She has published articles in the journals “Polis (Political Studies)” (Russia), and Psicologia Politica (Spain). Research interests include the psychological aspects of international relations, political cognition, and decision-making.

Irina Sosina is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Yakutsk State University, Russia. She was born in 1957, and received her Diploma in History from Leningrad University in 1979. She has worked at Yakutsk State University since 1987. Since 1992 Sosina has worked at the Department of Political Science, History Faculty of YkSU. She conducts a general course in political science and gives additional courses: Political Institutes and Processes in Modern Russia, Conflictology, and Political Parties. She received the degree of Doctor of Political Science in 2003 from Moscow State Social University. A theme of scientific research is the comparative analysis of electoral systems. Sosina is the author of several books and academic articles on the issues of the Russian electoral system, political parties and political culture. She has participated in the IDL program since 2003, and has taught IDL 103 and 104.

Mikhail graduated from Sociology Department of Saratov State University in 2001, and entered postgraduate studies program in the field of Sociology. In 2002 he became a participant of the exchange program between Saratov State University and the University of Wyoming and spent the academic year of 2002-2003 at Survey Research Center of the University of Wyoming.

Mikhail became an instructor of IDL 103 and IDL 104 courses at Saratov State University in the Fall semester of 2003. Currently he is an instructor of IDL 103 and IDL 104 at Moscow Higher School of Economics. His researchinterests include Methods of Sociological Research, Sociology of Organizations, Political Sociology and other fields.

Anna Ukhanova received her degree in Law at Petrozavodsk State University, June 2004. She has been a post-graduate student in the field of Philosophy and the field of International Law at PSU since November 2004. She participated in and successfully completed a program “Regional Aspects of Management” offered by the Government of the Republic of Karelia and Petrozavodsk State University in 2001-2003. She was awarded the Government award of the Russian Federation, gold medal of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation for the research paper presented at the All-Russian Competition among students and post graduate researchers, November 2003; the Petrozavodsk State University awards for the reports at Annual Students’ Scientific Conferences in the field of Philosophy: 2-nd degree diplomas in May 2000 and April 2003, 1-st degree diplomas in April 2001, April 2002 and April 2004.

Ukhanova participated and successfully completed the 3-d International Ecological Law School “Legal Issues of the Pollution of the Environment” offered by Vermont School of Law (USA) and Petrozavodsk State University (Petrozavodsk, May 2002). She has also successfully completed all four IDL courses, in addition to participating in the First Annual International Conference on International Security Issues held by Stanford University in October 2003 (Yaroslavl, Russia). With her new duties as IDL instructor at PSU, she participated in a Professional Development Seminar offered under auspices of the Stanford Teacher Education Programm (STEP) and the Stanford Institute for International Studies’ IDL Program in August 2004. Other activities include: an Internet course “International Protection of Human Rights” offered by the Institute for Human Rights at Abo Akademi University (Turku, Finland)in December 2002; a course on International Protection of Human Rights organized by the Institute for Human Rights at Abo Akademi University (Turku, Finland) in February-March 2004; the Russian National Championship of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in February 2003 and February 2004; and a course on International Humanitarian Law organized by the Institute for Human Rights at Abo Akademi University and International Committee of the Red Cross (Turku, Finland) in May 2005.

Ukhanova has worked as a consultant at Law at the Commercial organization “RTT”, as head of the legal department at the Commercial organization “RTT”, and as an IDL instructor for all courses since October 2000. She is currently a teacher of International Private Law at the Faculty of Law at Petrozavodsk State University, a post-graduate student in the field of Philosophy at Petrozavodsk State University since November 2004, and as assistant attorney at the Bar “Pereplesnin and K”.

Tamerlan Zaseyev was born on January 20, 1978. In 1994 he graduated of Lunacharski Secondary School No. 5 with advanced learning of English (Vladikavkaz, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia). He then became a Freedom Support Act / FLEX exchange student in 1994-1995, graduating from Hueneme High School (CA, USA). From 1995–2000 he was a student of Faculty of International Relations of North Ossetia State University, and received his diploma with honors in teaching and translating of English and Spanish languages.

From 2000-2002 he worked as a teacher of English free course at the Faculties of Journalism and History of NOSU (teaching foreign press, countries study, idioms in English language, listening, “news/movies watching”, creative writing). 2001-to present he has worked as a staff member of the International Office of NOSU (development of projects proposals, projects coordination, students exchange, correspondence). In 2004 he successfully completed the IDL 104 course, and in 2004 began working as instructor of IDL 103 and IDL 104 at NOSU. 2005–to present, he has worked in the Office of Social and Economic Development of the Government of Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (international projects, staff member of State Institution Special Fund “Revival of Beslan”). Other activities: 2000 to present – assistant to North-Ossetian Republican Drug Rehabilitation Center (fund-raising and foreign partner search).