Yurii Grigoryevich Golub is 70 years old. Of these, he has been at the university for more than half a century. At first as a student and graduate student, and after defending his dissertation in 1978, he began his teaching career. Over the years, he has developed as an experienced teacher and a prominent scientist, a mentor of the scientific shift and an effective leader.
Y.G. Golub is the author and co–author of monographs and numerous articles. His research interests are very multifaceted. This is a systematic study of the activities of international industrial associations of trade unions in the 20th century, and consideration of important aspects of regional history, and the study of little-known plots on the eve and beginning of the Great Patriotic War. And, of course, the problems of modern international relations.
On the eve of the anniversary, we interviewed the Honored Worker of the Higher School of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Yurii Golub, Director of the Institute of Additional Professional Education, Head of the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of the Institute of History and International Relations.
Photo by Victoria Victorova
– Yuri Grigoryevich, when did you realize that studying history could become your professional business?
– There is no short answer to this question. When I graduated from high school, I didn't think about university at all. Although I learned the word "university" as a boy. In the early 60s, a very colorful neighbor appeared in our house. With a big gray beard. I asked my father about him. He replied: the rector of the university. I didn't understand anything, but I remembered the word. When I got older, I found out – it was Roman Viktorovich Mertslin.
And so. After graduating from school, he planned to enter MGIMO, but under one condition invented by himself: if there was a gold medal (the silver ones were canceled then). It was real. I graduated from 9th and 10th grades only with "excellent" grades. I got a "B" for my essay on the exam. Faced with a difficult choice. And then I made my first serious independent decision: I will go to university, to the Romano-German department. The dream of international relations was still dominant. The parents did not support this intention. Their advice was unequivocal: you need to enroll in the history department. I loved history, knew it well, and agreed with it.
So in 1970 he ended up at the university and stayed there for the rest of his life. And I have never regretted the choice I made. And he remained faithful to his youthful dream of international affairs. PhD and doctoral dissertations defended on international topics, work at the Department of International Relations is proof of this.
– But the Department of International Relations did not arise immediately…
– At first, I was at the Department of History of the CPSU for twenty years, which eventually became the Department of Political Sciences. He came as a very young graduate student, left as a doctor from the position of professor, deputy head of the department. I went through a unique school there. I learned a lot from Vladimir Borisovich Ostrovsky and Vladislav Vasilyevich Vsemirov, on whose recommendation I was invited to the Faculty of History to head the Department of modern Russian History. In 2010, he headed the established Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia.
I will always remember my first teaching day on September 4, 1978. According to the schedule, my workload was 10 hours that day. In the morning there are three pairs of seminars with physicists in the afternoon, and on the same day there is a lecture with physicists in the evening, and then with chemists. And so every Monday, other days it was easier. That's how I became a teacher.
– You are a famous scientist. What would you highlight in your scientific work?
– A difficult question. Everything is dear and meaningful to me in its own way. Well, if you highlight, especially in May, I will note publications dedicated to the events of the eve and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
In 2009, the monograph "The Bessarabian problem in the context of Soviet-German relations in 1939-1941" was published. It substantiates the conclusion that it was the excessive, in Hitler's opinion, strengthening of the Soviet Union at the threshold of the Balkans that in no small measure forced him to accelerate the attack on the USSR.
The book "Iran in the focus of the politics of the great powers. 1941-1943", published in 2015, examines another little-studied aspect of the Great Patriotic War – the entry of the Red Army into Iran in August 1941. Let me remind you that this happened at a time when fierce fighting was taking place on the Soviet-German front. When the Battle of Smolensk was in full swing, the fate of Moscow depended on the outcome of which. When, without exaggeration, every combat-ready formation and every piece of equipment counted. And at this very tense moment, the Soviet troops are entering the northern regions of Iran. Moreover, very solid forces were involved – formations of three combined arms armies, which included 16 divisions, including 2 tank divisions. Carrying out such a large-scale operation with the diversion of significant forces outside of direct connection with the difficult military-strategic situation on the Soviet-German front, of course, should have had good reasons. The book is devoted to their clarification. But not only that. It reconstructs the difficult process of building allied relations between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition during the war years and the role of the Iranian factor in this. Special attention is paid to the development of a common position of the USSR and Great Britain regarding Iran and the conduct in this country of the first joint military operation of the allies, which received the very symbolic name "Consent".
In recent years, he has focused on the problems of modern international relations. Together with Professor S.Y. Shenin, he published a series of articles in such reputable academic journals as "World Economy and International Relations", "International Processes", "Modern Europe", "USA and Canada: economics, Politics, culture". The articles are devoted to the analysis of discussions within the American political class on topical issues on the world agenda: relations with Russia and China within the framework of "green transit", prospects for strategic arms control, the fate of the nuclear deal with Iran, withdrawal from the intermediate-range missile treaty, relations with NATO allies and others.
Since 2005, an annual interuniversity collection of scientific papers "Education in the modern world" has been published under my editorship. 17 issues have already been published.
I will highlight the work with graduate students and doctoral students. Under my supervision, 25 dissertations were defended, including three doctoral theses.
Awarding diplomas to international graduates. From the personal archive
– You recently took part in a scientific forum held at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The topic of your speech is quite intriguingly outlined. What was it about?
– Intriguing? "The Ukrainian crisis. The experience of historical comparison." That's what it was called. I will try to briefly reveal the intrigue. We all often turn to the past, trying to find stories in it that are consonant with modernity. First of all, we appeal to clarify the nature of the precedents, to clarify what they eventually led to.
And in this regard, what is happening in Ukraine, of course, dictates the search for historical analogies. The Ukrainian crisis has become a serious shock to European and global security, given the active and increasing involvement of the collective West in it. And in this sense, it is unprecedented. Although many causal and meaningful moments can be seen in the events of half a century ago. I am referring to the appearance of the independent state of Bangladesh in place of East Pakistan with the armed support of India. Just amazing and numerous coincidences. To the point that, as former President Nixon later stated, the United States at that moment did not rule out a nuclear war with the Russians…
I should probably write an article.
– For almost ten years you have been the vice–rector of the university ...
- A very busy period of life, which allowed you to acquire new, as they say now, competencies. To contribute in this position to the efforts of the entire university community for the development of the native university.
– And more specifically?
– I don't even know what to highlight… Each period is remarkable in its own way, full of its own problems and priorities… I'm saying these phrases, and I'm thinking what to answer. First of all, the 100th anniversary, the House of Young Scientists, comes to mind. And, of course, NIU. Yes, NIU! It was a breakthrough. Yes, even what! The entire university and, of course, the entire rector's office worked hard on the implementation of this project for almost a year. A working group of four people was formed, which included me. We were called upon to accumulate all the proposals of the departments, and most importantly, based on the achieved potential of the university, to make recommendations on the main activities of SSU as a national research university. It wasn't easy. Such an example shows how difficult it is. How can the powerful humanitarian component of the university be combined in one direction? A dozen faculties and institutes with their own interests, scientific schools. And that's half of the university. The idea came to me unexpectedly. He proposed the direction "Risks of social systems". Everyone agreed at once.
We worked hard on the program for several months, and in general it turned out. Since 2010, our university has been a national research university.
– Now let's talk about IDPO. You have been running the Institute for almost 20 years, in fact, since its inception.
– Well, about the Institute, about additional professional education, you can talk for hours. Everything is simple here. For the 20th anniversary, IDPO wrote a great article. It is posted on the institute website. Anyone who wants to can take a look. I will only say that the university has developed a well-organized system of additional professional education. It is no coincidence that at one time SSU was included among the basic universities of the Ministry of Education and Science for advanced training of teachers of Russian universities. Colleagues from all over the country came to us. From Kaliningrad to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. We have trained over a thousand teachers from 218 universities from almost a hundred cities in Russia. It is a pity that this project was completed.
For me, working at IDPO is important primarily because it allowed me to get in touch with a lot of university teachers. After all, the university is the whole world. Faculties and institutes are largely autonomous. They solve very different educational and scientific tasks. From mathematics and physics to sports and medicine, from history and philology to geology and computer science. And we involve everyone to work in IDPO. There were times when the heads of several dozen departments of the university worked as part-timers at our institute! What names!
IDPO solves, and solves successfully, the widest range of tasks. From providing regular professional development for teachers and staff to providing opportunities for our students to expand their professional opportunities. And, of course, it is very important to work on the external circuit with individuals and legal entities.
In this regard, I would like to emphasize the implementation of the IDPO in 2021-2022 of the federal project "Employment Promotion" as an important part of the national project "Demography". Among the hundreds of universities in the country selected for the implementation of this project, SSU has become one of the most effective participants. The last example is the successful completion of training for employees of Norilsk Nickel Sputnik. We hope that the head office of this world-class corporation will also take part in this work.
The university's potential makes it possible to implement almost any additional professional education programs and expand the university's presence in this area, going far beyond the region. This is exactly what Rector Alexey Nikolaevich Chumachenko directs us to do.
At a lecture at the IDPO. Photos from the personal archive
– It is known that you are actively involved in public activities. What would you highlight?
– I won't talk about everything. I will only note that since 2011, he has been a member of the Public Chamber of the Saratov region. First, as the head of the Commission on Education, Science and Culture, then he was elected deputy chairman of the Chamber. He was eight years old.
I particularly appreciate the preparation, together with Professor Viktor Nikolaevich Danilov, of the historical justification of the public initiative to award the honorary title "City of Labor Valor" to Saratov, which was among the first to be awarded this title by Presidential Decree.
– Yuri Grigoryevich, we are meeting on the eve of your anniversary. Many people consider you a successful person. Do you agree with this? And do the concepts of "successful" and "happy" combine?
– Each person, of course, has his own understanding of happiness, as well as success. For me, as probably for many, happiness is my beloved family. I am very proud of my wife, my sons, I adore my granddaughter and three grandchildren. The sons have already achieved a lot. This is very important for a father. From some point on, children's successes are perceived more important than their own. So, yes, I am happy.
As for the first part of the question, it is probably generally successful. On a large scale, he coped with almost everything he undertook. With a few exceptions.
– And the last question. Have you thought about trying yourself outside the university?
— no. Although ... to be honest, in the early 80s, the family seriously discussed moving to Moscow. In the noughties, there were options for joining the government.
My life choice is university.
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Photo captions (footage from the personal archive):
1 - At the Russian Embassy in Tehran. The hall where the conference of the leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain took place in 1943
2 - Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia
3 - At the international conference in MGIMO
4 - Remembering youthful hobbies
