The central mission of USRF is to support the long-term economic development of Russia's market economy and the political and social environment required for its success. This is in full accord with an exchange program for leading young Russian economists and specialists in economic public policy, named in honor of Yegor Gaidar (1956-2009), the first Minister of Economy and Finance of the RSFSR, the first Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of Democratic Choice of Russia, and Member of the State Duma.
The U.S. Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law (USRF) has launched the Yegor Gaidar Fellowship Program in Economics and Public Policy aimed at:
The non-profit corporation "International Research and Exchanges Board IREX" (USA) has been selected an operator of the Program to administer this project under the overall guidance of USRF.
Upon successful completion of the pilot phase, the Gaidar Program could be expanded to include more participants, short-term exchanges, mentoring, and sharing of the best practices.
The first three Gaidar Fellows were chosen through a merit-based competition to spend approximately six months at a U.S. think tank or university according to their research focus and professional expertise. Fellows, along with their collaborators, engage in policy-relevant research at a host institution, leading to a co-authored white paper to be presented at conferences in the U.S. and Russia. The fellowship in the US will continue from October, 2011 through April, 2012.
Konstantin BorisovInstitution: Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Position: Deputy Division Chief Department of Regional Economic Development Projects U.S. Host Institution: Harriman Institute, Columbia University U.S. Collaborator: Dr. Timothy Frye, Director, Harriman Institute Dr. Padma Desai, Director, Center for Transition Economies Research Topic: International Trade and Investment Konstantin Borisov holds a PhD from Vladivostok State University of Economics and Science, and is currently pursuing a degree in International Law at the Russian Foreign Trade Academy at the Ministry of Economic Development. He previously worked as the General Director of PromTekhImport, LTD, before joining the Ministry of Economic Development as the Deputy Division Chief of the Department of Regional Economic Development Projects. While in the United States, Dr. Borisov plans to develop a model of how governmental and foreign agencies can collaborate, in order to improve Russia's foreign investment strategy and overall economic strategy. |
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Viacheslav EvseevInstitution: Center for Customs Tariff and Non-Tariff Regulation Research Position: Director U.S. Host Institution: Georgetown University, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies U.S. Collaborator: Ambassador Ross Wilson, Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council Research Topic: International Trade and Foreign Policy/WTO Compliance Viacheslav Evseev holds a PhD in International Trade from the Institute of Macroeconomic Research in Moscow, Russia and an MPA, with a concentration in International Trade, from the State School of Administration (EPA) in Paris, France. He previously worked as Advisor to the Executive Director of the Russian Managers Association, and is currently the Director of the Center for Customs Tariff and Non-Tariff Regulation Research. He plans to conduct research on the formulation of foreign trade policy in the U.S. and Russia, with a focus on the influence of the public and private sector in trade policy decisions and WTO compliance. |
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Ksenia KushkinaInstitution: Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences Position: Asian Energy Market Analyst/Doctoral Candidate, Energy Research Institute U.S. Host Institution: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) U.S. Collaborator: Edward Chow, Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program Leigh Hendrix, Energy and National Security Program Research Topic: Energy Policy Ksenia Kushkina holds a degree in World Economics from the Higher School of Economics at Moscow State University as well as a diploma in the Chinese language from the Beijing University of Language and Culture. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the World Economics and International Relations Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences. She worked as an interpreter for the United Company, RusAI, and interned at Rosneft, before becoming an Asian energy market analyst at the Energy Research Institute. She has previously conducted research on foreign investment in the energy market in China. While in the United States, she plans to research U.S. energy policy and the development of the energy sector. |
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IREX/Russia staff conducted a pre-departure training for the Gaidar fellows to prepare them for travel, work and life in the United States. The pre-departure training provided detailed information on the program timeline and structure, travel documents, visa requirements, health insurance, financial management, suggestions for succeeding in the American business environment, and American culture and values. The Yegor Gaidar Fellowship Program Opening Workshop (photos) The U.S. fellowship began with a three-day Opening Workshop held in Washington, D.C. from October 24 – October 26, 2011. IREX/DC drew upon its extensive contacts throughout the Washington, D.C. area in order to arrange professional meetings with government officials on Capitol Hill, governmental bureaus, policy relevant think tanks and academic institutions.
The meetings served to introduce the fellows to the policymaking community in the United States, as well as familiarize them with the key agencies and individuals that are involved with the formulation of U.S. public policy in the areas of international trade, investment and economics.
The Opening Workshop included meetings at the following institutions: Senate Foreign Relations Committee; U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs; U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.
Each of the collaborative teams will submit a six-eight page white paper on their specific research topic by April 5, 2012. The goal of the papers is to have a series of tangible results and policy recommendations on each topic which, ultimately will be distributed to a broader public policy audience in the U.S. and Russia during the mini-conferences/roundtables and on institutional websites. The papers will be published in English and Russian and will be disseminated at key policy think tanks and research institutions in the U.S. and Russia, strategic Russian government institutions, and press outlets.
IREX will set up teleconference meetings between each of the American and Russian collaborative teams and senior management at the fellows' respective home institutions in order to deliver "progress reports" on meetings held to date, preliminary research findings, and the overall progress of the co-authored white papers. The collaborative teams will have the opportunity to receive feedback and suggestions that will serve to strengthen the relevance of their projects to the current policy situation in Russia. The teleconferences will take place in mid-January, 2012.
The U.S. and Russian collaborative teams will jointly deliver their key findings and policy recommendations at small scale conferences, or roundtable discussions, at U.S. host institutions in mid-April, 2012. Representatives of local think tanks, research centers and governmental agencies will be invited to participate. The conferences/roundtables will serve to broaden the professional networks of the participants, disseminate policy recommendations to the U.S. policymaking community, and inform and educate the public about key economic policy issues. U.S. collaborators, in turn, will travel to Russia in fall 2012 to jointly present with the Gaidar fellows at a final conference that will be attended by representatives from policy-relevant think tanks and academic institutions in Russia.
http://www.irex.org/project/yegor-gaidar-fellowship-program-economics-public-policy
