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Oleg Kobtzeff

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Oleg Kobtzeff

Associate Professor

  • Department: History and Politics
  • Personal Website: 

Franco-American with family ties to many frontier regions of Russia and the Ukraine, trained at the sorbonne, first by founders of theÌęAnnalesÌęschool (mainly Pierre Chaunu), then François-Xavier Coquin,ÌęProfessor Kobtzeff's pluri-disciplinary and multi-faceted work is a study of the interface of civilizations and their relationship with their natural environments. Familiarity with French, American and Slavic geographic research lead to first assignments: the CNES (French space agency), the US National Parks Service, and scientific institutions in Alaska where he lived for four years in an indigenous community, co-founded a museum, and became involved, as an educator or journalist, in the problems of
multi-cultural societies, borderlands, and management of maritime resources, discovering how a remote area becomes a crossroads of global forces. After more comparative research in Italy (as acting director of the Gogol Library) and France (faculty member of the Sorbonne and the CollĂšge de France) he began traveling extensively across Central and Eastern Europe and the Arctic regions, producing publications and teaching on international competition or cooperation in fields ranging from war, the environment, or outer-space, to human rights and identity.



Education/Degrees

B.A. and M.A. in history, Université de Paris Sorbonne (Paris IV)
B.Th., Institut de Théologie Orthodoxe Saint Serge (Paris)
D.E.A. in history, Université de Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I)
Ph.D. in East European studies, Université de Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I)

News

  • Appearances on French national radio and TV, approximately once a month, since the beginning of the Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts.
  • Editor in chief (and co-author): The Geostrategic Maritime Review (published by L'Harmattan), for Issue 7 (the Arctic Ocean) and Issue 8 (the Baltic Sea).

Publications

Editorial positions
  • Publisher, assistant Ă©ditor, columnist, The Kodiak Fisherman - regional monthly 36-page magazine (tabloid format) ; circulation : 4000, 40% advertisement
  • Co-editor, Hall Gardner & Oleg Kobtzeff, eds., The Ashgate Research Companion to War, Farnham: Ashgate: London, 2012Ìę
  • Assistant editor, Gardner, Hall, (ed.), Central and South-central Europe in Transition, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2000.
  • Faculty supervisor, Scripta Politica et Economica, American University of Paris scholarly faculty-student publication
  • Creator of , quarterly educational magazineÌę (geography,Ìę environment, ethnography, history)
  • Member of board of editors for ”țŽÇ°ùĂ©Čč±ô±đČő (pluri-disciplinary academic journal on Nordic studies), French Center for Nordic Studies,
  • Reviewer for Inter-Nord, Alaskan History, Revue d’Etudes Slaves
  • Credited consultant for William W. Fitzhugh and Aron Cromwell, Crossroads of Continents, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988
Monographs
  • La Colonization russe en AmĂ©rique du Nord: 18 - 19 Ăšme siĂšcles (Russian Colonization in North- America, 18th-19th Centuries) Paris, University of PanthĂ©on-Sorbonne, 1985, xxxvi + 585 pages + Illus. + Maps. (Private publication in 50 copies. New revised and augmented edition in English in preparation for release in 2022).
  • Beginning Russian. Barron's, N.Y., 1996; also published in Finnish, Spanish and 4 French editions—3rd edition Initiation: russe—on Amazon.fr bestselling list for several months in 2003-2004, N°6 of all books on tape).
Articles in peer-reviewed publications
  • Ìę“Pour une Ă©tude comparative des pĂšlerinages sur les tombes de Saint Germain d’Alaska et de Saint SĂ©raphim de Sarov.
    commentaires sur des notes de terrain. ", Semaine d’Études Liturgiques, No. 66, UniversitĂ© de Fribourg, Aschendorff : MĂŒnster, 2020 (publication imminent)
  • "Meyendorff en tant qu’historien", in - Sekulovsky, Goran, ed., L’hĂ©ritage du PĂšre Jean Meyendorff : Ă©rudit et homme d’Église, 1926-1992. Paris : Editions du Cerf (publication imminent)
  • "L’ÉvĂȘchĂ© de GenĂšve et d’Europe occidentale", in - Allouche-Benayoun, JoĂ«lle, Hermon-Belot, Rita, Obadia, Lionel & Zwilling, Anne-Laure, eds., Atlas des groupes religieux minoritaires en France, Strasbourg : Presses universitaires de Strasbourg, 2018, pp. 281-290
  • "A life in the service of France, of the Pacific, and of the Arctic and Antarctica: Michel Rocard (1930-2016), Senator, Prime Minister of France, Ambassador of France for International Negotiations on Polar Regions ", The Geostrategic Maritime Review, No. 7, November 2016, pp. 167-187.
  • "Arctic Geopolitics as a Major Public Issue: the Reasons Behind a Lack of Awareness", The Geostrategic Maritime Review, No. 7, November 2016, pp. 25-63.
  • “L’affaire des Mistral russes”, in – Sur, serge, ed., Annuaire Français de Relations Internationales, Paris: UniversitĂ© PanthĂ©on-Assas, Centre Thucydide, 2016, pp. 609-620.
  • "Russia in the Mediterranean", The Geo-Maritime strategic Review, N° 4, Fall 2015.
  • "Les enjeux Ă©nergĂ©tiques de la crise ukrainienne", Confrontations Europe, No. 106, Juillet-Septembre 2014, pp. 20-21
  • "Kodiak:Ìę Ăźle amĂ©ricaine, Ăźle russe", in Catherine GĂ©ry & Dominique Samson, eds., MĂ©langes en l’honneur d’Anne-Victoire Charrin, Paris: Institut des Langues Orientales,Ìę (to be released in late 2013).
  • "Pour le monde mais pas de ce monde: un homme simple dans un monde compliquĂ©", in-La joie du Royaume, Actes du colloque International l'hĂ©ritage du pĂšre Alexandre Schmemann (Paris 11-14 dĂ©cembre 2008), sous la direction de AndrĂ© Lossky, Cyrille Sollogoub et Daniel Struve, Paris: YMCA Press, 2012, pp. 34-38
  • "Gwenn A. Miller: Kodiak Kreol", Cahiers du monde russe [En ligne], 51/4 | 2010
  • "General Introduction. Polemology" (co-authored with Hall Gardner), in Hall Gardner & Oleg Kobtzeff, eds., The Ashgate Research Companion to War, Farnham: Ashgate, 2012, pp. 1-31
  • "Age of Progress or ‘Age of Extremes’? The Escalation of Warfare in Modern Times and the Nature of its Mutation”, in Hall Gardner & Oleg Kobtzeff, eds., The Ashgate Research Companion to War, Farnham: Ashgate, 2012, pp. 99-130
  • "Time of Troubles: War in an Age of Planetary Upheaval, From the End of the Middle Ages to 1648" in Hall Gardner & Oleg Kobtzeff, eds., The Ashgate Research Companion to War, Farnham: Ashgate, 2012, pp.Ìę 229-250
  • "Totalitarian Times—Total War, Global War: the Roots of World War II and the Nature of the Conflict", in Hall Gardner & Oleg Kobtzeff, eds., The Ashgate Research Companion to War, Farnham: Ashgate, 2012 , pp. 337-370
  • “Belgrade, Moscow and Washington in the War of Kosovo: Dispelling the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ Myth”, in Hall Gardner & Oleg Kobtzeff, eds., The Ashgate Research Companion to War, Farnham: Ashgate, 2012, pp.Ìę 433-442
  • “Espaces et cultures du Bassin de la Neva : reprĂ©sentations mythiques et rĂ©alitĂ©s gĂ©opolitiques, in Walter Zidaric, ed., Saint-Petersbourg : 1703-2003, Actes du Colloque international, UniversitĂ© de Nantes, mai 2003, Nantes:ÌęCentre de Recherches surÌę les IdentitĂ©s Nationales et l’InterculturalitĂ©, 2004
  • “Environmental Security and Civil Society”, in- Gardner, Hall, ed., Central and South-central Europe in Transition, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2000, pp. 219-296.
  • “Au-delĂ  de la SibĂ©rie: l'Eglise Orthodoxe et les IndigĂšnes de l'Alaska” (Beyond Siberia : The Orthodox Church and the Indigenous People of Alaska), in - Chichlo, Boris, ed., SibĂ©rie II, Paris: Institut des Etudes Slaves, 1999, pp. 133-148
  • “The Forgotten Religion: the Geopolitics of the Orthodox world”, Scripta Politica et Economica, vol. XIII, N° 1, November 1996, pp. 10-11, 26.
  • “Dwindling democracy (The Russian presidential election)”, Scripta Politica et Economica, vol. XII, N° 3, March 1996, pp. 7-9.
  • “L'EvĂȘque et le chamane” (The Bishop and the Shaman), in - Charrin-Pochtar, Anne-Victoire, (ed.), Les SibĂ©riens, special issue N° 78 of Autrement, Paris, 1995, pp. 80-93.
  • “Map of Russian America in the 1800s”, Alaska Magazine, October 1988, vol. 54, N° 10, pp. 20-21 (first complete map of Russian colonies in 19th century N. America).
  • “Ruling Siberia: the imperial power, the Orthodox Church and the Native people”, Siberica, British Siberian Studies Seminar, vol. II, 1984, pp. 6-15. (favorably reviewed by David Collins in Siberia: A Select, Annotated Bibliography of English Language Works Relating to Siberia and the Soviet Far East, Oxford, Denver, Santa Barbara: Clio Press, 1991).
  • “La Colonisation russe en AmĂ©rique du Nord : 18-19Ăšme siĂšcles”, ”țŽÇ°ùĂ©Čč±ô±đČő, N° 36-37, 1985, pp. 75-78.
  • “Environmental Security and Civil Society”, in- Gardner, Hall, ed., Central and South-central Europe in Transition, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2000, pp. 219-296. Favorably reviewed in Marek Payerhin, "Transitions and Environment in Poland”, An Annotated Bibliography for the Post-Secondary Curriculum Development Project prepared for the University of Michigan’s Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, .
  • “Au-delĂ  de la SibĂ©rie: l'Eglise Orthodoxe et les IndigĂšnes de l'Alaska” (Beyond Siberia : The Orthodox Church and the Indigenous People of Alaska), in - Chichlo, Boris, ed., SibĂ©rie II, Paris: Institut des Etudes Slaves, 1999, pp. 133-148 favorably reviewed in James Forsyth, Reviewed work(s): Siberie II: Questions siberiennes: Histoire, cultures, litterature by Boris Chichlo, Slavic Review, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Autumn, 2000), pp. 660-661. Article Stable:Ìę “one of the most interesting essays [of the volume]”).
  • “Holocauste en URSS: un hĂ©ritage sanglant”, EnquĂȘte sur l'Histoire, N° 22, AoĂ»t-Sept., 1997, pp. 14-17.
  • “The Forgotten Religion: the Geopolitics of the Orthodox world”, Scripta Politica et Economica, vol. XIII, N° 1, November 1996, pp. 10-11, 26.
  • “Dwindling democracy (The Russian presidential election)”, Scripta Politica et Economica, vol. XII, N° 3, March 1996, pp. 7-9.
  • “L'EvĂȘque et le chamane” (The Bishop and the Shaman), in - Charrin-Pochtar, Anne-Victoire, (Ed.), Les SibĂ©riens, special issue N° 78 of Autrement, Paris, 1995, pp. 80-93.
  • "Les Chiffres du Goulag. Un rĂ©visionnisme rampant”, EnquĂȘte sur l'Histoire, N° 9, AoĂ»t-Sept., 1994, pp. 46-48.
  • “Ruling Siberia: the imperial power, the Orthodox Church and the Native people”, Siberica, British Siberian Studies Seminar, vol. II, 1984, pp. 6-15. (favorably reviewed by David Collins in Siberia (A Select, Annotated Bibliography of English Language Works Relating to Siberia and the Soviet Far East), Oxford, Denver, Santa Barbara: Clio Press, 1991.
  • “La Colonisation russe en AmĂ©rique du Nord : 18-19Ăšme siĂšcles”, ”țŽÇ°ùĂ©Čč±ô±đČő, N° 36-37, 1985, pp. 75-78.
Manuscripts submitted to peer-reviewed journals
  • "From the shores of America to the shores of the Baltic: the extreme frontiers of Russia"
  • “ ‘CrĂ©oles’. From the Gulf of Mexico to Far North Pacific: the Surprising Migration of a Word", Fondation des Etats-Unis, Paris.
  • “ How Russian Colonization Works: the Case of Russian America”
  • “ Emmigration and Historic Methodology: the Diasporas from Russia, in Paris and Other Places”
Editorials and journalistic publications
  • "City in a Park, city by the sea : my Helsinki" Nature & Cultures, May 2020,
  • "La deuxiĂšme guerre de CorĂ©e aura-t-elle lieu?", Huffington Post-francophone edition,Ìę 2013
  • "Quel avenir pour le Parti RĂ©publicain?", Huffington Post-francophone edition, 7 Nov. 2012
  • Ìę"De la "dictature de la mĂ©diocritĂ©" Ă  une intensification de la vie politique amĂ©ricaine. Ce qui a dĂ©jĂ  changĂ© en 2012 Ă  la veille des rĂ©sultats", Huffington Post-francophone edition, 6 Nov. 2012 (bilan de la campagne prĂ©sidentiuelle US Ă  la veille des rĂ©sultats; prĂ©dit une victoire d'Obama grĂące Ă  l'Ă©lectorat des swing states).
  • "The Arctic: A New Mediterranean?", Nature and Cultures, issue 1, Spring 2013
  • "Zoos: Who Needs Them?" (co-Ă©crit sous le pseudonyme "Alan Aftonfalker", avec l'assistance de Yaroslav Rovenskih ),Ìę Nature and Cultures, issue 1, Fall 2012
  • "Obama: l'heure du bilan", Huffington Post-francophone edition, 6 Sept. 2012
  • "Fin de la convention rĂ©publicaine: Ă  Tampa, une AmĂ©rique morose", Huffington Post-francophone edition, 31 AoĂ»t 2012
  • "L'affaire Pussy Riot: un simple chahut qui dĂ©gĂ©nĂšre en intifada juridique et culturelle", Huffington Post-francophone edition, 18 AoĂ»t 2012
  • "Les Hirondelles font-elles le printemps russe"? Huffington Post-francophone edition, 14 fĂ©vrier 2012
  • “Holocauste en URSS: un hĂ©ritage sanglant”, EnquĂȘte sur l'Histoire, N° 22, AoĂ»t-Sept., 1997, pp. 14-18
  • "Les Chiffres du Goulag. Un rĂ©visionnisme rampant", EnquĂȘte sur l'Histoire, N° 9, AoĂ»t-Sept., 1994, pp. 46-48.
  • "PrĂ©face", Mike Rostad & Larry Matfay, Time to Dance, Anchorage, 1988.
  • “Map of Russian America in the 1800s”, Alaska Magazine, October 1988, vol. 54, N° 10, pp. 20-21 (first map ever published, showing all Russian settlements from Siberia to California).
Translations
  • From French and Russian into English: Script + interviews and dialogue, English version of Reflets de la danse: le Kirov (The Kirov ballet theater), French national TV channel TF1 production, nominated for Emmy award—best foreign documentary.
  • From French into English: Rupnik, Jacques: “In Search of Central Europe: Ten Years Later”, in Gardner, Hall, (ed.), Central and South-central Europe in Transition, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2000.
  • From English into French: Khodarkovsky, M., “DĂ©couverte, invasion, rencontre”, in - Charrin-Pochtar, Anne-Victoire, ed., Les SibĂ©riens, special issue N° 78 of Autrement, Paris, 1995, pp. 64-80.
  • Theodore S. Greenberg, Linda M. Samuel, Wingate Grant, & Larissa Gray, Stolen Asset Recovery: A Good Practices Guide for Non-Conviction Based Asset Forfeiture, Washington DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank, 2009. (co-translator with Gleb Store)
  • Plus free-lance journalistic assignments for various employers including NBC-News Anchorage, Alaska Magazine, and major American, French, and Russian periodicals, corporate publications and audio-visual media (complete list upon request).

Ìę

Conferences & Lectures

Organizer of conferences, steering committee positions
  • 2016: organizer "The Geopolitics of the Arctic”, International Geostrategic Maritime Observatory round-table event on
    Geostrategy of the Mediterranean Sea, Paris, December, in conjunction with Maision de l’Industrie (a chamber of commerce), Paris
  • 2011: co-organizer PremiĂšre of French-language version of documentary of “Gulag: the Secret Story” (public screening, press conference and debate), American U. of Paris
  • 2007: initiator, organizer: Panel: “The Geopolitics of Extreme Environments. Part 2: The Arctic regions”, held in November at the American Universtity of Paris. Guest speakers: Jim Bitterman, CNN Paris bureau chief, JoĂ«lle Robert-Lamblin, Arctic explorer, etc.
  • 2007: initiator, organizer: Panel: “The Geopolitics of Extreme Environments. Part 1: Outer Space”, held in October at the American Universtity of Paris. Guest speakers: various representatives of Air and space industries and science
  • 2004: Steering committee member for March 25-27, University of Nantes international conference on “Broken Borders”: border regions – crucible of identities
  • 2001: chair panel on Central and Eastern Europe, New World, New Europe, New Threats: NATO andthe European Union in the New Millennium, conference organized by NATO and the American U. of Paris, December 7-8, French Senate.
  • 1998: Location coordinator, Mickiewicz, la France, l’Europe bicentennial conference and celebrations, CollĂšge de France and Polish Library of Paris, Dec. 17-19.
  • 1998: Moderator, The forgotten victims: refugees in camps in Bosnia, panel discussion with Said Zulficar (UNESCO) and Claire Boulanger (MĂ©decins du Monde), American U. of Paris, November 16.
  • 1997: Initiator , organizer, chair, public lecture and debate with Anatoly Sobchak, Mayor of St. Petersburg, Russia; American University of Paris, March 10th.
  • 1996: Initiator , organizer, chair, “1945-1995: a Half-century of Geopolitics in the North Pacific”, conference, American University of Paris, April 1.
  • 1996: 60° N: Alaska-CarĂ©lie, personal exhibit of photos from geographic and ethnographi expeditions, l’Astrolabe Gallery (oldest geographic bookstore Latin Quarter), Paris.
  • 1996: member of steering committee, co-author of catalog and exhibit contributor, From Moscow to Constantinople international conference and exhibition, Nov. 14 to Dec.15, Hellenic Foundation, London; (organized by Byzantine Society, Oxford University).
  • 1995: member of steering committee, translator, panel, The Past, Present and the Future of the Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia, American University of Paris, May 11.
  • 1993: Initiator , organizer, chair, panel, The Environment in the ex-USSR: University of Paris, December 10.
  • 1988: member of steering committee, first international conference on the history and anthropology of the Koniag people, Kodiak Area Native Association, Kodiak, Alaska.
  • 1985: Initiator , organizer, Grand opening of Veniaminov Institute Museum, July, Kodiak, Alaska, followed by series of lectures and slide shows (approximately 50) for tourists and locals (covered statewide by radio and TV).
speaking engagements
regular radio & TV political talk-show panelist (numerous televised appearances available on internet, see )
  • On France 24 TĂ©lĂ©vision and Radio France-International (average: once every two months), and Radio AlgĂ©rie (channel 3 — average: monthly); appeared occasionally on half of French and Russian national TV channels, Radio AlgĂ©rie-International, France Culture, France Inter and (shows available online at or by searching “Kobtzeff” – “videos” through any internet search motor). Debated with leading journalists and government members (including French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-François Deniau)
conference papers or panelist

  • 2020: "Le pacifisme de TolstoĂŻ dans son contexte historique", Table ronde " Faire la paix avec TolstoĂŻ ", ConfĂ©rence
    Catholique des Baptisé-e-s Francophones, January 30.

  • 2019: "De la polĂ©mologie comme grille de lecture des grands conflits contemporains et instrument de paix: pour une
    redécouverte de Gaston Bouthoul et d'Erich Fromm". Conference "Faire Paix" hosted by Ecole de Management de Normandie (also co-sponsor) organized by Université de Caen. Sponsored by Région Normandie. November, 15.

  • 2019: "DĂ©fense de la nature : les origines de l'Ă©cologie en France et dans le monde francophone." organized by FfIRE
    (Forum francophone interdépartemental de recherches et d'enseignement) - a partnership between AUP and OIF (l'Organisation
    Internationale de la Francophonie), OIF headquarters, September 26

  • 2019 : “Sur les traces du TranssibĂ©rien”. Individual presentation organized by Association Linguarik, UniversitĂ© populaire de Poissy. September 22.

  • 2019 : “Pour une Ă©tude comparative des pĂšlerinages sur les tombes de Saint Germain d’Alaska et de Saint SĂ©raphim de
    Sarov. commentaires sur des notes de terrain. " Conference “Liturgies de pĂšlerinages, 66e Semaine d’études liturgiques“, organized by Institut Saint-Serge, Paris, July 1-4

  • 2017 : comments and discussion in the roundtable « le SiĂšcle Arctique » with Mika Mered and StĂ©phane Dugast, Institut
    Libre des Etudes en Relations Internationales, 30 June

  • 2016: "The Geopolitics of the Arctic”, International Geostrategic Maritime Observatory round-table event on Geostrategy of the Mediterranean Sea, Paris, December

  • 2015: "Russia in the Mediterranean", International Geostrategic Maritime Observatory round-table event on Geostrategy of the
    Mediterranean Sea, Paris, June

  • 2014: Panelist, round-table discussion organized by Confrontations Europe think tank, “Comment consolider les
    relations de l'Union européenne avec l'Ukraine ? Comment relancer le dialogue avec la Russie ? ("How to consolidate
    the relations of the EU with the Ukraine? How to restore dialogue with Russia?")

  • 2012: “John Meyendorff: his significance for historiography”, international conference on John Meyendorff, St. Sergius Theological Institute, Paris, February
  • 2010: “The Equal Rights Amendment: Why it is Just and Necessary”, Democrats Abroad conference in Paris, held at the American U. of Paris
  • 2009: “Alexander Schmemann:”, international conference on Alexander Schmemann, St. Sergius Theological Institute, Paris, december.
  • 2007: Keynote speech, panel on “The Geopolitics of Extreme Environments. Part 1: Outer Space” held in October at the American Universtity of Paris.
  • 2004: “From the shores of America to the shores of the Baltic: the extreme frontiers of Russia”, March 25-27, University of Nantes international conference on “Broken Borders”: border regions – crucible of identities.
  • 2003:Ìę “Space and cultures of the Neva Basin : mythical representations and geopolitical situations”, University of Nantes 300th anniversary conference and Nantes-St. Petersburg twinning ceremonies, May 16-19.
  • 2003:Ìę “The geography of the Saint Petersburg region”, Parsons School of design
  • 2003:Ìę “Frances’s culture of the outdoors”, Annual conference of the Royal Geographic Society, London, September 3-5.
  • 2001:Ìę “Emigration and Historic Methodology: the Diasporas from Russia, in Paris and Other Places”, 150th Anniversary of the Turgenev Library in Paris Conference (Paris et l’immigration russe), French Senate, Jan. 18-20, 2001.
  • 1999:Ìę “The Russian Orthodox Church as a multi-national Church: the experience of Russian America”, Sept. 10, 3rd International Conference on Russian America, Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
  • 1999:ÌęÌę “Russia’s involvement in Kosovo”, Russia in the 21st century, Conference, American University of Paris, April 13.
  • 1998:ÌęÌę “Religion in the Former Peoples’ Republics”, Reformed Church of Paris academic circle, rue de Grenelle (diplomatic quarter of Paris), March 17.
  • 1996:Ìę “The Geopolitics of the Pacific North-West”, 1945-1995: a Half-century of Geopolitics in the North Pacific, conference, American University of Paris, April 1.
  • 1995: Anchorman: Paris City Hall music festival, live broadcast on France-Musique (French national radio)
  • 1993:Ìę “Environmental Problems as a Political Issue in Eastern Europe Today”, The Environment in the ex-USSR: debate, American University of Paris, December 10.
  • 1993: “Russian America”, informal assembly of students and professors organized by Russian Academy of Sciences Prof. Emelyanov, Moscow, Aug. 20.
  • 1991: TESTIMONIAL: St. Paul Basilica, Rome (sharing microphone with Pope John-Paul II), February
  • 1989: TESTIMONIAL: St. Paul Basilica, Rome (sharing microphone with Pope John-Paul II), broadcast live on Italian national television, February
  • 1988:Ìę “The Koniag’s Russian Heritage”, first international conference on the history and anthropology of the Koniag people, Kodiak Area Native Association, Kodiak, Alaska.
  • 1987:Ìę “How Russian Colonization Works: the Case of Russian America”, 2nd International conference on Russian America, August, Sitka, Alaska, (organized by the US National Parks Service & the State of Alaska).
  • 1986:Ìę “Ivan-Innokentiiy Veniaminov and the Russian Frontier”, 13th annual meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association, March, University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
  • 1985:Ìę “Ruling Siberia: the Imperial Power, the Orthodox Church and the Native People”, British Siberian Studies Seminar annual conference, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge University, March.
  • 1983:Ìę “Au-delĂ  de la SibĂ©rie: L’Eglise Orthodoxe et les indigĂšnes de l’Alaska”, First International Conference on Siberia, Institut d’Etudes Slaves, Paris, May 24-27.
  • 1982:Ìę “Ruling Siberia: the imperial power, the Orthodox Church and the Native people”, British Siberian Studies Seminar conference, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge

Affiliations

Nature & Cultures: the American University of Paris online
geographic magazine for global explorers:

Waters of the Globe:

Research Areas

Regions studied (deep immersion field experience)
  • St. Petersburg and Carelia
  • Russian, frontiers and borders: Finland, Alaska,Ukraine
  • Nordic and Arctic regions
  • Mordova Autonomous Republic
  • Ukraine
  • Black Sea
  • Britanny
  • The Alps
  • Paris
Research interests
  • Russian, French and Anglo-Saxon history of social sciences (particularly geography and anthropology
  • Ethnic and religious diversity, identities
  • Geopolitics of extreme environments (marine, polar, air & space)
  • Geopolitics of the environment
  • Human rights

Curriculum Vitae