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Research and Study at PSU: Top 10 University Achievements in 2022

16.02.2023 / , , , , , , , , , , , ,

On 8 February, Perm State University celebrated the Day of Russian Science, recognizing the contribution of its scholars on the national and international scale in 2022:

1. PSU chemists have discovered a new substance that will help in the fight against tuberculosis.

PSU scientists have been developing a new type of antibiotic based on erogorgiaen, isolated from the sea coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Not only it will allow the cells enter a persistent state of the drug, acquiring to its tolerance, but also reduce the recurrence of the disease.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria, which generally affects the lungs. In 2020, an estimated 10 million people developed active TB, resulting in 1.5 million deaths, making it the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease after COVID-19.

2. The “Photonics” NTI Competence Center at PSU has developed a new method for preventing emergency shutdowns of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Commonly known as a drone, UAV is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew or passengers on board, involving a ground-based controller and a communication systems. Originally developed for military missions, UAVs are widely used in scientific research, agriculture, logistics, policing and hi-tech sports.  

PSU scholars urged to eliminate the possibility of a UAV system failure due to a sudden change in temperature. The results of the research, detecting the problem failure and improving the fiber-optic elements in UAV gyroscopes have been published in the Applied Sciences Journal.

3. The “Photonics” NTI Competence Center at PSU will help improve the safety of nuclear power plants

PSU scholars from the “Photonics” NTI Competence Center are developing new types of optical fibers resistant to radiation and other aggressive environments applicable in mines, nuclear power plants, as well as spacecraft and Earth orbit satellites. New fibers will speed up data transfer and reduce system response time in case of emergency situations.

4. PSU Professor in law becomes co-developer of CIS agreement on Internet copyright

Professor Anton Matveev, Department of Civil Law, PSU, joined the international lawyers group working on the Agreement allowing CIS member states to protect copyright and related rights on the Internet, establish common approaches to solving problems alike, including updates of national legislation.

The Agreement on Cooperation between the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), regarding copyright and processing information, including telecommunication networks was signed at a meeting of the Council of CIS State Leaders in November, 2021.

5. PSU expert in Adventure Travels crossed Chukotka, ascended the highest peak of the peninsula.

Andrey Korolev, Associate Professor of the Department of Tourism, PSU joined the “Pole of Inaccessibility” team comprising University alumni, in their ski expedition to Chukotka. The adventure travelers crossed the peninsula from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, for the first time ever.

The route was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the expedition of Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel (1796-1870), an explorer of the northeastern coast of the Arctic. For 25 walking days, the team traveled about 600km (373mi), covering the distance of 30km (16,5mi) daily, with an equipment of 50kg (110lb).

6. PSU Scholar discovered a rare species of mosquito in the Vishera Nature Reserve.

Andrey Krasheninnikov, Associate Professor of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Aquatic Ecology, PSU, discovered a unique species of mosquito in the territory of the Vishhersky Nature Reserve. The official name of the insect is Chaetocladius (Chaetocladius) crassisaetosus.

The Chironomidae family of mosquitoes (known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. The name Chironomidae stems from the Ancient Greek word kheironómos, “a pantomimist”, due to characteristic behavior of the mosquito.

7. The technology for groundwater purification is developed by PSU scholars.

The Laboratory of Geology of Technogenic Processes, Natural Science Institute, PSU, in partnership with the Laboratory for Non-Destructive Testing developed a technology and a new bio product for cleaning groundwaters polluted with oil-affected elements.

The new technology is meant for those cases when concentration of pollution does not allow the use of traditional mechanical means of collection, as an alternative to pumping, bioreactors use or chemical reactions. It significantly reduces costs and efforts, and does not harm the environment. The technology has been patented and is ready for practical use.

8. Perm State Art Gallery to receive digital copies of its collection, provided by PSU scholars.

The team of the Center for Digital Humanities at PSU have been creating digital copies of wooden sculpture, typical of local Christian Orthodox believers, preserved at Perm State Art Gallery. The project contributes to 300 Perm City Anniversary.

Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the junction of digital technologies serving as a an advanced system storage and analysis of humanities’ data, as well as their application. The Center for Digital Humanities had been established at PSU in 2016.

9. PSU geneticists explained the failures and successes of combatants in sports.

Research team led by Svetlana Boronnikova, Head of the Department of Botany and Plant Genetics, Faculty of Biology, PSU, identified genotypes and their influence upon people involved in a-cyclic sports, like martial arts, explaining estimating their failures and successes, publishing the survey results in the Genes Journal.

The results by PSU geneticists might be useful at estimating young athletes’ physical capacity – right at the stage of planning their career in sports. The scientists will help predict the body’s ‘durability’ to specific loads, allowing parents and their children to choose among types of most suited sports.

10. PSU geologists keep studying vertebrates of the Permian period in the south of the Perm Territory.

Geologist Galina Ponomareva and geochemist Ivan Khopta, accompanied by scholars from the Paleontological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences and Lomonosov Moscow State University have been researching the age of the Kueda-Klyuchiki section, in the south of Perm Territory. The team did not come to a unified conclusion, yet managed to identify its unique features.

The Permian is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period 298.9 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. Permian marine deposits are rich in fossil mollusks, echinoderms, and brachiopods; terrestrial life included diverse plants, fungi, arthropods, and various types of tetrapods. Overall, Permian period served a vast variety of pre-historic species, including temnospondyli, lepospondyli and batrachosaurs.

Perm State University expresses words of sincere gratitude to its scholars, partners and research fellows for hard work, bold strive for experiment and exciting original projects – with wishes to continue further and achieve bigger impacts!

A Story of PSU Student in Search of Homeplace – to and from Dubai, Back to Perm

24.12.2021 / , , , , , , , , , ,

Olga Averkieva, a senior teacher at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at Perm State University (PSU) has brought together the stories of nine characters who had left Perm but came back to discover their own way in local arts, business and social life, as a set of documentary shorts – uniting them into the “Back Home” Film Project.  

The fifth short episode shows Lidia Skornyakova, a graduate student of the Faculty of Philology, PSU. Having had entered the University once, studying Journalism and Philology here, she then worked as an exhibition manager and art critic for the Yeltsin Center, Ekaterinburg, Russia, and later moved to Dubai, UAE. Yet, she got back to Perm… Following Lidia, in her own words:

“This is a brief story how I learned to be happy – getting back to where I once belonged. I was born in Perm. After school, I entered the Faculty of Philology at Perm State University. I initially went to study journalism, but got bored, and switched to philology, since I had always been into foreign languages. By 2011, when I was supposed to graduate from the Faculty of Philology, I experienced life crisis. That time, I found escape to be the only way to resolve my problems. I decided that moving to a different city and connecting myself to a different activity would make me different, too – and so shake my previous burdens off. I got carried away by an idea of becoming an art critic. I went to the city of Yekaterinburg, 3,5 hours car drive from Perm, and started looking for a job. My first serious professional occupation was the one at the Yeltsin Center, dedicate to the 1st Russian President and his era. The project had just been launched, encouraging each one of us to do our best. I remember myself getting into the thick of it, quite intensely. “

“The first time I went abroad was in 2012, a trip to Thailand. It all seemed a different planet to me, contrasting to my own environment and family’s vision that travels are for the rich people, as they don’t mind wasting money on nonsense; “What for? At which expense? Why not buy something practical, like kitchen crockery, instead?” After leaving the Yeltsin Center, I flew to Dubai. And, while I was moaning there to a female friend of mine, saying I didn’t want to return neither to Perm, nor Yekaterinburg… since after the Yeltsin Center everything seemed so low-scale and much too common to me… my friend told me: “Go, try find a job here! Elsewise, what’s the use of studying English for so many years?’ So, I did go and did find one. I became a real estate consultant with a 1,5 year contract. Gradually, I started getting tired of Dubai, feeling lack of cultural activity and native language communication in its deeper sense – looking for ideas and things to discuss instead of everyday routine, you know? I was missing performances, plays, theaters. The situation at my work did not get better, either. First, I realized that selling real estate was not my cup of tea. And, secondly, there was a moment when they decided to fire everyone right on New Year’s Eve. I didn’t like the idea of waiting for my turn, and flew back to Perm. ”

“Gosh, finding myself back home in Perm, I rushed headlong to the local stage scene and shows, at last! I did everything I could: the Philharmonic, the Organ Hall, the Cultural and Business Center, the Opera and Ballet Theater, and many other places, almost every day. I started thinking of where to study. And, as I stepped onto the University campus, something clicked – as it always did, and does every time I get in here: my goodness, how cool is the vibe, that’s  the place I’ve been missing! The Master’s Degree in Chinese was well announced, so, I passed the exams, and our Dean Dr. Boris Kondakov called me to say: Welcome to the Faculty, glad to have you back! “

“When I started my Master’s, I had been working, already. An old friend of mine had offered me to take part in a cool project by the Morse Code Creative Agency – a company dealing with museum design. As a result, I started a project that I am finishing now, telling the story of Perm basketball. I see it as my personal ‘Yeltsin Center’. Most importantly, not only did this project give me a new starting point, but a new perspective of my own life, too. Previously, I considered Perm quite a boring place: not obviously true, rather because I never showed interest in it. “

“Having started working at the Yeltsin Center, I discovered that the Perm people had often been the driving force behind changes outside the city. Like, when I lived in Dubai, I discovered a whole diaspora of Permians. This came as a shock, since I always regarded Perm as a small place, some kind of a province, almost a backwater in the middle of Russia. But, no! Many people are aware of Perm State University where I am currently studying at. Perm has its own sociological and linguistic schools – which are not imaginary, like a play of Perm scholars’ egos, but the internationally recognized ones. On the whole, these are the people who share their sparkle with you, some really interesting personalities and outstanding individuals. I can’t explain why these people still make Perm their homeplace. I would, of course, like to see certain opportunities allowing them to not only personally grow, but also feel required, important and in demand to Perm… For it is here, not in St. Petersburg or Moscow, Yekaterinburg or Dubai, that they might have these prospects, belonging to their home. “

Looking back, and as an afterword, Olga Averkieva, author of the project admits: “We did not mean to shoot it for the sake of cinema as art. It is a collective reflection on why people are coming back. I hope that these series may become an impact film – the one affecting the social situation in the Perm territory. Following that line, we can go to schools, colleges and social cinemas, places of free screening, where the “Back Home” series are much welcomed.” The project had already been supported by the Presidential Grants Funding and the Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation.

The “Back Home” Film – see the original episode “To Be the Happy One” 9in Russian) here.

Starring: Lidia Skornyakova, Aleksandr Noskov, Marina Garanovich, Maria Duhnova;
Script and editing: Kapitolina Dolgikh,
Camera crew: Sergey Lepikhin, Angelina Trushnikova;
Sound design: Mikhail Toropov;
Composer: Gannadyi Shyroglazov;

Project by: Olga Averkieva;
Art mentorship: Boris Karadzhev;
Produced by Olga Averkieva and Vladimir Sokolov;

The Novyi Kurs (New Course) Film Studio, Perm, Russia.  

PSU Linguists Help Finnish Urban Activist, Contribute to International Perm Links

24.11.2021 / , , , ,

Jaakko Blomberg (Helsinki, Finland), a renowned Finnish artist who creates urban art-related projects, has visited Perm, in cooperation with the PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art.

“I often just call myself urban activist and producer… Some of my activities are associated with urban space, some with art, some with culture, some with environmental issues, some with food. But everything is linked in some way to urban culture, people and community… I travel around to talk, inspire, generate ideas and organise workshops all over Finland and the world – exploring communal city culture, co-operation and different, open-minded ways of doing,”

Jaakko Blomberg shares at his web page.

Sergey Potkin, 3rd year student of the Faculty of Modern Foreign Languages and Literature performed as a guide and interpreter for the Finnish activist. Jaakko Blomberg’s attention was naturally drawn to Perm-local art objects and graffiti, raised from the grassroots.

“I’ve been conducting tours around Perm for some time, already. Some guests are interested in galleries, others – in theaters. I am always for museums, which put a light on the history of Perm and its citizens. From the city monuments, I like Permyak the Salty Ears, and the Legend of Perm Bear,”

says Sergey Potkin.

Being a passionate advocate of urban culture and artist himself, during the tour Jaakko Blomberg showed interest in local Perm graffiti. His attention was also drawn to the “Happiness’s Not Far Off” art installation – the huge top letters dominating a piece of embankment of the Kama river.

“Co-creation and better use of space are increasingly important factors in creating a better city and life. Technology provides us with a number of tools to reach out people, share resources and work together. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but each case is different… The new urban culture is open-minded, quick, created with a minimal budget – and done by the community itself,”

admits Jaakko.

Jaakko Blomberg is known as a founder of Kera-kollektiivi, founder of Kalasataman Vapaakaupunki, Executive Director of Helsinki Urban Art, Co-Founder of Konepaja-liike, Co-Founder of Jänö – vegaaninen lippakioski.

Jaakko’s visit to has been partly linked with Perm Museum of Contemporary Art (PERMM) – an art gallery in Perm, founded by gallerist Marat Gelman in 2009. Besides a train of exhibitions, the Museum holds festivals, artist talks, lectures, workshops, concerts and performances. In 2010, the Financial Times praised PERMM as “one of the most spectacular galleries of modern art in Russia.” “To be honest, Jaakko’s passion to contemporary art during the tour passed on to me, which I feel excited about and grateful for,” shares Sergei Potkin.

The Faculty of Modern Foreign Languages ​​and Literature at PSU traditionally acts as a link between young translators/interpreters and city enterprises, government institutions, social and cultural initiatives looking for international cooperation. “Not only does internship in translation help students to master their profession, but also connects them with a variety of experts, allowing them to sharpen skills and see prospects for future research,” emphasizes Natalya Khorosheva, Head of the Department of Linguistics and Translation, PSU. “In turn, we feel our students are in demand at the city’s venues, contributing to international cultural agenda.”

Earlier in the spring of 2021, the book titled “Perm Collection” was published in Helsinki, which tells about the collection of the Museum of Perm Antiquities, in which teachers and students of the Department of Linguistics and Translation took part. In their letters of gratitude, many more institutions praised PSU students for “excellent knowledge of English and French, mastery of the basics of translation theory and practice, interdisciplinary outlook and willingness to provide comprehensive volunteer assistance.”

Later this month more students from the Faculty of Modern Foreign Languages and Literature, PSU will contribute to artists’ collaborations at PERMM art gallery. On 26-27 November, PERMM will present the first international conference “The Survival Environment. Strange Practices of Environmental Interaction”, with the support by the Goethe-Institut in Russia and the Higher School of Economics. PSU students will acquire to a dialogue of world experts in ecology and the Anthropocene, art historians, artists, architects, philosophers, biologists from Germany, Russia and more countries yet to come.

Foreign Musician to Join a Theatre Play by PSU Alumnus

15.11.2021 / , , ,

On the very first days of winter 2021, a German-based musician IVAN joins Nikolay Gostyukhin (Perm, Moscow, Russia; Berlin, Germany), graduate of the Faculty of Philology, PSU, for his production of “Illusions” – a theater play and its televised version by Ivan Vyrypaev a popular contemporary Russian writer.

The play by Vyrypaev is a story about the illusory nature of love. It consists of monologues by four people, telling a touching life story of two married couples who have been friends with each other for many years. The play characters step into a frank conversation and sincere contact – the act many of us, spectators, have been deprived of during the COVID-19 epidemic and the following lockdown.

Ivan Vyrypaev is a popular Russian playwright, screenwriter, film director, actor and art director. He is a regarded as a leading figure in the Russian New Drama movement.

The music for both projects was composed by IVAN (Ivan Axenov), a young Berlin musician of Russian origin. The play and the film share common musical pieces. For a recent play, IVAN wrote several more musical themes.

  • IVAN (Ivan Axenov)
  • Nikolai Gostyukhin

“I’m a musician and a pathologist,” IVAN states. “How is this related? No way. Music has been with me since childhood, and I learned the specialty of a doctor later. Every day when I look through a microscope, I sort of look down on groups of people. And it gives me a lot of knowledge about the structure of society and our collective unconscious. It sounds very clever, but it’s actually quite simple. I look at the world with my eyes, and I reflect it in the form of sounds.”

According to Nikolay Gostyukhin, the director, the play is a story about the illusory nature of love: “at the end of days, you may find that for the whole of your love you have actually loved someone else.”

For the recent performance, Nikolai Gostyukhin, will be assisted by Alexei Khoroshev, the lighting designer, Perm Opera and Ballet Theater, and Nikita Goinov, designer and teacher, the Tochka Design School. Nikolay Gostyukhin made his debut as a play director for the performances of the “Iranian Conference” (2019) and “Excitement” (2020), which were also based on plays by Ivan Vyrypaev.

“Illusions” Play Page.

Photos from the rehearsal.

“Illusions” Movie Play page.

Photos from the film version.

Ivan Axenov (aka IVAN).

Additional information: Petr Kravchenko, + 7912 78 202 96

Musician’s Picture Source: Ivan Axenov’s Facebook Page: @100005863154670

Film by PSU Alumnus Nominated for Oscar

25.10.2021 / , , , , , ,

Lyubov Mulmenko, a graduate of the Faculty of Philology, Perm State University (PSU) is listed among the co-authors of the script for the film “Compartment No. 6 “, nominated for an Oscar prize (https://abc.com/shows/oscars), in a Category “Best Movie in a Foreign Language”, representing Finland.

“Compartment No. 6” (Finnish: “Hytti nro 6”) is a 2021 internationally co-produced drama, which shows a story of a Finnish student forming an unlikely friendship with a gruff Russian miner, on a train from Moscow to Murmansk. Based on a novel by Rosa Liksom, the film was co-written and directed by Juho Kuosmanen, and united a crew from Finland, Germany, Estonia and Russia. Lyubov Mulmenko was invited to work on dialogues in Russian, as a script had been originally written in English.

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide, since 1929. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership.

Earlier, “Compartment No. 6” got the Palme d’Or Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.  Founded in 1946 in Cannes, France, it is one of the “Big Three” major European film festivals, and an event for the whole global cinema industry.

In 2021, the Cannes Festival saw another film by Lyubov Mulmenko, also performing as a co-screen writer (lead by Kira Kovalenko and a co-director Anton Yarush) – “Unclenching the Fists”, a family drama growing in a mining town in North Ossetia – a story of a young woman struggles to escape the stifling hold of the family she loves as much as she rejects. “Unclenching Fists” won the Grand Prix of the Uncleaning View author’s film competition at the 74th Cannes Film Festival.

The American Variety  Weekly has included Lyubov Mulmenko in the list of 12 Rising Russian Talents Ready for the Global Stage.

From a young age, Lyubov Mulmenko knew she would be a writer: “I just adored inventing the characters and the worlds they live in”. Gradually, she tried “to learn even more in the process.” At Perm State University, Lyubov studied journalism, and further art journalism at the Pro Arte Institute in St. Petersburg. For several years then, she worked in media, including the Sol Internet Newspaper, the Companion Magazine, the New Companion Newspaper, and wrote as a columnist for the https://Lenta.ru.

In 2014, Mulmenko made her screenwriting debut with a trio of drama films that screened in festivals including Rotterdam, San Sebastian and Karlovy Vary. Recently, Lyubov Mulmenko presented her directorial debut, “The Danube”, in the main competition of the Kinotavr Film Festival. “All I hope is to continue with storytelling,” she says, “but I’d like to write less for others and make more films myself.”

“Compartment No. 6” Poster.

“Compartment No. 6” Frame: – Official Trailer.

Lyubov Mulmenko Picture Source and “The Danube” poster: @lyubov.mulmenko on Facebook

“Compartment No. 6” at the Cannes Festival.

PSU to Support International Film Festival

07.09.2021 / , , , ,

On 6–16 September, Perm State University is hosting the “VUZ-Flahertiana” contest for student-based cinema clubs, as a support for the Flahertiana International Documentary Film Festival.

The VUZ-Flahertiana is a friendly way to talk about how we feel, in relation to non-fiction, true-to-life and hard-to-predict stories, which documentaries are. Our own response might be a valuable part of such a screening. According to the Contest Committee, “the goal of the competition is to promote the dialogue culture, tolerance, civic engagement and motivation in youth environment.”

Each University faculty was given the opportunity to choose its own film, referring to the unique collection by the Flahertiana International Film Festival, collected over the years of existence. Flahertiana’s competitive selection means we have access to the cream of the cream contestant productions within the documentary field.

“The University develops in a dialogue with the local community, and itself,” says Ksenia Punina, Head of the Public Relations Department, PSU. “Here this dialogue is being given technical and intellectual support, as well as the interdisciplinary and unifying approach, hence the choice of films.“

Instead of affiliation with a particular field of science, in 2021, the most popular topic is connected to personal progress and self-search, as well as the role that media in that phenomenon. It can be assumed that this choice was triggered by the threat to the human species in the face of the pandemic and the withdrawal of online education.

“We hope that each show will reveal the individuality character of the faculty, encouraging students and teachers to speak out, contributing to the interactive University climate. We are looking forward to make “VUZ-Flahertiana” a year-round film club in a partnership and mentorship of the Perm Cinema Center,”

notes Elena Malkova, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy, PSU.

PSU Choir Enters International Contest, Gets Grand-Prix

25.06.2021 / , ,

The PSU Academic Choir became a grand-prix winner at the “Top of Opympus” International Fest, recently. The Choir performed “Madonna Mia Pieta” by Orlande de Lassus. The Fest welcomed contestants in choreography, vocals, poetry, instrumental performance and theater of fashions.

The PSU Academic Choir unites students from various faculties, regardless of their age, status and field of research. It is friendly team of singers, learning to improve vocal performance and performing at numerous concerts in Russia and abroad.

The Choir’s repertoire has always included works of various eras, musical trends and styles: Russian folk songs, national and international classics, sacred music, pieces by contemporary composers, pop songs and rock numbers. Many Choir members have gone on to become professionals in music.

Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594) was chosen as a known composer of the late Renaissance, chief representative of the mature polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish school, and considered to be one of the most famous and influential musicians in Europe at the end of the 16th century.

PSU to Launch a New Masters Program, Uniting Partners from Europe and Asia

16.03.2021 / , , , , , , ,

Perm State University team has joined a consortium of scholars from Russia and abroad – discussing the new ARTEST project, aiming at implementation of digital methods of research and teaching within humanities. The partner universities from Russia, Germany, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Mongolia shared their positive experience in the field, as well as discussed possible tasks to perform.

In 2020, the ARTEST project became a grant winner of the EU international program Erasmus+. The main goal of the project is to rethink education in art and heritage and humanities in Russia and Mongolia, incorporating European standards and research practices in the field. The ARTEST program intends to create a new master’s program, run by the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology, PSU.

“Our first meeting has demonstrated the willingness of partners to start the project. Albeit online, we managed to get to know the project teams and learn about their activities in digital humanities – serving a basis for creating an interdisciplinary master’s program. We are glad to start the project with such a positive “go” signal,”

says Natalya Dobrynina, Head of Department of Network Programs and Educational Projects, PSU.

PSU will serve the goal of re-translating its experience in to Asian partners from Tuva and Mongolia, while being a recipient of the knowledge the University learnt from European partners. Faculty of History and Political Science, Faculty of Philology, and the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology, PSU will also take part. The consortium is coordinated by the University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln, Germany).
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