The Aleksanteri Institute, an independent research institute at the University of Helsinki, is often identified by a photo of its beautiful facade on Unioninkatu 33. What makes the Institute so great are not the grand premises though, but the amazing people who work here.
Since 2008, Aleksanteri News has been publishing a series of profiles called Face of the Month. To date, over 30 Aleksanterians have been interviewed in the series. As part of our 20th anniversary celebrations we decided to re-publish some of those stories. Take a free ride in our time machine during the following weeks to see what Russia and Eastern Europe looked like to our researchers in 2008, 2009, 2010… and how those same people see it today.
A lot has changed as you will see, but most questions that we’ve brought onto the agenda over the years still seem relevant now – maybe even more so. Did we manage to predict any of the developments? Would it have been possible? Where should Russian and Eastern European Studies be looking now?
This blog is created not only to celebrate the anniversary year of the Aleksanteri Institute but also to encourage discussions and reflection on topic related to Russian and Eastern European studies. It is published by Niina Into and Emilia Pyykönen, information and communications officers at the Aleksanteri Institute. For more information, please contact us, visit our website or follow us on social media!