T-Invariant recently reported that the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow has launched a new master's program and a brief professional development course aimed at training students to navigate Western sanctions on Russia. According to Lipsits, professor at HSE, the program marks a 'serious expansion as people are expected to learn how to work around sanctions.^1
Russian officials have called on universities to align with the needs of the war effort in areas such as cyber-offensive capabilities so it comes as no surprise that academics are also working on sanctions.
Fortunately for investigators, HSE advertise the experts behind the program serving as an opportunity to profile the academics and institutions involved in teaching companies how to evade Russian sanctions.
Vasily Kashin
SANCTIONED
Vasily Borisovich Kashin (born 18 September 1973, Moscow) is of particular interest. Canadian authorities placed him on a sanctions list in 2023 under the Special Economic Measures Act targeting close collaborators of the Russian regime and agents of disinformation.[^2][^3]. Notably, HSE, RIAC, and MIGMO are also on the Canadian sanctions list which targets individuals and organisations involved in propaganda, disinformation and the removal of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Kashin is involved in all three institutions; he's a Chief Research Fellow at MIGMO and member of both the Valdai Discussion Club and RIAC. His work history tells us Kashin has primarily served Russian state institutions as his career spans academia, state media, and government.
- Member of the Valdai Discussion Club.
- Member of RIAC.
- Chief Research Fellow at the Center for Comprehensive Sinology and Regional Projects at MIGMO (2018 - Present).
- Deputy head of RIA Novosti representative office in Beijin (2010-2011). RIA Novosti used to be one of the largest state news agencies in Russia before it was disbanded in 2013.
- Research fellow at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (since 2009).
- Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (since 2001)
- Government Agencies (before Russian Academy of Sciences, exact dates unknown).
- PhD in Political Science
However, according a bio found on Forbes, Kashin spent some time in government agencies before working for the Russian Academy of Sciences.[^4] The nature of his government work is unclear.
Dmitry KIKU, Дмитрий Кику
Dmitry KIKU (Дмитрий Кику) is a career diplomat. He joined the Panel of Experts on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2014 and was reappointed by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, on April 2017 to serve on the Panel. Kiku's career in diplomacy goes back to 1997. He has served in Berlin and Baku. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation he was involved in the United Nations Security Council sanctions related matters. Kiku earned his BA degree in Economics at Moscow University of Cooperation and holds a PhD in Political Sciecne from Russian Diplomatic Academy.
Twitter: https://x.com/kikusan76 , @Kikusan76
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmitry.kiku/
Maria Roskoshnaya, Мария Роскошная
Head of Export Control and Foreign Economic Activity Support Department, Yandex LLC
Linkedin:
- Yandex, Export Control Lead, Dec 2022 to Present
- Rusatom, Director of Rosatom’s export control center, Feb 2023 to Aug 2023
- Rusatom, Head of Export Control Department, Director of Rosatom’s Export Control Center, 2018-2023
- Federal Service for technical Export Controls (FSTEC of the Russian Federation), 3 years 11 months.
Ivan Timofeev Иван Тимофеев
Ivan Timofeev is the Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council. He is an Associate Professor at MGIMO University and a leading expert on anti-Russian sanctions. Timofeev consults dozens of Russian companies on sanctions..
[^2]: Global Affairs Canada, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2014-58/page-4.html#h-810988
[^3]: Vasily Kashin was added to the Canadian Special Economic Measures Act in 2024 according to Open Sanctions.
[^4]: Forbes, https://www.forbes.ru/person/50188-kashin-vasilii