The Global Lounge, the meeting point for international staff in the Roelants bookshop, focuses on Russia this week. In a series of activities, the culture, politics and daily life in Russia will be shown and discussed.

‘Russia is, of course, in the news a lot given the current conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, and internal politics’, says Christine Taylor, staff support officer at the Global Lounge. ‘This program gives people an opportunity to hear a more nuanced version of the story from experts and to share their own opinions.’ Evert van der Zweerde, professor of Social and Political Philosophy, saw the ‘Focus on Turkey’ program in November and thought it would be interesting to do something similar for Russia. Today, during your lunch break, you can visit ‘Russia & Politics, domestic and international’. During this, Van der Zweerde and associate professor of European Integration Anna van der Vleuten will discussing Russia and politics, domestic and international. Taylor: ‘We will cover, among other things, Putin, power, opposition, press, propaganda, economy, and war.’ Inner self Two students, one who recently stayed in Russia and another who comes from the country, will also give their view. ‘The speakers were selected by Van der Zweerde’, says Taylor. ‘They have expertise and personal experience in the areas we chose to focus on; politics, culture, and arts in Russia.’ In addition to today’s meeting, there is an ongoing exhibition in the Global Lounge this month, by Thomas le Blanc de la Carrere. Taylor: ‘He is originally from Russia and offered to exhibit his photography. ‘Cinematic Psytography: Petal Identities & The Inner Self’ will hang for the month of February. His work allows individuals to examine their multiple identities, which is very much in line with a program that looks at the different ways we look at Russia.’ Next week, on 22 February, there will be a follow-up program about Culture and Arts in Russia. Christine is planning future ‘Focus on…’ programs for, among others, Indonesia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. / Jozien Wijkhuijs