The Higher School of Economics is a prestigious university, where a huge number of applicants from all over Russia aspire to get into. Its founder, who managed to implement an entirely new type of economic university, was Yaroslav Ivanovich Kuzminov, Candidate of Economic Sciences and well-known public figure.
Who is Ya. I. Kuzminov?
The name of Yaroslav Ivanovich Kuzminov is undoubtedly significant for many Russian scientists specializing in economics. The initiative scientist stood at the origins of a large number of projects aimed at improving the domestic economy. His research interests also include the theory of public administration, the economics of education and economic history.
It was he who came up with the idea of creating a higher educational institution, which would be radically different from all existing ones. Kuzminov assumed that the economics of a master's degree in such a university could be studied in just a year. After a number of transformations, the Higher School of Economics appeared, which has become one of the most popularRussian educational institutions.
Biography
Yaroslav Ivanovich Kuzminov was born in Moscow. His father, Ivan Ivanovich, was a doctor of economic sciences, so the child was brought up in an atmosphere of numbers, calculations and difficult-to-understand terms. After graduating from school, the future scientist became a student at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University, after which he taught there for about 10 years. In 1985, he became a PhD, successfully defending a dissertation that was directly related to the economics of social relations.
In 1989, it was on his initiative that the Department of Economic Theory was opened at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. At the same time, Yaroslav Ivanovich controls the work of the sector of historical and economic research at the Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In the early 1990s, he proposed the concept of creating the Higher School of Economics, which he heads to this day.
How did HSE start?
The idea of establishing the Higher School of Economics came to Yaroslav Kuzminov and his friend Yevgeny Yasin in 1990. Initially, the friends planned to create a college where each student would have the opportunity to gain a large amount of knowledge in the shortest possible time. Throughout 1992, Kuzminov constantly applied to the Government of the Russian Federation in order to obtain permission to open a university.
The school accepted its first students in 1993, and even then it became clear that the format of the institute would have to be abandoned, since students wanted to receive bachelor's and master's degrees. Educational institution quickly enoughhas established itself as a place where you can get a quality education, so in 1996 it was awarded the title of a state university.
HSE history
From the very moment of the opening of the Higher School of Economics and to this day, Kuzminov Yaroslav Ivanovich has been the rector. He easily copes with the difficulties that arise, and also attracts new teachers to his university who would be interested in getting a unique experience, and in the future - a place in the university staff. It is thanks to him that the HSE is constantly increasing the areas in which students are trained.
Kuzminov controls the transparency of admission to the university, where it is impossible to get "by pull", and also constantly cultivates exactingness in his teachers towards students. Thanks to Yaroslav Ivanovich, not only the HSE, but also many other universities in the country began to use the Anti-Plagiarism system to check student papers. It was under him that the first scientific and educational laboratories appeared at the university, where students, graduate students and teachers can gather to discuss scientific projects and conduct joint developments.
Research University
HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov in the mid-2000s began to implement the concept of a research institution at his university, according to which teachers receive certain incentives to engage in science and publish in widely distributed scientific publications. According to the scientist, it is important for himto transform the school into an institution where the best researchers on the planet will strive to teach.
To achieve the set goals, Kuzminov intends to carry out a strict selection of teaching staff on an ongoing basis, he announced this back in 2013. According to him, it is important to reverse the thinking of teachers and teach them to work in the existing realities, when their work is evaluated solely on the basis of numbers. Yaroslav Ivanovich plans to reach such a level that all the works created at the HSE correspond as much as possible to the trends of modern science and are taken seriously by the scientific community. In his opinion, this will become possible by 2023-2025.
Community activities
The media often mention the name of Yaroslav Kuzminov, Rector of the Higher School of Economics, due to his large number of proposals aimed at social transformation. In particular, it is he who owns ideas related to the civil service reforms of the 1990s and structural changes in public administration, as well as a number of programs to combat corruption in government structures.
Also, Kuzminov took an active part in the development of German Gref's strategy, now he oversees the creation and implementation of the 2020 Strategy, according to which the Government of the Russian Federation will act for the socio-economic development of the state. As of 2018, Yaroslav Ivanovich is a member of a large number of commissions and councils created to improve the quality of life of Russians.
Politicalcareer
Yaroslav Kuzminov has been Rector of the Higher School of Economics since 1993. During this time, he managed to organize the work at his university so that there was time for other activities, in particular for politics. In 2014, he put forward his candidacy for the Moscow City Duma in the 45th district and received support from the United Russia party. In the elections, Kuzminov managed to collect more than 12 thousand votes, which amounted to 40.9% of the total number of voters who came to the polling stations.
After receiving a seat in the Duma of the VI convocation, Yaroslav Ivanovich became a member of three commissions coordinating education, housing policy and urban management, as well as finance and economic policy. To questions about whether Kuzminov plans to join the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the scientist does not give a specific answer.
Educational reform
It is quite difficult to count the number of innovations that were proposed by Yaroslav Kuzminov. HSE quite often became a launching pad for them. One of these innovations was published in 1997, when the scientist and his colleagues proposed to increase funding for educational institutions, while the latter should have gained independence and reached the normative financial support. Kuzminov is also one of the authors of the USE system.
From 2001 to 2009 Ya. I. Kuzminov became co-chairman of ROSRO, a council initiating the development of education in Russia. In the 2000s, he was called the "grey eminence" who makes decisions forministers of education. Yaroslav Ivanovich himself repeatedly denied this. It is quite possible that this situation arose due to the scientific authority of the economist, whose numerous developments were put into practice.
Modern educational ideas
Secondary general education is also of interest to Yaroslav Ivanovich Kuzminov, the Higher School of Economics is not his only area of interest. The scientist advocates the creation of full-time educational institutions, as well as the active introduction of inclusive education and all kinds of state support for gifted children. Teachers require separate support, which is why in 2012 Kuzminov took an active part in the creation of legislative acts on education.
The scientist offered to raise the salaries of teachers. In his opinion, it is better to ban tutoring by law, instead, a student can take official additional lessons at his educational institution. Kuzminov also requires the Ministry of Education to constantly conduct inspections in those universities that are popular due to speci alties for which there is a rush demand - law, economics, etc.
Politics and Education
Yaroslav Kuzminov, whose biography includes a large number of scientific and political achievements, believes that it is impossible to mix politics and education. That is why he refused to comply with the recommendation of the capital's police department, which required universities to expel those students who took part in the "March of Dissent". According to the rector, universities should protectthe right of students to receive an education, and they have the right to their own political position, which can be expressed outside the university.
In 2013, oppositionist Alexei Navalny criticized the HSE and personally Kuzminov for the formed structure of public procurement and the misappropriation of the budget at the university. The rector did not remain silent and invited Navalny to participate in an open debate on this topic. The meeting was held in a fairly calm atmosphere, where both sides, in the presence of spectators and the press, discussed questions that arose for each other.
Awards
Strictness, justice and the desire to improve Russia - this is how Kuzminov Yaroslav Ivanovich can be characterized. The Higher School of Economics, which he created from scratch, has been graduating professional staff for several years and is constantly improving. His services to the state are enormous, this is evidenced by two orders "For Merit to the Fatherland", a medal to them. P. A. Stolypin, as well as a large number of awards from various private and public institutions.
Kuzminov was also recognized as the best rector of Russia in 2004, perhaps this fact became a turning point in the scientist's career. All the awards he received afterward were most often associated not with scientific, but with the social activities of Yaroslav Ivanovich. However, he has a fairly large number of plans, which means that he can replenish the amount of his rewards at any time.
Publications
Yaroslav Kuzminov is a rector known for a large number of scientific papers. As a rule, university leaders rarely write such works, since taking care of students and colleagues takes a huge amount of time. Among Kuzminov's publications, special attention should be given to the handbook "Abstracts on Corruption", published in 2000, where the author offers his own solution to a problem that is urgent for the country. Sometimes Yaroslav Ivanovich publishes his articles in scientific journals, for example, the scientific article “Education in Russia. What we can do?" published in 2004 in Educational Issues.
Since writing scientific papers requires a lot of time, Kuzminov quite often writes them in collaboration with colleagues. Thus, with the help of M. M. Yudkevich, a voluminous manual on institutional economics was created, which is used not only at the Higher School of Economics, but also in other universities of the corresponding profile. One of the earliest known works of Ya. I. Kuzminov is "Alienation of Labor: History and Modernity", published in 1989 and co-authored with his wife, Elvira Nabiullina.
Private life
Yaroslav Kuzminov, whose biography and personal life are constantly in the field of media attention, is quite calm about his fame. Almost nothing is known about the first wife of the scientist, but it was in the first marriage that son Ivan and daughter Angelina were born. The second wife of the scientist was Elvira Nabiullina, who, as of 2018, is the chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
The future spouses met in graduate school at Moscow State University, where both wrote and defended their dissertations. The couple dated for a while, then they signed, and in 1988 Elvira gave birth to a son, Vasily, who also graduated from the Higher School of Economics in 2009, and then received a master's degree in Manchester. It is known that now the son of two economists is a researcher at the HSE.
Despite the fact that Yaroslav Kuzminov's wife is also an economist and holds a much more important position, she, according to friends and colleagues, is the most modest person to whom you can always turn for help. Kuzminov and Nabiullina have been happily married for more than 30 years, they are called one of the strongest couples in Russian politics.
