---
title: "Primakov Readings"
chunk: 2/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primakov_Readings"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:24:59.206615+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Named “The World in 2035” in 2017 Primakov Readings caused wide resonance not only in Russia, but also abroad. The forum was attended by 503 Russian and 80 foreign guests (291 representatives of scientific organizations), as well as by 231 representatives of the media. Primakov Readings were covered in more than 70 major Russian and 10 foreign media. In addition, during the event more than 20 interviews with key speakers were taken by various agencies.
Program
The first day of the event began with the welcoming words of the organizers of the Primakov Readings. The participants were greeted by the Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Y. Ushakov, who read out a welcoming address from the President of the Russian Federation, V.V. Putin. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Trade Center, President of the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry S. Katyrin and President of IMEMO A. Dynkin have also delivered their welcoming speeches.
During the thematic sessions, the panel on Russian-American relations was held under moderation of the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, S. Ryabkov. Among other experts who participated in discussion were: Richard Burt - former chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, K. Kosachev - chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia, S. Rogov - an academician, director of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, an expert on the reduction of nuclear weapons and strategic weapons, Feodor Voytolovsky – Director of IMEMO.

Second session of the Primakov Readings 2017 was focused on international cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The main partner in its conduct was the largest social sciences' think tank in India - the Observer Research Foundation. The session was addressed by outstanding experts in the region: Nandan Unnikrishnan, vice president of the Foundation, one of the leading Indian experts on issues of the post-Soviet space and Russian-Indian relations, Shin Un, former ambassador, president of the National Security Strategy Institute (INSS) and others.
The third session covered the potential of the emerging new economic landscape in Eurasia. The moderator was Shingo Yamagami, a Japanese eminent statesman who currently is the head of the Institute of International Relations. Among the participants was Guan Guhai – specialist in modern Russian-Chinese relations and leading consultant in several Chinese ministries.

The last event of the first day was the session on international terrorism, moderated by Robert Legvold, a distinguished Sovietologist, one of the leaders of the Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative. The world's top experts took part in the session: V. Naumkin, adviser to the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and Alex Schmid, editor-in-chief of the largest scientific online journal, Perspectives on Terrorism.
Second day of the International Forum Primakov Readings was opened by a special session with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and the former Secretary of State of the United States of America, Henry Kissinger. They presented their vision for the development of Russian-American relations and global politics in general, and expressed their hope for an early resolution of acute issues, the resumption of dialogue and close cooperation.
During the thematic panels, experts discussed relationship between Russia and the EU, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and a new technological revolution. Primakov Readings 2017 were completed by the speech of the chairman of the Board of the Center for Strategic Research Alexey Kudrin.

=== Primakov Readings 2018 ===
The main topic of Primakov Readings in 2018 was "Hedging Risks of Unstable World Order". The forum participants focused on scenarios of transformation of the international relations system, prospects for the development of the new world order and its stabilization, as well as on the most important challenges and risks of regional and global security.
Program
The Readings were attended by 65 prominent foreign experts from 22 countries and more than 600 representatives of the Russian scientific and expert community, public authorities, political and business circles, as well as by more than 200 media representatives. The Readings raised wide public resonance both in Russia and abroad: 38 interviews were conducted, with coverage of more than 30 million followers, and in the first week after the event, there were 1,668 reports about "Primakov Readings" in the mass media.

At the opening ceremony prominent personalities such as Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Y.V. Ushakov, Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation V.I. Matvienko, member of the Council of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Head of the LDPR faction V.V. Zhirinovsky, chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Trade Center, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation S.N. Katyrin and President of IMEMO A.A. Dynkin, made appeals to the participants of the conference. President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin sent a greeting to the organizers and participants of the International Scientific and Expert Forum, expressing appreciation to the "Primakov Readings".