DEPARTMENT OF THEORY AND HISTORY OF JOURNALISM

The History of the Department

Department of Theory and History of Journalism (THJ) was founded at the Faculty of History and Philology of the Peoples' Friendship University in 1980. The department was headed by Professor Evgeniy I. Pronin. There were only three academics during the first year of the department's work.
In October 1984, the Department was headed by Evgeny G. Korenchuk. After completing his postgraduate studies he grew from assistant lecturer to professor and worked as the Editor-in-Chief of “Druzhba” newspaper for several years. Under Professor E. G. Korenchuk’s guidance the THJ Department expanded considerably and became one of the most famous RUDN University departments. During his work at the University, Evgeny G. Korenchuk became the legend and mascot of the faculty.
His incredible energy, remarkable knowledge, enormous love of work, great diligence and kind-hearted sympathetic character made him a favorite of students and his colleagues. Professor E. G. Korenchuk was Honored Worker of Higher Education, member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Union of Journalists of Russia and International Union of Journalists, as well as member of Presidential Council for Information Policy. That’s not the full list of Evgeny G. Korenchuk’s titles and ranks.
In April 2007, a THJ Department’s graduate Anna V. Taranenko, PhD in Philology, became the acting head.
Since Autumn 2008, the Department of Theory and History of Journalism has been headed by Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Elena V. Martynenko. She graduated with honors from the Faculty of History and Philology of the Peoples' Friendship University in 1986, and came a long way from an assistant lecturer to a professor at the University.

The Department Today

At the present day the academic staff of the Department teaches bachelors, masters and postgraduate students majoring in “Journalism”. There are 14 academics including 2 professors and 6 associate professors, 2 Doctors of Science and 12 PhDs. More than 800 students are educated at the Department annually.
The THJ Department is the winner of 3 grants of the Federal Target Program “Scientific and Academic Staff of Innovative Russia”.
The programs of continuing education such as “Modern journalism: forming analytical and professional competences” and “English for International Journalists” have been successfully implemented at the Department.
Since 2002, the Department has been publishing “Journalism and Society” almanac where students researching into journalism may state their scientific position. The 20th anniversary issue of the almanac was published in 2019. More than 500 authors have published their articles in the almanac during this time.
The THJ Department holds annual scientific conferences of international status. The conferences are attended by both students and graduate students, as well as leading specialists from universities, research centers, leading specialists from major media. Traditional participants of the conference are leading specialists of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, University of Journalism and Mass Communications (Uzbekistan), University of Delhi (India), Renmin University (People's Republic of China). Leading journalists from Channel One, VGTRK, RT, NTV, Komsomolskaya Pravda Publishing House, Kommersant Publishing House, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Evening Moscow newspapers, etc. take part in the annual conferences of the department.
Due to high professional competence of the academic staff and the innovative education system, the Department has trained a lot of highly qualified specialists in international journalism.

The THJ Department Academic Staff and Their Achievements

Martynenko, Elena Viktorovna
Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Theory and History of Journalism of the Faculty of Philology, for many years worked as Vice-Rector for Organization of Admissions and Pre-University Activities of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Honorary Worker of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, has the honorary title of Honored Worker of Higher Education, Higher Professional Education, Scientist of 9 republics - subjects of the Russian Federation, letters of thanks for his contribution to training from the presidents and heads of administrations of the republics, territories and autonomous regions of Russia, including including from the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Prof. Martynenko supervises graduate students, she is also the author of numerous scientific publications.

Spulber, Diana Pavlovna
Professor of the THJ Department, Diana Pavlovna Spulber lives in Italy, she is an adviser to the Department of Anthropology of Health-Biosphere and UNESCO Healing Systems; Member of the Academic Advisory Board, Adamas University, Kolkata, India; Honorary Professor of the North Kazakhstan University named after Manash Kozybayev. Speaks Italian, English, French, Romanian and Russian. He teaches subjects related to the sociology of the media, supervises undergraduate theses and graduate students.

Alghavi, Leyla Omarovna
Associate Professor of the THJ Department, candidate of philological sciences, teaches the history of domestic journalism, as well as subjects that reflect the modern information processes. Speaks English. Announced as a laureate of the NAMMI-2020 media research competition, in monograph authors contest became No.2 with as a co-author of the work titled “Digital Civilization. Media communications. Internet Marketing". Asst. Prof. L.O. Alghavi very popular among students studying contemporary information and communication processes.

Bazanova, Anna Evgenievna
Associate Professor of the THJ Department, candidate of philological sciences, Anna Evgenievna Bazanova, since 2002 she has been the Academic Secretary of the Dissertation Council in the specialty "Russian Literature" and "Journalism", under her leadership 18 candidate's theses have been defended, she is the author of more than 130 scientific and methodological works, member of the editorial board of the journal "Bulletin of RUDN University" series "Literary criticism and journalism". Asst. Prof. A.E. Baznova teaches the subjects of "Literary Editing" cycle, speaks English and Swahili. Students appreciate in Anna Evgenievna not only her professional qualities, but also her brilliant sense of humor.

Malakhovsky, Alexey Kimovich
Associate Professor of the THJ Department, Candidate of Historical Sciences, teaches the subjects of “History of Foreign Journalism”, “Modern Foreign Journalism”, “Journalism in Africa and the Arab East”, “Actual Problems of the Western Media”, “Contemporary Issues and Media Agenda”. He speaks English, French and Arabic, is the author of a number of textbooks, was a visiting scholar at universities in the United States and the People's Republic of China, supervises bachelor's, master's and postgraduate theses.

Matvienko, Valentin Viktorovich
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor-Researcher. Head of the Department for Career Guidance with Gifted Youth of the Student Admissions Department. Conducts classes in the following subjects: "Modern Media Systems", "International Economic Journalism", "International Journalism", "Foreign Policy Information Activities". Fluent in English, Hindi. He is the author of many textbooks, curricula and scientific publications. Dozens of diplomas have been written under his scientific supervision, he supervises the post-graduate students of the department. He is the author of an additional English language training program for journalists. He is the organizer of the annual scientific and theoretical conferences of the THJ Department.

Parkhit’ko, Nikolai Petrovich
Associate Professor of the THJ Department, Candidate of Historical Sciences. Member of the Russian Military Historical Society. Asst. Prof. N.P. Parhit’ko teaches courses: "Sports Journalism", "Society and Mass Media of Western Europe"; "Philosophical foundations of science and modern journalism", "The work of a journalist within the framework of diplomatic and protocol norms", "GR in the public and business sectors". Participant of the projects "Memory Watch" and "Memory of the People". Specialist in military-political topics. Research interests: Great Patriotic War, World War II, history of Russia, counteraction to falsification of history. Member of the Russia-Germany Friendship Society. He is a permanent scientific consultant of Zvezda TV Channel. Also, Asst. Prof. N.P. Parhit’ko is a co-author of two VR projects: "Unknown standard-bearer" (2020), dedicated to the theme of banner groups that placed the Banner of Victory over the Reichstag and "Nuremberg: VRDict of the Peoples" (2021) - a journalistic virtual reality project of RIA Novosti, dedicated to 75th anniversary of the end of the major trial of the 20th Century: the Nuremberg Tribunal. Asst. Prof. N.P. Parhit’ko is the author of the textbook "History of Russian military journalism 1941-2018", as well as of numerous scientific papers.

Smorodinov, Viktor Pavlovich
Associate Professor of the THL Department, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Viktor Pavlovich Smorodinov gained great experience working as a practical journalist in the media during 1960s - 1980s. A connoisseur of European (English, Spanish, German, French) and Eastern (Chinese, Japanese) languages, Viktor Pavlovich teaches subjects related to the study of foreign journalism of East and West: "History of Foreign Journalism", “Modern Foreign journalism”, “Journalism of Asian countries”, “Schools of journalism of leading industrial countries”. Dozens of theses and dissertations have been written under his scientific supervision. Viktor Pavlovich visited and lectured at the universities of Spain and the People's Republic of China, and also he is the author of many textbooks on the history of foreign journalism.

Gassanov, Kamran
The senior lecturer of the THJ Department, Kamran Gassanov, has worked in many media outlets: Regnum, RT, Sputnik, Tsargrad TV, Vechernyaya Moskva and Vestnik Kavkaza. He received a European PhD, but decided to use his knowledge for the benefit of Russia without staying in Austria. Speaks five languages, studies the sixth (French). He has a black belt in karate-do. One of the few people who does the work of a political scientist, a journalist, and a blogger. Became the author of columns for TRT in Russian and TRT Deutsch. Sen. Lect. K. Gassanov is a permanent commentator on radio "Sputnik". He began to run his own program on YouTube titled "Kings and Pawns". Teaches subjects: “Journalism of the Asia-Pacific Region”, “Theory and Practice of External Political Information Activity”.

Kadyrova, Shuanat Nabievna
Senior Lecturer of the THJ Department, Candidate of Philological Sciences, author of many textbooks and publications on the subjects "Applied Conflictology for Journalists", "Media and Interethnic Relations", "Journalism in Crisis Situations", "Confessional Communications", speaks English and Lak languages. Co-author of the additional education program "Mobile Journalism". Announced as a laureate of the NAMMI-2020 media research competition, in monograph authors contest became No.2 with as a co-author of the work titled “Digital Civilization. Media communications. Internet Marketing".

Malakhovskaya, Vera Vladimirovna
Senior lecturer of the THJ Department, Candidate of philological sciences, speaks French and English, teaches the subjects “History of foreign journalism”, “Modern foreign journalism”, “French journalism”, “Analytical commentary in the media”. Supervises student practices, extracurricular work of students, professional employment of students. She won 1st place in the university-wide round contest in the nomination "Personal participation of the professional teaching staff of the department in organizing and conducting extracurricular work with students." Sen. Lect. V.V. Malakhovkaya organizes meetings and master classes of leading Russian and foreign journalists, numerous excursions. Thanks to her effort, the department occupies a leading position at the University and at the faculty in extracurricular work with students.

Popova, Elena Olegovna
Senior lecturer of the THJ Department, Candidate of philological sciences, Elena Olegovna will tell you everything about the modern media text. She offers creative tasks that contribute to the disclosure of the creative potential of students. Takes an active part in extracurricular activities of the department. She always easily finds a common language with students. Speaks English. Conducts the subjects "Copywriting", "Modern media text", "Language and style of the media". Manages the process of organizing and conducting defenses of the theses of the department.

Rastorguyeva, Natalya Evgenyevna
Senior teacher of the THJ Department, Candidate of philological sciences. She teaches the subjects "Introduction to Journalism", "Journalism in Latin America", "Legal Regulation in the Media", "International Copyright Law". Sen Lect. N.E. Rastorguyeva speaks Spanish and English, supervises the writing of theses. She also supervises graduate students of the THJ Department. Sen Lect. N.E. Rastorguyeva won the 3rd prize in the contest as the author of one of the best electronic programs in the Telecommunication Educational Information System. She is the author of a monograph, textbooks and scientific publications.

Ghenen, Eleonora En’versanovna
Assistant of the THJ Department, a graduate of the Institute of Journalism of the Renmin University, China. Orientalist, international journalist, researcher. Research interests: history of foreign journalism, foreign broadcasting. Fluent in Chinese, English, studying Japanese. Extensive experience working with leading universities and media in Russia and China.

Ivanova, Alina Alekseevna
Assistant of the THJ Department, Candidate of philological sciences, teaches the subject "Modern Journalism", speaks English, she is the author of a number of scientific publications on the modern advertising industry. Asst. A.A. Ivanova has extensive experience in the field of advertising and marketing. In addition to philological education, he has an economic education, supervises students' theses.

Cultural life and career at the THJ Department

A professional student community "Acta Diurna" works at the THJ Department, its goals are to increase interest in journalism education; to familiarize students with practical journalism, with documentaries, development and discussion of joint creative projects and their implementation. The community promotes professional adaptation of students, helps students to realize their creative potential.
A permanent scientific student discussion club is one of the major features of the THJ departments. The student club regularly holds master classes, conferences and round tables with well-known journalists, producers, political scientists and public figures. For example, master students discussed the topic “Media system of India: features of formation and development trends” with the participation of universities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan round tables covered such topics as “Financial and economic press of the world: what’s on the agenda”, “Journalistic ethics in the era of media convergence”, “War correspondent, military historian. Dialectical commonality and methodological differences of the profession.”

The department has entered into cooperation agreements with the largest news agencies and other media in Russia, where students undergo internships and practice in various areas of international journalism with the prospect of further employment.
Our permanent partners:
• International Information Agency "Russia Today"
• Rosbusinessconsulting media holding (RBC)
• Non-profit organization "Foundation for Monitoring and Forecasting Cultural and Territorial Space"
• Information and analytical portals "Katehon" and "Geopolitics"
• TV company "Moscow 24"
• Federal News Agency (RIA FAN)

At the THJ Department, bachelors, masters and graduate students study:
• theory and practice of journalism: work with texts, photos, videos, audio, layout and media design basics;
• history of journalism, subjects in media studies, communications, culture, literature, political science, law, psychology, stylistics and editing, economics, ethics and a number of others.
Students choose part of the subjects themselves, drawing up their own curriculum, which takes into account personal interests and the desired trajectory of students' learning. You can choose:
• sports journalism,
• documentaries,
• book publishing business,
• journalism in Europe and Asia,
• conflictology,
• study of media markets,
• spiritual life and many other exciting elective disciplines. Students are also waiting for exciting trainings and master classes from well-known professionals in the world of domestic and foreign media, excursions, round tables, conferences, research projects and much more.

WHERE WILL YOU WORK?
After studying at the Department of Theory and History of Journalism, you will be able to work in:
• information and advertising agencies, Internet publications, publishing houses, etc.;
• on radio and television;
• in print media: newspapers, magazines;
• press services of legislative and executive bodies of state administration;
• subdivisions engaged in the study of the functioning of the print media;
• institutions of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation and departments of federal subordination.

WHAT WILL BE YOUR POSITION?
Our programs will give you the opportunity to become a real professional and hold positions:
• editor;
• issuing executive secretary;
• political observer;
• Economic Columnist;
• commentator; correspondent;
• special correspondent, including in foreign countries;
• photojournalist:
• cameraman and editing specialist, etc.

Famous graduates of the THJ Department

Danara Kurmanova
Danara defended her Ph.D. thesis in 2021. Since the age of 13, Danara has been working as a journalist. She began her journalistic practice in Kazakhstan, and currently works as a correspondent for the Sputnik agency in the editorial office of neighboring countries. In 2017, she received the first-degree award "The Best Young Journalist of the Country". In 2020, for a series of publications on migration, she became the winner of the Media Creator competition.

Abduhamdia Mohammed
Alumnum of the postgraduate course of the THJ Department, he has been working as a news and TV presenter for 12 years. He currently works as a news anchor for RT. Claims that the RUDN University brand is known all over the world. “The university also gives me the balance to study and work,” says Mohammed.

Alexander Fomin
Alumnum of the postgraduate THJ Department. Worked as chief editor of social networks of the Internet edition "Ukraine.ru". He is a member of the Council of Bloggers under the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, a member of the Union of Journalists of Russia. At present, Alexander works as a chief editor at Russia 24 media holding.

Abbas Juma
Postgraduate student of the THJ Department. Abbas is a well-known international journalist, specialist in the Arab East. Abbas began his professional career and achieved great success in the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. Abbas has earned a reputation as one of the top correspondents in the Middle East. He currently works at the Federal News Agency, which has become his even greater professional success.

Evgenia Stogova
Alumna of the postgraduate the THJ Department. She was a correspondent for the editorial office of political and public information of RIA Novosti on the topic of media 2019 -21. Evgenia currently works as a correspondent for RBC on the media business and entertainment industry. She has traveled dozens of countries, knows four languages, and is learning a fifth. "Do not stop there" is Evgenia’s motto.