Open University has launched a new course, “Map of Russia”, which is dedicated to the cultural and social life of the country outside its larger metropolitan areas.

Although the age of empires has passed, today's Russia remains captive to the power of sovereign illusions, largely ignoring its vast federal potential. Regions are treated as mere resource bowels, or at best, as suppliers of personnel for the several cities, headed by Moscow, with a population of over a million.

Our aim is to reveal a different Russia, from the North-West to the Far East, a Russia that is better known by its inhabitants, mentioned on social media and only occasionally discussed by state news sources.

We want to give a new context to Russia’s communities, replacing the usual economic perspective with one that highlights the distinctive socio-cultural frameworks of each region.

We will introduce people who did not to migrate from their place of birth and who are not ambivalent to the future of their community. These people exist in Russia, which means there are regional identities.

The course is united by the overarching theme of civil society. We are interested in initiatives that are instigated by local communities, and not “handed down” from above. Therefore, we try to limit our discussion of projects under official state patronage.

Civil society in non-metropolitan Russia — it is the cultural projects, non-profit partnerships, human rights and charitable structures, private initiatives that affect the environment as well as social entrepreneurship. The type of activity that transforms a population into a society.