WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Carmel Institute was established within American University’s College of Arts and Sciences by philanthropist and businesswoman Susan Carmel Lehrman.
"Definitely, we have seen a massive increase," Fedyashin said of his institute, in Washington, DC.
"First of all, people are voting their feet by attending our events, and we are well beyond 20,000 people in the five years that we’ve existed who have attended all our events cumulatively," he explained. "Number two, every single year we see an increase in the amount of students who apply for Carmel Institute grants, because unfortunately, federal grants for Russian studies are shrinking in the United States."
Fedyashin pointed out that the decrease in US government funding for Russian studies began before the crisis in Ukraine and the souring of relations between Moscow and Washington.
"Number three, the amount of Russian studies majors at American University has doubled since 2012 when the institute was established," he concluded.
The institute director also surmised that the fraught nature of current Russia-US relations has helped heighten the academic interest.
"Unfortunately, tensions always lead to an increase in interest," he said. "Our position at the Carmel Institute is to provide a cultural and historical background to Russian-American relations and to Russian national culture, which we hope will allow students to carry on a more constructive dialogue with Russia."
