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IGSO history: Activists and experts on the left flank
IGSO is an independent intellectual center. Its activity is aimed at the working out expert assessments, research activity and support to the initiatives directed at the democratic and radical social and economic transformation of the society.
The predecessor of the Institute for globalization and social movements (IGSO) was Institute of globalization problems (IPROG) founded by Mikhail Delyagin that was headed by Boris Kagarlitsky since 2002. During these years Institute entered into collaboration with Amsterdam Transnational institute (www.tni.org), German Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (http://www.rosalux.ru), Ebert Foundation ((http://www.fesmos.ru). And nowadays IGSO is still in close cooperation with these organizations. IGSO became the organizational center for the Russian delegation for the European Social Forum, took active part in the preparation work of the 1st and 2nd Russian Social Forum. It also organized many seminars and conferences, launched informational and analytical web-site “Global Alternative”, published books and brochures, devoted to the social movements in Russia, to the development of left ideology in the modern world etc.
In 2006 Institute divided into two parts. Mikhail Delyagin headed the organization that preserved the old name, and the major part of the staff established the new institute – IGSO. Boris Kagarlitsky and Boris Kravchenko, shortly before elected as the president of the All-Russian Labor Confederation (the leading association of the free trade unions of Russia), became the founders of IGSO that was registered in January, 2007.
The transformed institute aspires to go on supporting social movements, to work on the critical analysis of the modern society and political system. Institute is in close cooperation with free trade unions, supports anti-fascist and democratic civil initiatives.
IGSO is the left intellectual center not rejecting participation in political life. It is closely connected with the social movements, labor organizations, anti-fascist groups. Cooperation with European Social Forum is still going on. Institute became the organizational center of the Russian delegation to ESF in London and Athens. There was no common Russian delegation for ESF in Malmo and IGSO formed its own delegation of experts and activists.
In addition to the old partners there are the new ones. IGSO entered into close interaction with the Left party of Sweden and its party school in Malmo. In 2009 Heinrich Boll Foundation (http://www.boell.ru) was added to the list of IGSO partners. In Ukraine Institute organized a series of seminars and conferences together with the Organization of Marxists (ÎÌ, http://marx.org.ua) and other left groups. In Russia the activity of the Institute is not allocated only in Moscow, researchers and activists from other regions of Russia (Saint-Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Penza, Orenburg etc.) participate in it. Institute has its representatives abroad. IGSO conducts common projects with the All-Russian Labor Confederation and other free trade unions. Specialists of IGSO became the consultants of the trade unions, gave informational support, including the uniting process initiated by the All-Russian Labor Confederation and Labor Confederation of Russia.
Since 2007 new projects were started. In the frames of the Institute the united editorial board was organized. IGSO started publishing “Left policy” journal. In July 2008 IGSO supported the start of the Internet-journal “Rabkor.ru” (www.rabkor.ru). The united editorial board was headed by Aleksey Kozlov. The project “Legal Marxism” aimed at the popularization in the society and among the left activists of marxist economic analysis methods was started in the second half of 2007.
Since 2007 the systematic analysis of the global economic crisis and of its consequences for Russia is being conducted. Experts of IGSO were one of the first to prognosticate and analyze boiling up crisis. Meanwhile the official and liberal economists unanimously argued that nothing serious was going on in the world economy, and later argued that crisis would not affect Russia, experts of IGSO forewarned of the unprecedented scale and destroying consequences of the coming up crisis. IGSO report “Crisis of the global economy and Russia” aroused great interest in Russia and abroad. Except expert reports IGSO publishes regular analytical reviews devoted to the social situation and social and labor conflicts in our country.
In 2008 Institute acquired the reputation of one of the leading analytical centers. Serious results were achieved by the Economic research center of IGSO headed by Vasiliy Koltashov. Specialists of IGSO were the first to prognosticate inevitability and time of the Russian housing market collapse, crash of the plans connected with the biofuel adoption, consequences of the crisis for the USA, China and some other countries. Experts of the Institute strictly defined the time and scale of the world oil prices collapse, prognosticated the crash of the world stock market. Special features of the Russian bank system and its imminent difficulties were analyzed and described. Influence of the tough registration norms on the economic development of the country discriminating people and depriving them of the right on the free choice of the living place was investigated. Economic research center predicted inflation consequences of the crisis, described the functioning of the existing monetary system and showed full unfoundedness of the liberal economic theory in the sphere of the financial analysis.
In the frames of the Economic research center activity the cycle theory of Nicolay Kondratyev was developed. It was determined that change of the long waves in economy happens not at the moment of price conjuncture change but as a result of it. Thus along with the overproduction crisis the cycle crises of overinvestment signifying the change of the world capitalism model were opened. Such crises were simultaneously systematic expressed in huge overinvestment of the capitals.
Specialists of IGSO carried out significant research of the psychological climate in Russian offices. In the materials of IGSO and in its articles in press hysterical methods of management dominating in the companies were analyzed. Economic and personality results of the neurotic climate spread in the offices were determined. As a result the theme of the professional neuroses and growing application of antidepressant was showed up.
In the process of crisis investigation experts of IGSO described its cultural consequences. According to the prognosis which is already being realized systematic economic crisis will give birth to the revolution in art and public culture. Changes also will inevitably touch upon all the existing political system enabling the left movement to overcome the structural and ideological crisis.
IGSO is an independent organization aimed at the joining of the activist and intellectual and expert activity, open to the participation in the public life and to the cooperation with people, organizations and projects oriented to the democratic and socialist transformation of the society. Institute stands up for the international and democratic values, supports the growing labor movement of Russia and to the extent of its powers contributes to the strengthening of the left political organizations. |
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