NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax; 713/743-8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2004

Contact: Angie Joe
713/743-8153 (office)
713/617-7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu
SIBERIAN STUDIES CONFERENCE COMES TO AMERICA
FOR FIRST TIME WITH UH AS HOST SITE

For the first time, experts on Siberia and the Russian Far East are meeting in the Western Hemisphere for the British Universities’ Siberian Studies Seminar (BUSSS). The conference will take place April 7-11 at the University of Houston.

“Siberia and the Russian Far East: Past, Present and Future” will draw geographers, ethnographers, linguists, historians and cultural experts from across the globe. Victor Mote, conference organizer and UH professor of political science, helped bring the BUSSS conference to Houston to capitalize on the city’s strong connection to Russia.

“Because Russia produces a third of the world’s natural gas reserves and Houston is the energy capital, the association between the two is undeniable,” said Mote. “When boarding a plane to Western Siberia, passengers often include American energy workers headed for the Artic Circle. In addition to the business aspect, more North American scholars are taking an interest in Russian studies.”

Panels include: “Siberian Resources in Transition,” which will focus on Russia’s oil and gas industry; “Siberia and the Gulag”; “Siberian and Far Eastern History”; and “Siberian Economy and Population in Transition.” Some presentations will be given in Russian with no English translation.

The BUSSS conferences have become increasingly international in scope, and organizers are expecting its highest turnout this year - nearly 70 participants representing a dozen countries. Previous conferences have been held in England at Lancaster, London and Leeds; in Scotland at Glasgow; and in Russia at Kemerovo.

The 10th bi-annual meeting is dedicated to U.S. diplomat and historian George Frost Kennan, the late explorer and author George Kennan, and in memory of U.S. cultural geographer and University of Texas professor Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov.

WHAT: British Universities’ Siberian Studies Seminar (BUSSS)
WHEN: April 7-11, for a complete schedule go to http://www.class.uh.edu/mcl/mote/.
WHERE: University Hilton, Entrance One
Panel discussions will be held in Plaza Room 247.
Banquets will be held in Shamrock A Room 261A.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.