On Models of the University in Today's Russia

In current discussions of the problems that affect the development of higher education in Russia, two dimensions dominate, in which opinions diverge and positions clash. In the "first" ("the political and economic" dimension) the extreme poles are the "liberal approach" (according to which higher educational institutions ought to develop as enterprises that provide educational services while minimizing state control and liberalizing economic conditions) and the "state approach." In the "second" (the "value" dimension), the extreme poles are "an orientation toward novelty and social considerations of the moment" (new problems and tendencies, new disciplines and specialties that are in demand or hold the promise of being in demand in the future), and "an orientation toward spiritual traditions" ("roots," "soil," "wellsprings," "national spirit," and so on). The liberal approach is inclined to go hand in hand with the value orientation toward novelty and social considerations of the moment, whereas the state approach tends to go hand in hand with spiritual traditionalism. In the actual field of education, the extreme poles are occupied by the private institutions of higher learning, the nonstate commercial colleges and universities that are interested in economic liberalism and are oriented toward considerations of the current moment. On the other hand, colleges and universities that have centralized financing (in particular, the technical and pedagogical institutes, military and naval institutions, and a few universities), are generally oriented toward state support and national traditions. The standoff between the "liberal innovative" position and the "state traditional" position is manifested in hidden but regular inter- and intrainstitutional conflicts, which do not in any way play a developmental role (in accordance with starry-eyed "developmentalism") but, instead, lead to mutual alienation. In this article, the author examines this standoff between orientations in a deeper cognitive context "for the purpose of finding ways to reconcile the positions and to shape more integral and flexible organizational structures in an institution of higher learning" (first and foremost in a classical university). The initial intention is to try to make use of the "power tension" (if it is that solidly entrenched) "for peaceful purposes"--not as a factor of alienation and conflict but rather as a factor of mutually conditioned development. (Contains 1 note.)