The Cummings Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies

The Cummings Center operates within the framework of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies. It is the University's main framework for research, study, documentation, publication and other academic activity relating to the history and current affairs of Russia, the former Soviet republics and the countries of Eastern Europe. Its goal is to promote research and contribute to a fuller knowledge of the region. The Center fosters the exchange of ideas and scholarship through workshops, seminars and conferences. Its research is made available to the academic community, governmental institutions and the general public in Israel and abroad.

The Russian and East European Research Center of Tel Aviv University was founded by Prof. Michael Confino in 1971. In 1990 the late Jack Cummings of Montreal, former Chairman of the Board of Governors and benefactor of the University, provided a generous endowment to the Center which enabled it to further advance its goals. Prof. Alon rachamimov is the current director of the Cummings Center.

The reinvigoration of the Center coincided with the transformation of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The Cummings Center played a pivotal role in forging close contacts with Russian academic, governmental and military institutions after the restorations of diplomatic relations between Israel and the USSR. The Center is in a unique position to serve as a bridge between Russian and Western academic communities owing to the profound Russian influence left on the State of Israel by its founding fathers and the immense Jewish immigration of recent years. The new generation of immigrants includes large numbers of teachers and researchers, who possess knowledge of and ties to Russian academia. This has enabled the Center to mount major international conferences in Moscow and Israel and publish their proceedings in the Cummings Center Series.

Discussion group: Russia, East-Central Europe and Eurasia.