Awards
Medal of Friendship Order (Vietnam) - 2014.
2nd Class of Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" - 2016.
Victor Sumsky | |
|---|---|
| Виктор Сумский | |
| Born | 13 April 1953 |
| Occupations | Academician Researcher |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Moscow State Institute of International Relations |
| Thesis | (2006) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Orientalism |
| Institutions | Moscow State Institute of International Relations |
Victor Vladimirovich Sumsky (Russian: Виктор Владимирович Сумский; born 13 April 1953) is a Russian orientalist and academician. He is a specialist in the current history and international relations of Southeast Asia.
Sumsky was born on 13 April 1953. His father worked at a defense research institute and was a World War II veteran, while his mother worked as chief legal adviser of the RSFSR's Ministry of Forestry. He was raised in a communal apartment in Moscow. He studied at English specialized school No.23 in Moscow and graduated in 1970. Afterwards, he entered MGIMO's Faculty of International Journalism in 1970. During his study at MGIMO, he learned Indonesian under the guidance of Ami Intoyo. While studying at MGIMO, he worked as a journalist at local newspapers in Severodvinsk and Nakhodka, respectively. He also interned at TASS and pre-graduation practical training at Novoye Vremya. He finished his study at MGIMO in 1975.
In 1979, upon returning to the Soviet Union, he continued his postgraduate education at the Institute of Oriental Studies. He wrote a dissertation about comparing the contemporary political development and official ideologies of two Asian countries. After defending his dissertation, he published it titled Nationalism and Authoritarianism: Political and Ideological Processes in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Sumsky defended his doctoral dissertation on the Philippines' political regime development in 2006.
Upon graduating from MGIMO, Sumsky had a plan to enroll in the postgraduate program at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. However, he dropped his postgraduate plan after getting a job offer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry posted Sumsky in the Soviet Union Consulate General in Medan, and he worked there for four years (1975–1979). Working at the Soviet Union Consulate General, he was tasked with preparing reference and informational materials, managing property rights for the consulate general's house, and becoming an interpreter for Soviet compatriots and their families.
Upon finishing his postgraduate, Sumsky worked at the Institute of Oriental Studies. In 1988, he joined IMEMO. When he worked at IMEMO, he also became a visiting professor at the University of the Philippines, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Washington State University. Moreover, he also represented Russia at the Council of the European Association for Southeast Asian Studies (EuroSEAS) and is a member of the Russian National Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific.
In June 2010, Sumsky was appointed as the Director of the ASEAN Center at MGIMO, a position that he served until 2021 when he was replaced by Ekaterina Koldunova. In August 2010, the Embassy of Indonesia in Moscow awarded a commemorative badge in August for his contribution on developing Indonesia-Russia diplomatic relations. Sumsky joined the PIR Center's advisory board and the Trialogue International Club in 2012.
Sumsky is married and has a daughter. He speaks Russian, English, and Indonesian.
Medal of Friendship Order (Vietnam) - 2014.
2nd Class of Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" - 2016.