Irina Prokhorova, literary critic and cultural historian, is the head of the New Literary Observer magazine and publishing house. After writing her doctoral thesis on English modernism, Prokhorova became editor of the magazine Literaturnoe Obozrenie (Literary Review). In 1992, she founded the first independent academic journal in Russia, Novoe Literaturnoe Obozrenie (The New Literary Observer), dealing with the theory and history of literature and literary criticism. This periodical has now become the leading Russian intellectual journal covering not only literature, but also offering an objective picture of contemporary Russian culture, revising outdated categories and clichés in the Russian humanities, and exploring the problems of Russian literature within a wider global cultural context. In 1995, Irina Prokhorova founded a publishing house of the same name. Its activity includes 20 book series ranging from philosophy to children's literature, art studies, modern poetry, new cinema, history, and everyday culture.
She was honored by the Government of the Russian Federation for the New Literary Observer magazine (2002), and received the independent American award, Liberty, for her contribution to the development of Russo-American cultural relations (2003). In 2005, Prokhorova became Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), and a laureate of the Andrey Belyi prize for literature (2006).
Ms. Prokhorova is also co-founder of the Mikhail Prokhorov Fund. The priority of the Fund is to support the development of new cultural institutions and initiatives in Russia, as well the promotion of Russian culture in the global intellectual community.
From the New York Times, March 6, 2012: Russian Billionaire's Presidential Bid Makes His Sister a Star
Part of the series Pluralism in Politics and Culture, a new initiative jointly sponsored by CREES and WCED that examines the foundations of free and open societies. The project builds on the university’s rich legacy of study and support of the dissident culture in the former Soviet Union and on several existing efforts at U-M. The series focuses on multiple facets of political pluralism, including its legal, cultural, and economic dimensions, and explore them in a broader historical context.
Sponsors: CREES, University Library, WCED.
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