On the morning of December 14, 2017, the Conference dedicated to the publication release of the Chinese version of Russia and the West from Alexander to Putin - Honor in International Relations, was held at the North Pavilion of PKU. The event was sponsored by the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS), Peking University (PKU), the Research Center on Contemporary Russia, PKU, and co-sponsored by Shanghai People’s Publishing House. Associate Prof. Yu Tiejun, Vice President of IISS, PKU, hosted the publication release ceremony. As the translators, Associate Prof. Guan Guihai, Executive Vice President of IISS, PKU, Dai Weijing, doctoral student of the Political Science Department at Moscow State University, the author himself, Andrei P. Tsygankov, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at San Francisco State University, attended the conference.

In the book Russia and the West from Alexander to Putin, Prof. Andrei P. Tsygankov defines honor as the key concept that determines Russia’s international relations. He holds that Russia’s interests in acquiring power, security and welfare are subject to this cultural belief and that different conceptions of honor provide an organizational framework that produces polices of cooperation, defensiveness and assertiveness in its relations to the west. By studying 10 cases from the early 19th century till now, including the Holy Alliance, the Triple Entente, and the Russia-Georgia War, Dr. Tsygankov opines that Russia cooperates with the west when it perceives that its sense of honor is recognized, while without such recognition, it pursues either a defensive or an assertive policy.

More than 30 academic colleagues and media representatives attended the conference. The former were from Euro-Asian Social Development Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, Institute of Russian, Eastern European, Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C, PKU, Renmin University of China, China Foreign Affairs University and Beijing Foreign Studies University. The latter were from Shanghai People’s Publishing House, Xinhua News Agency, China Youth Daily and Beijing News.