MOSCOW. MARCH 5, 2026. PIR PRESS. March 5 is traditionally observed as the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, established by the United Nations at the initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic. This day highlights the crucial role of education, academic research, and expert dialogue in strengthening international security and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The decision to establish this observance was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2022. The date is symbolic: on March 5, 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), one of the cornerstones of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime, entered into force.
Educational and research institutions, along with expert and non-governmental organizations, play a significant role in advancing disarmament and nonproliferation education worldwide. Among them is PIR Center, an independent Russian think-tank that has been engaged since 1994 in research, education, and expert dialogue on issues of international security, nuclear nonproliferation, and arms control. Over the years, PIR Center has actively cooperated with the United Nations and contributed to international efforts aimed at strengthening education and awareness in the field of disarmament and nonproliferation, including through analytical publications, expert meetings, and educational initiatives.
In line with this international agenda aimed at developing expert capacity and fostering a culture of responsibility in the field of security, a ceremonial event to announce the winner of the Vyacheslav Trubnikov Grant Competition will take place today at MGIMO University. The competition is held among students of the “International Security” Master’s Program, implemented by MGIMO University in partnership with PIR Center.
The grant competition is designed to support talented young researchers working on issues of international security, arms control, and nonproliferation, as well as to encourage academic research and the development of a new generation of experts capable of contributing to global security and strategic stability.
The winner will receive a tuition waiver covering the second, third, and fourth semesters of the Master’s program.
The grant competition is named after Vyacheslav Trubnikov (April 25, 1944 – April 18, 2022), an outstanding Russian intelligence officer and diplomat, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, Army General, Hero of the Russian Federation, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Vyacheslav Trubnikov devoted 42 years to public service in the USSR KGB, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From January 1996 to May 2000, he served as Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, and from 2004 to 2009, he was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to India. His contribution to shaping a sustainable foreign policy architecture for Russia after the collapse of the USSR, developing strategic partnership with India, and strengthening Russia’s position in international military-technical cooperation is difficult to overestimate.
PIR Center honors the memory of Vyacheslav Trubnikov, who remained a member of PIR Center Executive Board – the organization’s highest governing body – until the final days of his life. To preserve his legacy, PIR Center established a memory gallery where readers can read his biography, publications, and personal recollections about him. In 2023, a bust of Vyacheslav Trubnikov was installed at MGIMO University; the opening ceremony, attended by Rector Acad. Anatoly Torkunov, marked the launch of the exhibition space “Faithful Sons of the Fatherland.”
The establishment of the Grant Competition continues efforts to preserve the legacy of this distinguished statesman and simultaneously contributes to the development of a new generation of international security specialists, fully in line with the goals of the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness.
Selection criteria for candidates include:
• Only “good” and/or “excellent” grades following the winter examination session;
• A strong interest in professional activity in the field of international security;
• Active and documented participation in research and academic-organizational work.
The winner is selected by the Competition Committee, which includes: Dr. Andrey Baykov, Chairman of the Committee, Vice-Rector for Research at MGIMO University and member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Mr. Evgeny Buzhinsky, Co-Chairman of the Committee, Lieutenant General (retired) and Chairman of PIR Center Executive Board; Ms. Anastasia Voytsitskaya, Director of the Department of Work with Students and Alumni at MGIMO University; Mr. Aleksey Dundich, Head of the Master’s Programs Expertise Division at MGIMO University; Dr. Igor Istomin, Head of the Department of Applied International Analysis at MGIMO University and member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Dr. Mikhail Lysenko, Advisor to the Director General of Rosatom State Corporation and member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Dr. Vladimir Orlov, Director of PIR Center, Professor at the Department of Applied International Analysis at MGIMO University, and Academic Director of the International Security Master’s Program; Dr. Alexander Fedorov, Associate Professor at the Department of Information Security at Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Chairman of PIR Center Executive Board.
During the ceremony, the Commission will announce the winner of the competition. Members of the Committee will address the students, and Maria Trubnikova, an MGIMO alumna and daughter of Vyacheslav Trubnikov, will also speak. Kirill Prokhorov, a second-year student of the “International Security” Master’s Program and winner of the 2025 competition, will also deliver remarks.
The official ceremony announcing the winner of the Vyacheslav Trubnikov Grant Competition will take place at 5:30 p.m. in Office № 442 at MGIMO University.
Keywords: Education; Nuclear Nonproliferation; Global Security
ISMA
E16/SHAH – 26/03/05
