Irina Prokhorova, a leading Russian intellectual and democratic politician, will be lecturing on the state of the humanities in today's Russia. Prokhorova is the owner and editor-in-chief of the New Literary Observer (the most prominent academic journal in Russia today) and of the publishing house bearing the same name. She is the sister of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, the leading democratic candidate for president in the 2012 elections. Irina became a nationally known political figure during the elections because of her active involvement in her brother’s campaign. She represented him during several televised proxy debates (Putin was represented by filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov), bringing her a reputation as one of the most outspoken public intellectuals in the country. In 2012, Mikhail Prokhorov founded a new political party, the Civic Platform, of which Irina became the leader in 2013. However, in 2014 both Mikhail and Irina left the party, whose majority expressed their support for the annexation of Crimea. The longtime head of the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation, which supports the development of Russian culture in Russia and abroad, Irina has recently also co-founded the Congress of Intelligentsia, one of only a few public forums which openly protest against Russian politics in Ukraine. The New Literary Observer, Irina’s magazine and publishing house, is by far the most influential center actively involved in the modernization and internationalization of Russian intellectual life. Irina has been awarded several prestigious international awards including the Legion d’honneur and Ordre des arts et des lettres.