About the Club

Who we are

The Arabian club "Palmyra" was opened in 2012 on the initiative of students of the HSE School of Asian Studies who study Arabic. The club’s idea is to create an informal venue where HSE students, as well as students from the Oriental departments of other universities in Moscow and Russia, can meet and exchange experiences, knowledge and ideas with each other.

The club organizes cultural events with the participation of students and teachers of the SAS, meetings and round tables with professionals, specializing in the field of the Arab and Muslim East studies; interacts with the embassies of the Arab states, cultural centers, as well as various educational organizations in which the teaching of Arabic and Islamic disciplines is carried out.

We are also very pleased to host people who have already taken place as orientalists, diplomats, Arabists and Islamic scholars, so that they share their professional experience, which can help the SAS students who specialize in the Arab East and Muslim Studies to choose their professional path after graduation.

Club’s history

The Arabian club "Palmyra" was created in 2012 on the initiative of students of the HSE School (at that time - Department) of Asian Studies.

The name "Palmyra" was chosen as a result of a SAS students’ competition that took place at that time. At the time, this name symbolized the beautiful monuments of distant eras, which the Arab East is so rich in, but also recalled the need to confront the activities of radical groups that destroyed outstanding cultural and historical values ​​- the common heritage of the mankind.

The Club organizes:

• cultural events and creative evenings with the participation of students and teachers of the SAS; the theme of the meetings ranges from history and politics to the Arab poetry to informal tea drinking with watching films in Arabic;
• meetings and round tables with people whose professional activities are related to the Arab and Muslim East;
• interaction with the embassies of the Arab states in the Russian Federation, cultural centers located in Moscow and in Russia, as well as with universities and various educational organizations in which the teaching of Arabic and Islamic topics is carried out.

As part of the Ambassadorial Readings cycle, Club members meet with diplomats from Arab countries and have the opportunity to discuss issues of politics, economics, education and culture that interest them.

Our Club is open to everyone who is interested in the Arab and Muslim East - for those who would like to know more about it; for those who already know something about it and would like to share their knowledge; as well as for those for whom this region so far seems to be inexplicable and completely mysterious. HSE students from the Arab countries are most welcome.