Here’s an update on the current state of the relational psychoanalytic community in Russia — or, perhaps more accurately, the Russian-speaking community, since a significant portion of it no longer lives in Russia. We’re navigating a time of profound and challenging contradictions.

On one hand, thanks to our collective efforts and your invaluable support, relational psychoanalysis has finally achieved significant recognition among Russian-speaking therapists. It’s now discussed at major conferences and taught in psychoanalytic institutes – something that would have been unimaginable just five to seven years ago.

On the other hand, the tightening political climate and restrictive legislation pose serious obstacles. This new reality hinders our ability to build on this momentum, especially in our public collaborations with international organizations.

Two years ago, with tremendous support from American colleagues (especially Margaret Crastnopol) and a faculty of nearly 20 American instructors, Nikolay Petritsa launched a two-year online educational program in relational psychoanalysis, complete with simultaneous Russian translation. The first cohort of over 80 students has just graduated, and we are excited to announce that a new class will begin this September.

Furthermore, several other educational initiatives are flourishing:

• Irina Zolotareva, Denis Kargaltsev, and Tatiana Panchenko continue to run their popular year-long course on relational psychoanalysis.
• We (Alexander Levchuk and Elina Ryzhenkova) are currently leading two courses, “The Therapeutic Relationship in Relational Psychoanalysis,” as well as eight weekly reading groups focused on relational literature.
• The reach of relational theory is also expanding within formal institutions. Alexander Levchuk and Irina Zolotareva give lectures on relational psychoanalysis at several psychoanalytic institutes, and a younger generation of relational colleagues is now also teaching and introducing these ideas to new students.

This year also marked a significant literary milestone. The first major work of relational psychoanalysis was translated and published in Russian: Philip Bromberg’s Awakening the Dreamer: Clinical Journeys in Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Momentum is building in this area, with four more relational books currently in the final stages of preparation for publication.

On the international front, Alexander recently presented at the IARPP conference in Athens on the panel, “What is Happening to Us? The Ongoing Impact of Cumulative Trauma and Existential Crisis on the Clinician.” He is currently adapting his presentation into an article for publication in Psychoanalytic Dialogues.

Despite these positive developments, the landscape we operate in presents significant challenges.

Since February 2022, a large portion of the former IARPP-Russia membership has emigrated. For many who remain in Russia, paying IARPP membership dues has become impossible due to international sanctions that block payments from Russian bank cards. While some have found workarounds, many have not been able, or willing, to overcome these hurdles.

The political regime in Russia is becoming increasingly “closed” and isolationist. Open collaboration with foreign organizations can lead to suspicion at best, and persecution at worst.

As a result, we’ve had to change our public posture. Where we once proudly mentioned and promoted IARPP as an international organization across all our public platforms (social media, YouTube, websites), we now must curtail this visibility. Much of our work and affiliation have had to move “under the radar” into less public, more private spaces.

The legal and political situation changes almost monthly, making it incredibly difficult to predict what the future holds. While we navigate this uncertainty, our commitment to relational psychoanalysis and our community remains unwavering. We are simply forced to proceed with greater caution.

Alexander Levchuk & Elina Ryzhenkova
IARPP-Russia Co-Chairs

Alexander Levchuk, M.Sc.
Elina Ryzhenkova, M.Sc.
Russia (now in Tbilisi, Georgia)
Email Alexander Levchuk
Email Elina Ryzhenkova