‘Promoting International Dialogue Is the Innermost Motivation That Brought Me Here’

© HSE University

Giovanni Pirari is a Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for the Study of Russian and European Intellectual Dialogue. He is interested in Russian language, history, and poetry, with a particular focus on visual and symbolic representation. In an interview with the HSE News Service, Giovanni discusses his spiritual understanding of the Russian language, his first encounter with the world of Dostoevsky, and his experience living in Moscow.

Giovanni Pirari

— What is interesting about studying the Russian culture for you? 

— I am drawn to the sound of the Russian language, the characters of the Cyrillic alphabet, and the combination of severe architecture and spontaneity I see in the structure of grammar. Furthermore, Russian is a key to accessing a spiritual world that feels close to me and interests me greatly.

In Russian history, I am fascinated by the rapidity and boldness of transformations, the courage to take risks and try radical experiments, and the spiritual metabolism that allows people to absorb foreign knowledge and customs and transform them into something original and national

Among Russian poets, my favourite are Mayakovsky and Lermontov. Mayakovsky’s poetry combines strength and dreamy fragility. Lermontov, on the other hand, seems to be not belonging to this world, even while deeply loving it.

— How did you first become interested in it? 

— The first encounter, on a still unconscious level, was a profound impression left by the innocent and passionate character of Mitja Karamazov in the great novel The Brothers Karamazov when I read it at the age of 19. Under the influence of that image, I decided to break out of my comfort zone and leave my home city.

— In 2023, you published a paper called ‘Adventurers, Poets, Reformers: The Myth of Catherine II in the Mirror of the Italian Literary Imagination of the 18th Century’. Why did you choose this topic?

Catherine the Great and Italy were the theme of a conference organised by my Research Laboratory, to which I was invited soon after moving to Moscow. I wrote a paper in Russian about the relationship between the Tsarina and the Italian peninsula, particularly interested in the clarity of her geopolitical strategy and the reflection of her political successes in the imagination of Italian writers. Giacomo Casanova, a brilliant adventurer and a figure of interest in my Italian Studies, frequented her court.

— What are your research topics at HSE University? 

— My research interests are diverse, but all revolve around the relationship between the Ineffable, Invisible and images.

Specifically, my research theme is the representation of space between West and East, as well as the connection between nihilism, analogical knowledge, and symbolic representation

This includes my studies of the intersection between Platonism and Christian philosophy; the philosophy, art, and culture of the Italian Renaissance; iconological and structuralist analysis methodologies; morphological research on myth and biological forms; the relationship between traditional Russian iconography and Orthodox culture and European culture, especially in the fields of visual arts, poetry, cinema, and theatre. Additionally, I am particularly interested in the relationship between freedom and form.

In May 2024, I spoke on ‘Thinking the Icon’ at the 'West and East: Universalism of Culture' seminar at HSE University. This event sparked great interest among the audience, which made me feel very satisfied and motivated. I hope to give another presentation soon, where I will try to create more room for contributions from online participants. In my May talk, I introduced the general direction of my research and at the next event, I plan to focus on a more specific topic.

I will explore linear and inverted perspectives, questioning the effectiveness of realistic perspective naturalism. I will challenge the dogma of linear perspective as the naturalistic representation of spatial depth, drawing on the interpretations of Pavel Florenskij and Erwin Panofsky who see it as a symbolic form that reflects the modern anthropocentric and technocratic view of the world.

I was told by a participant that my presentation reminded them of a lecture. To be honest, I really miss teaching. Therefore, if I am not able to offer a course as an international postdoc, I would prefer to give talks about my research more frequently.

— How is your Russian? Where did you learn it?

— My Russian is quite good. A few years ago, I passed the TRKI 2 exam, which is kind of intermediate level, but I have already moved beyond that. In everyday life, I speak Russian quite well, but my vocabulary is still not sufficient to discuss philosophical topics. Reading gives me great satisfaction, but there are still important limitations.

— What can you tell me about living and working in Moscow?

— Moscow is a difficult-to-grasp reality that I am trying to understand through personal points of reference based on my interests.

To the general public, I would recommend the Kolomensky and Filevsky parks and the two Tretyakov Museums. I also love Russian plombyr ice cream!

— What is it like to work in a multicultural environment and promote the international intellectual dialogue? 

— I absolutely love working in a multicultural environment. International dialogue is a passion of mine, a natural fruit of my biography (having studied in Italy, Germany, and France, and having worked as a teacher and educator all my life, teaching languages and subjects in the five languages I speak). It is not only a personal pleasure for me, but promoting international dialogue is the innermost motivation that brought me here to this particular point.