Yasen Zasursky

Yassen Nikolayevich Zassoursky (also Yasen Nikolayevich Zasursky; ; October 29, 1929 – August 1, 2021) was a Soviet and Russian literary scholar, media theorist, journalist, and educator. He held the degree of Doctor of Philological Sciences and the academic title of professor (1968). From 1965 to 2007, he served as dean of the Faculty of Journalism at Lomonosov Moscow State University, and from 2007 to 2021 as president of the Faculty of Journalism.

Zassoursky was one of the most influential figures in Russian journalism education and media studies. For several decades, he was deeply involved in international academic cooperation and maintained close professional ties with UNESCO,

Biography

Early years Yassen Zassoursky was born on October 29, 1929, in Moscow. According to his own recollections, his parents initially wanted to give him the revolutionary name Revol, but his mother later named him Yasen, in honor of the clear blue eyes of his father. His mother's work in foreign-language publishing introduced him early to world literature and international culture. These family influences later manifested in his commitment to ethical journalism, intellectual independence, and dialogue between cultures.

Zassoursky remembered events following the signing of the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany, when his maternal grandfather, Fyodor Makarovich Makarov, predicted an inevitable clash with the Germans. His grandfather died on December 5, 1941. During the funeral service at Vagankovo Cemetery, the coffin reportedly jumped from nearby explosions, as Moscow was being heavily bombed.

The family was evacuated during the war. When they returned to Moscow in May 1943, Zassoursky resumed his studies in the seventh grade. In 1944, he passed entrance examinations to the English Department of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages named after Maurice Thorez.

Although the administration allowed the prodigious student to attend lectures, it required a secondary-school diploma. Zassoursky therefore completed school externally and in 1945 was admitted directly to the second year of the institute. He graduated in 1948. The burial of his ashes took place on September 9 at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery.

Family His father, Nikolai Vasilyevich Zassoursky (born Storozhev; 1897–1966), worked in the 1920s as an investigator in the Special Department of the Headquarters of the 4th Army and later as an authorized officer of the Cheka and OGPU with special powers and authority. He opposed lawlessness, mass murders, repressions and abuses committed in Crimea at the end of the civil war, and he personally authorised the arrest of the head of the Cheka of Ukraine for 10 days. Fearing reprisals, he changed his surname from Storozhev to Zassoursky. Later he worked in Soviet trade mission in Poland, then, upon return, in the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry and later in the Research Institute of Industrial Buildings. He had a son and two grandchildren, one of whom, Ivan Zassoursky, headed the Department of New Media and Communication Theory at the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University.

Personality Faculty members and students treated Zassoursky with great respect, which he earned by consistently acting as an arbiter and defender of his academic community and its freedoms. He was known for refined manners and personal conduct.

Journalist Said Bitsoev wrote that Zassoursky's approach was objective, even-handed, and fair, noting that minor student mischief was often overlooked, while strictness was applied only when necessary to educate true professionals. Lies and plagiarism were not tolerated.

For more than 25 years, Zassoursky maintained a close friendship with writer Gabriel García Márquez, whom he met through UNESCO work in the late 1970s. They collaborated on the commission that prepared the report "Many Voices — One World." Zassoursky later met Márquez in Cuba and corresponded with him for many years. a monument on the faculty balustrade, and naming the Faculty of Journalism after him.

Yasen Nikolayevich Zassoursky Prize After the professor's death, the Union of Journalists of Russia announced the establishment of the Yasen Nikolayevich Zasurskiy Prize, intended to be awarded to deans and professors of journalism faculties across the country.

Recipients include: Elena Vartanova, Dean of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University Viktor Tulupov, Dean of the Faculty of Journalism of Voronezh State University Alexander Puy, director of the Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications of Saint Petersburg State University Oleg Kuzin, Dean of the Faculty of Social Technologies of the presidential Academy in Saint Petersburg

"Golden Gong" — Yasen Zasurskiy Journalism Competition The Alliance of Regional Media Leaders organizes the nationwide journalism competition "Golden Gong" named after Yasen Zasurskiy. The competition is supported by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media of the Russian Federation. The competition has been held since 1994 and was named after Professor Zasurskiy in 2022.

Yasen Zasurskiy: "Happiness Is in Struggle and Overcoming" The publishing house Molodaya Gvardiya, in The Lives of Remarkable People series, released the book "Yasen Zasurskiy: 'Happiness Is in Struggle and Overcoming.'" The biography was written by G. V. Prutskov, a student and colleague of Zasurskiy at the Department of Foreign Journalism of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, and a professor at the HSE Institute of Media. Plans for the book were announced in 2021.