GAVRA Dmitry

The Head of Department, Doctor of Sociology, Professor, Honored Worker of the Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Laureate of the Award of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of print media. Professor Emeritus of St. Petersburg State University.

E-mail: d.gavra@spbu.ru

    President of the Russian Association of Public Relations Educators (APSO).

PhD in Economics. Doctor of Sociology.

He graduated from Leningrad Polytechnic Institute in 1978, and Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg State University) in 1990. He worked as a senior laboratory assistant, junior, senior researcher at the Institute of Socio-Economic Problems (ISEP) of the USSR Academy of Sciences, a leading researcher, deputy head of the Department at the ISEP Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In 1985 became PhD in Economics. He began lecturing at the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University in 1993. He defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Sociological Sciences in the Dissertation Council of the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University in 1995. In 2000, he received the title of professor at the Department of Applied Sociology of St. Petersburg State University.

D. Gavra has been working at St. Petersburg State University since February 1996. He held the positions of head of the laboratory "Center for Sociological Research of the Faculty of Sociology? Professor of the Department of Applied Sociology, Deputy Dean for scientific affairs of the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University.

In 2000, at the Faculty of Journalism of St. Petersburg State University, he created and headed the first Department of Communication Theory in Russia. Since 2010, he has been the Head of the Department of Public Relations at the Faculty of Journalism.

Since 2012, he has been the Head of the Department of Public Relations in Business at the Institute of Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications of St. Petersburg State University.

Member of the Academic Council of the Institute "School of Journalism and Mass Communications" of St. Petersburg State University, member of the Academic Council of St. Petersburg State University.

In 2008, he received the Award of the Government of the Russian Federation "for the training of highly qualified personnel for the mass media and the development of a typological model of modern Russian mass media." In 2012, he was awarded the title of "Honored Worker of Higher Education of the Russian Federation".

Professor D. Gavra is the organizer of the first Department of Communication Theory in the Russian higher school (2000), the founder and head of the St. Petersburg School of Communication Studies. Under his leadership, the concept of introducing a communicative component into the training of modern Russian journalists, specialists in the field of public relations and advertising was developed. As a result, the system of training specialists in the field of mass communication at St. Petersburg State University has received a new development, which made it possible to bring it closer to the most modern educational systems in the world. With his participation and under his methodological guidance, a system of distance courses on the theory and practice of effective communications for all levels of training has been developed, which has been implemented since 2020 in all St. Petersburg State University educational programs.

As a researcher D. Gavra focuses on such problems as the theory of mass consciousness, methodology and methodology of studying public opinion, problems of opinion formation and manipulation of mass consciousness, theory and practice of strategic communications in politics and business. He developed an institutional concept of public opinion, proposed new approaches to determining its structure and functions. An important contribution to the theory of public opinion is the proposed by D. Gavra a theoretical scheme of interactions between public opinion and political institutions in modern society, based on a specially developed system of criteria for determining the nature of the interaction regime. He also developed practical schemes and mechanisms for using opinion polls data in preparation for the introduction of socio-economic innovations and the development of plans and programs for social development. He and his steam have completed a number of empirical projects on the study of social communications and media perception in Russia.

Since 2012, professor D. Gavra and the scientific school under his leadership have been focusing on the problems of territorial marketing and image-making, as well as on the digital transformation of the strategic communications system in business and politics. He substantiated the spherical-substantial model of the external image of the state/region, and proposed tools for digital marketing of the territory.

Within the framework of grant projects, professor Gavra turns to the theory of communicative capitalism and in the works of him and his students, modern models of digital labor and digital exploitation are substantiated, approaches to interpreting the processes of mediatization of public life at different levels of the social hierarchy are proposed. In 2017-2023, the concept of transformation of digital power practices within the framework of critical digitalism approaches was developed.

A significant number of grant projects of Russian and foreign scientific foundations have been carried out under the leadership and with the participation of professor D. Gavra. Among the most important of them are the grants "BRICS Media systems in Flux" (senior researcher, 2012-2016), "Multimedia support for the protection and promotion of Russian-language terminology in professional fields" (senior researcher, Federal Program "Russian Language", 2016), "Innovative methodologies for ensuring information security of the Russian Federation" (senior researcher 2018-2020), "The concept of communicative capitalism: theoretical and methodological foundations and empirical operationalization" (Head, RFBR, 2018), "Mediatization of local incidents as a mechanism for mobilizing political protest in an information and networking society" (head, RFBR, 2020-2022), "Russia in the media discourse of modern Italy in the context of information confrontation with the West" (head, RFBR, 2020-2021).

Professor D. Gavra conducts significant scientific and organizational work. He was the coordinator of the Innovative educational project "Business Journalism and Business Communication" of the National Project "Education" (2006-2009). On his initiative, the international scientific and practical conference "Strategic Communications in Business and Politics" has been regularly held at St. Petersburg State University since 2014, and he has been chairman of the program committee for all these years. This conference traditionally gathers the most reputable scientists, specialists in advertising, public relations and strategic communications from Russia and abroad. Member of the editorial boards of scientific journals on the theory of communication, mass communications, advertising and public relations, political science in Russia and Kazakhstan. Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the «Russian School of Public Relations» Journal.

In 2018, he was elected President of the All-Russian public organization "Association of Public Relations Teachers", which unites teachers in the field of Advertising and public relations at universities of the Russian Federation and coordinates their scientific and methodological cooperation.

Professor D. Gavra is active in international scientific cooperation. As a visiting professor in 1996-2021, he lectured at 16 foreign universities, he is a coordinator of Russian participation in the international consortium of universities "Media, Culture and Communication" (2007-2011).

He is a member of the Dissertation Council for awarding scientific degrees of Doctor of Sciences of the Gumilev Eurasian National University (Astana, Kazakhstan). He is a member of the international associations in the field of mass communications and public relations IAMCR, EUPRERA, and regularly makes invited presentations at international scientific conferences abroad. He directs doctoral students from China, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Professor D. Gavra conducts extensive scientific and methodological work, being a member of the Federal Methodological Union (FUMO) in the group of specialties "Mass media and information and library science". As a member of the Federal Methodological Council in the field of training "Advertising and public Relations", he participated in the development of the Federal State Educational Standard in this area, coordinated the development of the Master's degree program. He is the scientific director of the graduate programs of St. Petersburg State University in the field of "Advertising and public relations", the head of the master's programs "Corporate Communications and Advertising", "Strategic communications in business and politics".

Professor D. Gavra is the author of more than 340 scientific publications, including monographs and textbooks on academic disciplines in the field of "Advertising and public relations". He has chapters in monographs published in reputable academic publishing houses in the USA, Great Britain, Germany, and Kazakhstan. He is regularly published in leading scientific research publications in Russia and abroad. The number of publications in the SCOPUS databases is 35 (2024).

Professor D. Gavra is the head of an authoritative scientific school. Under his supervising 3 doctoral and 35 PhD theses in sociological, political and philological sciences were defended. His students hold important positions in large companies and federal government agencies.

Professor D. Gavra is actively involved in scientific and practical work and expert work. In 1995-2005, he was the head of the Expert Group of the Commission on Social Issues of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg. In 1997-2003 – coordinator-consultant of the section "Formation of a sustainable social environment" of the Strategic Plan of St. Petersburg. In 2003-2008, he was a member of the Project committee under the Governor of St. Petersburg. Member of the Public Council at the St. Petersburg Election Commission (2002-2008). In 2009 – 2011. - Head of the Expert Council of the Baltic Governors Club. Member of the Public Council of the St. Petersburg Television Company (since 2015). Member of the St. Petersburg Public Council on the Problems of the Elderly (since 2014). Member of the Public Council of the Committee for External Relations of the Government of St. Petersburg (since 2015).

The winner and laureate of reputable professional competitions.

Winner of the international competition in the field of image studies "Image Directory" (The best project of the year) (2009).

Winner of the Ural competition in the field of public relations "White Wing" (2009).

Finalist of the IPRA-Proba Golden World Awards (The best PR campaign on the Internet).

Winner of the international competition in the field of public relations "Golden Sable" (2011) – the best educational program in public relations.

Winner of the All-Russian "Professor of the Year Award" (2024).

Large-scale work in the field of public opinion theory, theory and practice of strategic communications in politics and business, done by Professor D. Gavra and representatives of the St. Petersburg scientific school headed by him, promoted its head to one of the leading positions among Russian theoretical scientists. In recent years, this scientific school has become one of the leading scientific and educational centers in the field of public relations in Russia. Under the guidance of Professor D. Gavra SPbSU annually hosts representative forums with the participation of researchers and professors in the field of strategic communications and practitioners in the field of public relations, dedicated to discussing the latest trends in the professional training of future specialists in public communications and sharing experience in this field.