Mr. Roman Shliakhtin delivered this presentation entitled "Representations of the Byzantine Empire in the Russian Popular Culture and the Problems of the Historical Perception in the Twenty-First century" on October 8, 2015 to the Byzantine History students.  Other members of faculty and administration also attended. 

Mr. Shliakhtin is a Junior Dumbarton Oaks Fellow (a Harvard-affiliated institute in Washington, D.C.).  Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is pleased to have been given the privilege of hosting Mr. Shliakhtin's first presentation here in the United States.

Mr. Shliakhtin showed how Byzantine History has been used in public media in Russia and abroad, and gave perspective on the historical accuracy of those presentations.  Mr. Shliakhtin's work underscored the value of  Byzantine History studies in contemporary times, that the enormous contribution of the longest-running empire in history is still relevant today.  A proper understanding of the Byzantine Empire is valuable in many ways:  students of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary study Byzantine History in preparation for Church History studies, in order to understand the basic historical framework and context of major Church events, such as the Ecumenical Councils.