About IRECA in Warsaw
The French Institute for Research on Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and North Asia (IRECA), successor to the Franco-Russian Study Centre formerly based in Moscow, is a laboratory specialising in humanities and social sciences dedicated to the study of a vast area comprising Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus states and the Baltic countries.
Founded in January 2024 during a strategic policy meeting attended by the French Ambassador to Poland and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warsaw, IRECA has the status of a joint unit of French research institutes abroad (UMIFRE). In accordance with this status, IRECA is under the joint supervision of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).
In a context marked by profound geopolitical upheavals, IRECA’s mission is to conduct research projects aimed at shedding new light on recent regional developments. In close partnership with the University of Warsaw and other Polish and European institutions, its activities include conferences, seminars, doctoral schools, congresses, co-publications and long-term projects.
The creation of IRECA is part of the momentum generated by the Treaty of Nancy, signed on 9 May 2025 between France and Poland, and aims to strengthen scientific cooperation in the humanities and social sciences between the two countries.