Three New MGIMO Coursera MOOCs in English

13 May 2020

MGIMO launches three brand new courses in English on the Coursera platform: “Russian company law. Capital and financing of legal entities”, “Russian company law. Formation of legal entities”, and “Russian company law. Company management”, all designed and delivered by Prof. Anna Shashkova, of the Constitutional Law Department.

The course “Russian company law. Capital and financing of legal entities” provides an overview of Russian company law. The main objective of the second course “Russian company law. Formation of legal entities” is to familiarize students with the foundational concepts of Russian company law. The third course – “Russian company law. Company management» - goes on to introduce prospective students to various types of legal entities and ways of managing them.

All the three MOOCs aim to:

• Bring out the difference between various types of legal entities;
• Explain the legal rules regarding the establishment, financing, administration, and regulation of legal entities.

The Course “Russian company law. Capital and financing of legal entities” comprises three modules. The first module “Share capital” considers the various methods of forming the capital of a company, as well as to the rights of its shareholders. The second module “Borrowed capital” describes the ways of issuing bonds and other debt securities envisaged under the legislation of the Russian Federation for a limited liability company. The third module “Capital Adequacy and the Procedure for Dividend Payments” is devoted to the requirements for maintaining capital and paying dividends.

The Course “Russian company law. Formation of legal entities” is made up of three modules. The first module, “the Partnership”, deals with differences in the types of partnerships, the legislation that governs relations in the field of partnerships, and also explains how partnerships are formed. The second module, “Company and legal personality”, is concerned with how a commercial or non-commercial legal entity is formed and registered with the relevant state bodies of the Russian Federation, as well as how it operates. The third module, “Company Formation,” talks you through how to register and terminate a company.

Course “Russian company law. Company management” also consists of three modules. The first module, “Company Meetings and Decision Making,” is devoted to discriminating between different types of general meetings of shareholders and explaining the procedure for convening such meetings and participating in them. The second module, “Company Director”, explores at length the role of directors and of the executive body in the functioning of the company. The third module “Other governing bodies” specifies the duties and powers of the company's internal and external auditors.

Upon completing the course, students will be able to distinguish between various types of legal entities in the Russian Federation, correctly apply the rules regarding the formation, financing, administration, and regulation of legal entities, understand ordinary and preferred shares, distinguish loan capital from joint stock company, have a grasp of long-term capital, authorized capital, and dividends.

The courses have been designed for undergraduate and graduate students, Russian and foreign lawyers, heads of law firms, financial directors, chief accountants, auditors practicing in English, as well as for anyone interested in Russian company law.