Podcasts about Kennan Institute

We Must Save the Books. That's Michael Kimmage's SOS message from Trumpian Washington in this issue of Liberties Quarterly. Kimmage, former director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center, describes the surreal experience of being hired in January 2025 only to see his institution shuttered by Trump's administration three months later. He reflects on the "American ruin" created as a consequence of abandonment of the Wilson Center's 30,000 book library. And Kimmage connects the rapid destruction of foreign policy institutions like USAID and the U.S. Institute of Peace to a broader assault on expertise and nonpartisan learning, warning that without such institutions, "an abyss opens" in American governance and international relations. Five Key Takeaways* Institutional Destruction was Swift and Unexplained - The Wilson Center, USAID (reduced from 10,000 to 15 employees), and U.S. Institute of Peace were shuttered within months with no clear rationale provided, creating a "nightmare-like" quality where decisions happened without accountability.* America's First Modern Ruin - Kimmage describes the abandoned Wilson Center library as unprecedented in American experience - a functioning institution in the heart of Washington D.C. suddenly left as a tomb-like ruin, unlike anything seen in a country never defeated on its own soil.* Books Were Saved, But Expertise Was Lost - While the 30,000-volume library was eventually rescued and distributed to universities, the real loss was the destruction of nonpartisan expertise and institutional knowledge that took decades to build.* Echoes of 1950s McCarthyism - The assault on expertise mirrors McCarthyism, with direct connections through Roy Cohn's mentorship of Trump, but differs in scale since it's driven by a president rather than a senator.* The Death of Learning in Government - The shutdowns represent a fundamental rejection of the idea that careful, nonpartisan study of international affairs is essential to effective policymaking, potentially creating an "abyss" in American foreign policy capacity.Michael Kimmage is Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute. Prior to joining the Kennan Institute, Michael Kimmage was a professor of history at the Catholic University of America. From 2014 to 2017, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He has been a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and at the German Marshall Fund; and was on the advisory board of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He publishes widely on international affairs and on U.S. policy toward Russia. His latest book, Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability, was published by Oxford University Press in March 2024. He is also the author of The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy, published by Basic Books in 2020, and The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism, published by Harvard University Press in 2009.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Kimmage, Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute.  He discusses the latest in US-Russia relations and the Trump administration's attempt to broker a ceasefire in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.  Kimmage discusses where to war stands after more than three years of fighting, the effects of the war on Russian and Ukrainian society, and the renewed European focus on defense spending and capacity.

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Michael Kimmage of the Kennan Institute about the dynamics of, and potential problems with, the burgeoning strategic alliance between Vladimir Putin's Russia and Xi Jinping's China. BIO: Michael Kimmage is the director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He was previously a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America and a Non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2014 to 2016, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio. His most recent book is Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability (Oxford University Press, 2024). 

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Leila Alieva, a distinguished expert in Russia-West relations and the political economy of energy transition. Dr. Alieva focuses on the influence of soft power, sharing her insights on the evolving dynamics of international politics, energy security, and democratisation in resource-rich states. Dr. Leila Alieva is an Associate of Russian and East European Studies (REES) at the Oxford University School for Global and Area Studies. She also teaches a course on the Political Economy of Energy Transition at Oxford's Department of Continued Education and is currently working with Friends of Europe. Originally from Azerbaijan, Dr. Alieva founded the Center for National and International Studies, a think tank in Baku, but was forced to leave her home country during the 2014 government crackdown on activists, journalists, and scholars. Dr. Alieva's extensive academic experience includes fellowships at Harvard University, UC Berkeley, and the Woodrow Wilson Center's Kennan Institute. She has also held roles at the NATO Defense College in Rome, the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, and the Institute Fur Kulturwissenschaften in Vienna. Dr. Alieva has advised major international organizations such as EBRD, BP, and NATO's Partnership for Peace Consortium. Her research, published in prestigious outlets including Oxford University Press and the Journal of Democracy, spans Russia, the Caucasus, and energy politics, with a focus on democratization in oil-rich states.The International Risk Podcast is a weekly podcast for senior executives, board members, and risk advisors. In these podcasts, we speak with experts in a variety of fields to explore international relations. Our host is Dominic Bowen, Head of Strategic Advisory at one of Europe's leading risk consulting firms. Dominic is a regular public and corporate event speaker, and visiting lecturer at several universities. Having spent the last 20 years successfully establishing large and complex operations in the world's highest-risk areas and conflict zones, Dominic now joins you to speak with exciting guests around the world to discuss international risk.Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for the latest updates and thought-provoking discussions!Tell us what you liked!

Student radicals protesting on campuses around the world, Israel condemned for everything that's wrong with the world. I hope you're having deja-vu. The massive anti-Israel protest movement didn't come out of nowhere, and its accusations against the Jewish state are nothing new. They have deep roots. And for that, we have to go back to Soviet Russia, to see how the USSR planted the seeds of the ideological movement that has captured Western campuses and is weaponizing them against the Jews. Izabella Tabarovsky is a Senior Program Associate at the Kennan Institute of the Wilson Center and a contributing writer at Tablet Magazine. She's one of the world's leading experts on Soviet anti-Zionism, contemporary left-wing anti-Semitism, and what connects them. Izabella takes us through the history of ideas that has led to where we find ourselves today. She shows us that nothing being presented by today's cosplaying student radicals in the global Tentifada are new or fresh. Rather, they link back to a lengthy history of anti-semitic tropes that have served the interests of Israel's staunchest and most powerful enemies throughout time.Stay up to date at:https://www.stateofanationpodcast.com/X: https://twitter.com/stateofapodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateofapod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/state-of-a-nation

As Russia's dominance on the international stage increases, along with its presence in the American presidential election, Dialogue host Marcia Franklin talks with journalist Jill Dougherty about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dougherty, who reported for CNN for 30 years, most recently as its Foreign Affairs Correspondent, was also the network's Moscow Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent. She left CNN in 2013 to get a Master's degree in International Relations from Georgetown University and is now writing a book on Putin's ‘soft power.' At the time she spoke with Franklin, Dougherty was a Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute, a division of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The two discuss what Dougherty means by ‘soft power,' and some of the factors that drive President Putin's persona and politics. Franklin also asks Dougherty about Putin's involvement in the United States' presidential election and what the next U.S. president should keep in mind when negotiating with Russia. Dougherty was in Boise in September 2016 to address the Boise Committee on Foreign Relations. Originally Aired: 09/30/2016

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with S. Frederick Starr about the lives and work of Ibn Sina and Biruni. They discuss who were Ibn Sina and Biruni, their time and context, and the correspondence between Ibn Sina and Biruni. They discuss their interactions in the Muslim world, Ibn Sina as vizier, the canon of Ibn Sina and the canon of Biruni. They also discuss work post-canon, how their works were preserved, legacy of both thinkers, and many more topics.S. Frederick Starr is the founding chairman of the Central Asia -Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, a joint transatlantic research and policy center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Institute (AFPC) in Washington and the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm. Dr. Starr is Distinguished Fellow for Eurasia at AFPC. Starr is author of the widely acclaimed Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. In this book on the history of the region between the 8th and 11th centuries, he argues that Central Asia was the center of the world. Lost Enlightenment has been translated into 20 languages, and received widespread praise by regional leaders, including Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Starr has focused on the challenge of reopening continental-wide transport passing through Central Asia and Afghanistan. This issue was the subject of a series of articles between 2000 and 2008 and of a book, The New Silk Roads, published in 2007.  He is a frequent commentator on the affairs of the region, and the author of numerous articles in journals including Foreign Affairs and op-eds in various leading American and international newspapers. Starr was the founding Chairman of the Kennan Institute in Washington, and served as Vice President of Tulane University and President of Oberlin College (1983-94).  He was closely involved in planning the University of Central Asia and the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy and is a trustee of the Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan.  He earned his PhD in History at Princeton, MA at King's College, Cambridge, and his BA at Yale, and holds five honorary degrees. Starr is also a founding member of the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble of New Orleans and founded the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the single largest non-governmental sponsor of post-Katrina recovery in that city. He has written four books on New Orleans, including New Orleans Unmasqued, Southern Comfort, and Inventing New Orleans: The Writings of Lafcadio Hearn. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Gordon M. Hahn, Ph.D., is an Expert Analyst at Corr Analytics, http://www.canalyt.com/ and a Senior Researcher at the Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies (CETIS), Akribis Group, http://www.cetisresearch.org./ He has taught at Boston, American, Stanford, San Jose State, and San Francisco State Universities and as a Fulbright Scholar at Saint Petersburg State University, Russia and has been a senior associate and visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Kennan Institute in Washington DC, and the Hoover Institution. Dr. Hahn also has written 6 books on Russian and Eurasian politics, including his most recent Russian Tselostnost': Wholeness in Russian Thought, Culture, History, and Politics (Europe Books, 2022).  Dr. Hahn is the author of the new book Russian Tselostnost': Wholeness in Russian Thought, Culture, History, and Politics (Europe Books, 2022) and five well-received previous books: The Russian Dilemma: Security, Vigilance, and Relations with the West from Ivan III to Putin (McFarland, 2021), Ukraine Over the Edge: Russia, the West, and the “New Cold War” (McFarland, 2018), The Caucasus Emirate Mujahedin: Global Jihadism in Russia's North Caucasus and Beyond (McFarland, 2014), Russia's Islamic Threat (Yale University Press, 2007), and Russia's Revolution From Above: Reform, Transition and Revolution in the Fall of the Soviet Communist Regime, 1985-2000 (Transaction, 2002). He also has published numerous think tank reports, academic articles, analyses, and commentaries in both English and Russian language media. GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: Drew Thomas Allen, author of America's Last Stand: Will You Vote to Save or Destroy America in 2024, is the VP of client development at Publius PR, a premiere communications firm, where Allen has worked as a publicist for many of the biggest names in politics: Peter Navarro, Dr. Naomi Wolf, Dr. Ben Carson, Alan Dershowitz, and Kari Lake, to name a few. In addition to running PR Campaigns for some of the most recognizable names in politics, Allen is a widely published columnist and host of the popular Drew Allen Show podcast. Allen is an in-demand political analyst, who has appeared on Newsmax, GB News, and on radio stations across the country.

Two years after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Mykhailo Minakov, the Kennan Institute's senior advisor on Ukraine and editor in chief of its Focus Ukraine blog, to discuss where Ukraine is today militarily, politically, socially and economically; Ukrainians' sources of resilience; and why bipartisan support for Ukraine is in the national interest of the United States. This is part 1 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/ukraine-second-anniversary-russian-invasion

Two years after Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Maxim Trudolyubov, editor in chief of the Kennan Institute's Russia File blog, to discuss where Russia is today. They discussed new trends in Russian emigration and the brain drain that never was, how the Russian economy has managed to defy predictions of immediate collapse, and who is actually running Russia. This is part 2 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russia-second-anniversary-invasion-ukraine

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we speak with William Pomeranz, Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute. He discusses the anniversaries of Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent invasion of Ukraine in 2022.  Pomeranz also explains what the death of Russian activist Alexei Navalny may mean for the Putin regime, Russia, and the West.

Originally Recorded January 24th, 2024 About Izabella Tabarovsky: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/izabella-tabarovsky-0 Check out Ms. Tabarovsky's article in Quillette, titled The Language of Soviet Propaganda: https://quillette.com/2024/01/11/the-language-of-soviet-propaganda/ Get full access to Unlicensed Philosophy with Chuong Nguyen at musicallyspeaking.substack.com/subscribe

On this first episode of 2024, we reflect on the War in Ukraine and Ukraine's prospects for continued political and military support in 2024 and beyond with Carnegie Endowment's senior fellow and renowned military analyst Michael Kofman. ABOUT THE GUEST Michael Kofman is a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on the Russian military and Eurasian security issues. Prior to joining Carnegie in 2023, he served as Director of the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses, where he conducted research on the capabilities, strategy, and military thought of the Russian Armed Forces. Widely recognized as one of the leading authorities on the Russian military, and the Russo-Ukrainian War, Kofman has led foundational work in the field, and is routinely cited in major publications. He also regularly advises senior government and military officials. Aside from his work at Carnegie, Kofman is also a Principal Research Scientist at CNA, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and a Contributing Editor at War on the Rocks, where he hosts The Russia Contingency, a bi-weekly podcast on the Russian military and war against Ukraine. He previously served as a program manager, and research fellow, at the National Defense University. Past fellowships have included the Modern War Institute at West Point, and the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 3, 2023 at the 2023 ASEEES Convention in the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! PRODUCTION CREDITS Host/Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Host/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp Production Assistant: Faith VanVleet Production Assistant: Eliza Fisher SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Jon Shuemaker, Broke for Free) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Michael Kofman.

Host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Jennifer Wistrand, Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, about Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

 Host Jon Olson talks with Dr. Jennifer Wistrand, Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, about Central Asia and the Caucasus region. 

In this week's episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Michael Kimmage to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, "For a War of Worlds" Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Dr. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). His forthcoming book is Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (2024).

Lecture with Grigory Vaypan. Grigory traces the root causes of Russia's war against Ukraine to the failure of the post-Soviet transitional justice project in the early 1990s. When the Soviet totalitarian regime collapsed, very little was done to confront its past crimes. Impunity for Soviet-era atrocities set the ground for persecution and abuse of power to reproduce themselves in contemporary Russia's domestic and foreign policies. The story of Memorial, Russia's oldest human rights group and co-recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, reflects that trajectory, from the moment it emerged as a grassroots movement for memory and accountability in 1987 until its forced dissolution by the Russian government in 2022. About the speaker: Dr. Grigory Vaypan is a Russian human rights lawyer and scholar. He is a Senior Lawyer at Memorial, Russia's oldest human rights group and laureate of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. Currently, he is also a Democracy Fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C. He is a former Galina Starovoitova Fellow on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution at the Kennan Institute in Washington, D.C. Grigory holds his first law degree from Moscow State University, an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. in International Law from Saint Petersburg State University. At Memorial, Grigory carries out litigation, legal research and legal advocacy on transitional justice in Russia. His work, including the high-profile “children of the Gulag” case, has been featured by The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, and other leading international media. Grigory has more than a decade of strategic litigation experience before the Constitutional Court of Russia and the European Court of Human Rights. He is the recipient of the 2022 Moscow Helsinki Group Human Rights Award for defending human rights in court. Most recently, Grigory has been involved in the legal defense of Russian citizens prosecuted for protesting against Russia's war in Ukraine.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Peter Zwack, Former U.S. Army Brigadier General and Global Fellow with the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute. He provides an update on the ongoing Ukrainian counter offensive against Russia, the mood among the Ukrainian population and leadership, and the continued focus on increasing supplies of military equipment and diplomatic support from western nations.

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Keays, Senior Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State and Senior Diplomatic Fellow with the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute. He discusses his project at the Center which focuses on how to re-engage with Russia after the fighting in Ukraine has ended and what history can teach us about what paths this US-Russia re-engagement may take in the future.

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Michael Kimmage to discuss the current state of the Ukraine War, and potential paths for it going forward. Zachary sets this scene with his poem entitled, "For Yegor." Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently for Foreign Affairs and other major publications. He has a forthcoming book on the history of the Ukraine War, Collisions.

In this weekend's episode, two interviews from this past week's Washington Journal  First - Kirk Bado -- editor of National Journal's "Hotline" political newsletter -- discusses Campaign 2024 and key congressional races. Then, we get an update on the Russia-Ukraine conflict – and Russian President Vladimir Putin's future – with William Pomeranz, director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a change from the usual, I look through the top six news items currently on the website of Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the main government newspaper of record, on today, Sunday 14 May. What can one learn about the state of Russian politics, intra-elite conflicts, the survival of real journalism and how comfortable Russians are with being global outsiders, based on stories about everything from missile attacks in the Donbas to easier regulations on building sheds?As websites change, the six stories are:FT: G7 и ЕС планируют запретить возобновление поставок российского газа"Фиксируем все разрушения для будущего суда над преступниками": как работает полиция на месте удара крылатыми ракетами Storm Shadow в День ЛНРВ Турции начались президентские и парламентские выборыЭрмитаж возвращает в Александро-Невскую Лавру раку Александра Невского. Михаил Пиотровский рассказал "РГ" о смысле и условиях передачи раки ЦерквиЭксклюзивВ Минстрое разъяснили, почему сараи и бани стало строить прощеАлександр Бастрыкин выступил за введение уголовной ответственности для юридических лицThe episode of the Kennan Institute's The Russia File podcast I mention is here. For Bastrykin's rather more explicit attacks on corruption in the defence-industrial complex, see here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show

General Peter Zwack joins us for a discussion of whether there could be another civil war in the United States, how the military might be involved, and how we can prevent if from happening. Retired Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack is a Wilson Center Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute. In 1980 he began his 34-year U.S. Army career as an intelligence and security officer in a nuclear capable artillery battalion. Three decades later, he served as the U.S. Senior Defense Attaché to the Russian Federation from 2012–2014. He is the author of Afghanistan Kabul Kurier: One Soldier's Story of the Taliban, Tribes & Loyalties, Opium Trade, & Burqa and Swimming the Volga: A U.S. Army Officer's Experiences in Pre-Putin Russia.(Note: This is a reupload of an episode initially aired 12/31/21).

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, and Joseph Dresen, Senior Program Associate with the Kennan Institute. They discuss the increasingly close economic and military ties between China and Russia and how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further strained already tense relations between China and the West.

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by guest Dr. Michael Kimmage to discuss The Russo-Ukrainian War. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, "A Year After the War Began." Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently for Foreign Affairs and other major publications.

In an abrupt shift away from decades of tradition, Ukraine’s current National Bar arose from the adoption of a new model in 2013. The “Law On the Bar and Practice of Law” emerged amid recurring east-west tensions and pressures for domestic reform. This legislation produced an all-Ukrainian, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes adjudicatory reform. It has been recognized by the International Bar Association and the European Council of Bars and Law Societies. Join Dr. Valentyn Gvozdiy, Vice President of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, for a conversation led by George Bogden regarding the origin of this independent body. Featuring: Dr. Valentyn Gvozdiy, Vice President, Ukrainian National Bar Association Moderator: Dr. George Bogden, George F. Kennan Fellow, Kennan Institute, and Olin Fellow, Columbia Law School.

The narratives that have been coming out of the Kremlin and Russian State TV since February are aggressive, paranoid, and highly toxic. But how far do they believe these narratives, and how much of this is just an instrument for control and coercion? Was there a point in time where Putin and his minions started to believe their own conspiracy narratives? Or to some extend have they always seen the world differently from the West? I am exploring these paradoxes today with an expert on Russian politics and political culture, Olga Irisova. Olga Irisova is a German Chancellor fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Editor-in-Chief at Riddle Russia. She is an expert on Russian foreign and domestic policy. She has also been a Visiting Fellow at the Kennan Institute in Washington D.C. and an Analyst at the Centre for polish-Russian dialogue and understanding in Warsaw, Poland.

On this episode, recorded in-person at the ASEEES 2022 Convention in Chicago, Lera and Taylor sit down with Will Pomeranz, the director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, to talk about his experience practicing Russian law in Russia, the work of the Kennan Institute, the evolution (and devolution) of Russian law from the tsarist period through Vladimir Putin today, and the legality of the referenda in Ukraine. A timely discussion, especially in light of the bombings Poland at the Ukraine-Poland border on November 15th, 2022. We hope you enjoy! For more information on the Wilson Center and its vast resources, please visit their website: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/. For the Kennan Institute specifically, visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute. ABOUT THE GUEST William Pomeranz is the Director of the Kennan Institute, a part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars located in Washington, D.C. He also has taught Russian law at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CERES), Georgetown University. He hold a B.A. from Haverford College, a M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh, a J.D. cum laude from American University, and a Ph.D. in Russian History from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. Prior to joining the Kennan Institute, Dr. Pomeranz practiced international law in the United States and Moscow, Russia. He advised clients on investment in the Russian Federation as well as on U.S. anti-money laundering requirements, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and various U.S. sanctions programs. His research interests include Russian legal history as well current Russian commercial and constitutional law. His academic articles have been published in the Russian Review, Slavonic and East European Review, Kritika, Review of Central and East European Law, Demokratizatsiya, and Problems of Post-Communism. He also has provided commentary and conducted numerous press interviews with CNN, NPR, C-SPAN, Reuters, VOA, Bloomberg, and other media outlets. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded in Chicago's Palmer House Hilton on November 12th, 2022 at the ASEEES Convention. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Host/Associate Producer: Taylor Ham Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Charlie Harper, Makaih Beats, Kirk Osamayo, Independent music collective) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: William Pomeranz.

This week, Jeremi and Zachary talk with Dr. Michael Kimmage about how the Ukraine War has developed over the course of the year, and how they predict things will progress in the future. Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently on the Ukraine War and related topics for Foreign Affairs.

Last Wednesday, draft papers were delivered to thousands of people across Russia after Vladimir Putin announced the country's first mobilization since World War II. Tens of thousands of men are fleeing the country to dodge the draft. We're checking in with Dr. William Pomeranz, director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, to better understand what's going on in the country.  

Last Wednesday, draft papers were delivered to thousands of people across Russia after Vladimir Putin announced the country's first mobilization since World War II. Tens of thousands of men are fleeing the country to dodge the draft. We're checking in with Dr. William Pomeranz, director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, to better understand what's going on in the country.  

In this episode of AUHSD Future Talks, Superintendent Matsuda interviews Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, associate professor of practice at Teachers College, Columbia University. During their talk, Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess discusses her story, storytelling, radicalization, the importance of student and teacher relationships, identity, and her message to students.Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has taught, researched, and published on a range of issues in education, including mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, teaching quality, development, inclusion, radicalization, othering, educational displacement, storytelling, marginalization, social transformation, social disintegration, social norm formation, social mobility, higher education policy, transitional justice, Islam, financial inclusion of women, and corruption. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess' most recent work on radicalization and building resilience to hate, othering, and exclusion has sparked significant international interest and Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has delivered 50+ invited lectures in the U.S., South Korea, China, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Germany, Austria, Indonesia, Jordan, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, the United Kingdom, Qatar, and India.More than twenty-five years ago, Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess first became a teacher as a young teen during the Bosnian Genocide. Her lived experience of being an object of hate and ethnic persecution has informed her scholarship on building resilience to othering and extremism via education. She was awarded a 2021 Finalist Medal for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction by the American Library Association and Best Book recognition by School Library Journal, Malala Fund, Capitol Choices, and Children's Center for Literature for her nonfiction work exploring resilience to exclusion, othering, and hate. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess obtained her PhD (2012) in Comparative and International Education with a specialization in Economics at Columbia University. Her doctoral research employed mixed methods to examine the intricacies of favor reciprocation and corruption in education, providing empirical evidence on how such phenomena usurped merited social mobility in education and triggered displacement. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess holds a Master of Philosophy (2010) from Columbia University's Teachers College and Masters in Economic and Political Development with a specialization in the Persian Gulf from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (2004), as well as a B.A. in Economics from Brown University (2000). She is a recipient of multiple awards, including grants from the Smith Richardson Foundation; the U.S. State Department; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Kennan Institute; International Research and Exchange Board; Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies; and others.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Michael Kofman, research program director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses and fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The discussion explores the general composition and force design of the Russian military, before turning to the subject of Russia's military performance in Ukraine. Based on this foundation, Michael then offers his insights on some of the major urban battles fought during the war, including Kyiv and Mariupol. The episode concludes by highlighting lessons that researchers and observers should—and should not—be taking from the war.

*** Please support us to keep bringing you in-depth coverage. Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeIn this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam sits down with Nina Rozhanovskaya a coordinator and academic liaison at the Kennan Institute of the Wilson Centre. Nina and Adam explore understanding Russian support for the war in Ukraine and a focus on opposition to the war among Russians inside and outside the country. They discuss the growing internal repressions and the consequences for speaking out against this war. Read the most recent publication on this topic: “Disloyalty is punishable: Russians hide their true feelings about the war” By: Maria Domańska, New Eastern Europe 17 June 2022: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2022/06/17/disloyalty-is-punishable-russians-hide-their-true-feelings-about-the-war/ Visit us online: www.talkeasterneurope.eu

George Friedman. Russia is Not a Great Power, No Battle for Kyiv, The World We Need to Prepare for.   https://youtu.be/3b6y0TKy5bU Russia is Not a Great Power | George Friedman at World Govt Summit 17,640 views Mar 31, 2022 GEOPOP 34.5K subscribers George Friedman was in Dubai this week for the World Government Summit. This is the excerpt from his panel discussion. You can see the whole live stream here... https://youtu.be/JTTDzH2A1tM   https://youtu.be/WUbHpntUHOA No Battle for Kyiv | Michael Kofman 13,515 views Mar 30, 2022 GEOPOP 34.5K subscribers Watch full video… https://youtu.be/mHuTpjAkfVY Michael Kofman serves as Director of the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses and a Fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C. His research focuses on the Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in the Russian armed forces, Russian military thought and strategy. Previously he served at National Defense University as a Program Manager, and subject matter expert, advising senior military and government officials on issues in Russia and Eurasia. Mr. Kofman's other affiliations include being a Senior Editor at War on the Rocks, where he regularly authors articles on questions of strategy, the Russian military, and foreign policy issues. Mr. Kofman has published numerous articles on the Russian armed forces, security issues in Russia/Eurasia, along with analyses for the U.S. government. He holds a M.A. in International Security from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and a B.A. in Political Science from Northeastern University.   https://youtu.be/93JKT4LkUOo The World We Need to Prepare for | Peter Zeihan 38,659 views Mar 29, 2022 GEOPOP 34.5K subscribers Audio is from new Peter Zeihan podcast … https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast...

ОБСУЖДАЕМ СОБЫТИЯ ВОЕННОГО ВРЕМЕНИ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ПУТИНСКОГО РЕЖИМА: ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЕ, ВОЕННО-ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЕ И ПРОСТО ВОЕННЫЕ. СПОСОБЕН ЛИ ВЫЖИТЬ РЕЖИМ, ПОЛНОСТЬЮ ИЗОЛИРОВАННЫЙ ОТ ОКРУЖАЮЩЕГО МИРА? КАК ЭТА ИЗОЛЯЦИЯ ТРАНСФОРМИРУЕТ ПОНИМАНИЕ РЕАЛЬНОСТИ У ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ ВЕРХУШКИ И У МАССЫ НАСЕЛЕНИЯ РОССИИ? СЛЕДУЕТ ЛИ ЖДАТЬ “ПРОЗРЕНИЯ” И КАКИМ ЭТО ПРОЗРЕНИЕ В ДЕЙСТВИТЕЛЬНОСТИ МОЖЕТ ОКАЗАТЬСЯ?КАК ОТНОСИТЬСЯ К ДАННЫМ “СОЦИОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ОПРОСОВ” В СЕГОДНЯШНЕЙ РОССИИ? ИЛИ ВСЕ-ТАКИ МОЖНО ОБОЙТИСЬ БЕЗ КАВЫЧЕК?СПОСОБЕН ЛИ ПУТИНСКИЙ РЕЖИМ РЕШИТЬСЯ НА ПОЛНОМАСШТАБНУЮ МИРОВУЮ ВОЙНУ С ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕМ ОРЖИЯ МАССОВОГО ПОРАЖЕНИЯ, И СУЩЕМТВУЮТ ЛИ СИЛЫ - ВНЕШНИЕ И ВНУТРЕНИИЕ - СПООСБНЫЕ ОСТАНОВТЬ ЕГО НА ПУТИ К САМОУБИЙСТВУ?КИРИЛЛ РОГОВ - российский политолог и журналист, эксперт по проблемам взаимоотношений власти и общества, развития авторитарных и тоталитарных режимов, в прошлом редактор отделов аналитики и мнений влиятельных российских политических изданий, вице-президент фонда “Либеральная миссия”, многократный стипендиат и приглашенный исследователь авторитетных европейских и американских политологических институтов, в частности, The Institute for Human Sciences (Вена), The Kennan Institute (Вашингтон) и др. …вопросы и ответы, откровенный разговор с участниками чатаРазговор в прямом эфире об актуальных событиях сегодняшнего дня. Ответы на вопросы зрителей и слушателей.#sparkhomПодписывайтесь на Youtube-канал Сергея Пархоменко.Фейсбук: https://www.facebook.com/serguei.parkhomenkoТелеграм-канал "Пархомбюро": https://t.me/sparkhomenkovoiceTwitter: https://twitter.com/SparkhomInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparkhom/Сообщество подкаста о гастрономической истории "Суть еды" в Патреоне - http://www.patreon.com/sut_edy“ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНОЕ ВРЕМЯ” В ВИДЕ АУДИО-ПОДКАСТА:Apple Podcasts: https://clck.ru/Z7pBbGoogle Podcasts: https://clck.ru/ZCRgqYandex Музыка: https://clck.ru/Z6irjSpotify: https://clck.ru/Z7pEk Слушайте и подписывайтесь на подкаст "Суть еды" на всех основных подкастных платформах:Apple: https://clck.ru/ZS79mCastbox: https://clck.ru/ZS7CYЯндекс: https://clck.ru/Vh2yCGoogle: https://clck.ru/ZS7MmSpotify: https://clck.ru/ZS7RhSimplecast: https://clc.to/UJGXfwTuneIn http://tun.in/pkhjW

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Michael Kimmage to discuss the Ukraine conflict. Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "For Mariupol" Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); and The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently on Ukraine, Russia, and U.S. foreign policy in Foreign Affairs and other major publications. This Episode was Mixed and Mastered by Karoline Pfeil, Oscar Kitmanyen, and Will Shute

Peter Zwack, US Army Brigadier General (Ret.), Leading expert on Russia, formerly served in Moscow as the Senior U.S. Defense Attaché to Russia from 2012 to 2014 and senior global fellow of The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars – at Kennan Institute, On to discuss the war in Ukraine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine going into its third week, it's important to remember that Ukraine has been fighting Russia for over 8 years. We cover this and a whole host of other topics in this week's episode.Our guest this week, Judy Twigg is a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches courses on global health, international political economy, and Russian politics. Judy helps us better understand the rich history that exists between these two countries and how, through sanctions, the Russian people will be affected. We then talk about an agreement that hasn't been getting much attention these days, the Budapest Memorandum, which is an agreement that Ukraine made with the US and Russia to get rid of their nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances on their security. This wide ranging discussion covers elements of Russia-Ukraine that you likely have not heard before and you'll want to listen to the very end! If you want to help and get involved please consider checking out these resources suggested by our guest:International Rescue Committee (https://www.rescue.org)UNICEF Ukraine (https://www.unicefusa.org)Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (https://bank.gov.ua) Use your browser's translate functionCome Back Alive foundation, providing auxiliary support for the Ukrainian armed forces  (https://www.comebackalive.in.ua)Guest Bio:Judy Twigg is a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches courses on global health, international political economy, and Russian politics. She is also a senior associate with the Global Health Policy Center and Russia & Eurasia Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; consultant for the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank and the Office of Evaluation and Oversight of the Inter-American Development Bank; adjunct professor at the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University; and member of the board of trustees of the Eurasia Foundation. She has been a consultant for the Kennan Institute, John Snow, Inc., UNICEF, the Social Science Research Council, and various U.S. government agencies.Twigg's work focuses on issues of health, demographic change, and health systems reform in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. She also conducts program and project evaluations for development assistance efforts world-wide spanning human development and public sector management. She has testified as an expert witness before the U.S. Congress and has been a member of several congressional and other U.S. government advisory groups on Russian affairs. She received the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia's Distinguished Faculty Award in 2005. Dr. Twigg is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/faithpolitics)

What's the impact in Russia of painful sanctions and a war that's not going to plan? How is President Putin controlling information and what's required for that to change? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor of War Studies at Exeter University and former director, Royal United Services Institute Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics at Sciences Po in Paris and former Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Dr. Katerina Tertytchnaya, Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics, University College London Izabella Tabarovsky, Senior Program Associate at the Kennan Institute, Wilson Center (US) Dr Maxim Alyukov, fellow Kings College London Producers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Henderson Production Co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

One week after Russia launched its invasion into Ukraine—an invasion that President Biden condemned as "premeditated and unprovoked" in his State of the Union address—Europe has become engulfed in its biggest war in decades. While Russia has expanded its assault on several key Ukrainian cities, a firm resistance from Ukrainian forces and civilians continues and the list of countries vowing immediate military aid to Ukraine continues to grow. On March 4, the Center for a New American Security hosted a panel featuring Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Richard Fontaine, Jeffrey Edmonds, and Michael Kofman to examine the unfolding crisis. Jeffrey Edmonds is an expert on U.S. national security, especially as it relates to Russia. He works full time for CNA's Russia Studies Program. Most recently, Jeff served as the Director for Russia on the National Security Council and acting Senior Director for Russia during the 2017 presidential transition. Prior to the NSC, Jeff served as a senior military analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency, covering Eurasian militaries. Michael Kofman serves as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses' Russia Studies Program, and a Fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C. His research focuses on the Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in the Russian armed forces, military thought, capabilities, and strategy.

No one can read Vladimir Putin's mind, but we bring in Kennan Institute expert Joseph Dresen to analyze his actions in the recent invasion.  We discuss world reaction and also what may happen next with sanctions.  Further Reading: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/putin-has-already-lost

We continue our conversation with General Peter Zwack and discuss the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine and how the US might react. Retired Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack is a Wilson Center Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute. In 1980 he began his 34-year U.S. Army career as an intelligence and security officer in a nuclear capable artillery battalion. Three decades later, he served as the U.S. Senior Defense Attaché to the Russian Federation from 2012–2014. He is the author of Afghanistan Kabul Kurier: One Soldier's Story of the Taliban, Tribes & Loyalties, Opium Trade, & Burqa and Swimming the Volga: A U.S. Army Officer's Experiences in Pre-Putin Russia.

General Peter Zwack joins us for a discussion of whether there could be another civil war in the United States, how the military might be involved, and how we can prevent if from happening. Retired Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack is a Wilson Center Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute. In 1980 he began his 34-year U.S. Army career as an intelligence and security officer in a nuclear capable artillery battalion. Three decades later, he served as the U.S. Senior Defense Attaché to the Russian Federation from 2012–2014. He is the author of Afghanistan Kabul Kurier: One Soldier's Story of the Taliban, Tribes & Loyalties, Opium Trade, & Burqa and Swimming the Volga: A U.S. Army Officer's Experiences in Pre-Putin Russia.

Over the past 10 years or so, Russia's relations with the West have been reaching new lows. In bilateral terms, no other relationship has been more indicative of that trajectory than the one with Great Britain. The story of Russian-British ties, partnership, and animosity is thus important to explore. Joining the Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolubov to discuss this is David Owen, a veteran British politician, who was active in Britain's Russia politics both in Soviet and post-Soviet Russian times. Lord Owen has just published the book Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma, taking a long view of the West's struggles to understand Russia.

Many prefer to measure today's authoritarian regimes against the West's standards in everything from governance to culture. But taking a closer look at the authoritarian world itself and studying its evolution is probably more illuminating. Despite constant geopolitical infighting, Russia and Turkey display striking similarities in the stance they take toward the West. Moscow and Ankara's crackdown on media, political opponents, the non-governmental sector and even independent universities inevitably call for comparisons between the two. The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses novel authoritarian trends with Ayşe Zarakol, reader in international relations at the University of Cambridge, and Sergei Guriev, professor of economics at Sciences Po Paris.

A Soviet nuclear physicist and Nobel laureate, Andrei Sakharov fought for disarmament, world peace, and human rights. To what extent is his legacy relevant for today's Russia and the world? What is the state of those values now, at a time when autocracies are on the rise and new international conflicts are developing?   The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses Sakharov's legacy in light of his recent centennial with Cecile Vaissie, a professor of Russian and Soviet studies at the University of Rennes 2, and Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia, and Eastern Europe editor for The Economist.

Russia is often seen as a country that was led astray by a former KGB officer, Vladimir Putin. Informed by his training and character, it is often implied, he turned himself into an all-powerful ruler and turned Russia into the autocracy it is today. But what if he simply was helpless to do any better and is not in fact all-powerful?   The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses constraints on Putin's ability to execute authority with Timothy Frye, whose book, Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin's Russia, will be out this month. Timothy Frye is Professor at the Department of Political Science at Columbia University, New York, and a co-Director of the International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID) at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

This week saw the FBI Director and the National Intelligence Director announce there has been efforts by Russia and Iran to obtain voter information and the indictment of six Russian intelligence officers said to have been involved in some of the most devastating cyberattacks of the past few years. While United States authorities continue to find evidence of cyberattacks from Russia, Moscow denies any involvement. FOX's Trey Yingst speaks with Matthew Rojansky, the Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, about why Russia seems unconcerned by any allegations of cyber warfare.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Russian government has been confidently saying they have been beating back the coronavirus since the start but the latest numbers of infected don't support that. There are now over 300-thousand Russians infected and the nation's death toll has risen to over 3-thousand. FOX's Trey Yingst speaks with Matthew Rojansky, the Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, about why the pandemic looks like it has picked up in Russia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices