The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Oxana Shevel | Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States Jun 06, 2024

In February 2022, Russian missiles rained on Ukrainian cities and tanks rolled towards Kyiv to end Ukrainian independent statehood. President Zelensky declined a western evacuation offer and rallied the army and citizens to defend Ukraine. What are the roots of this war which has devastated Ukraine, upended the international legal order, and brought back the spectre of nuclear escalation? How is it that these supposedly “brotherly peoples” became each other’s worst nightmare? In Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Divergent States, Maria Popova and Oxana Shevel explain how over the last thirty years Russia and Ukraine diverged politically ending up on a catastrophic collision course. Russia slid back into authoritarianism and imperialism, while Ukraine consolidated a competitive political system and pro-European identity. As Ukraine built a democratic nation-state, Russia refused to accept it and came to see it as an “anti-Russia” project. After political pressure and economic levers proved ineffective and even counterproductive, Putin went to war to force Ukraine back into the fold of the “Russian world.” Ukraine resisted, determined to pursue European integration as a sovereign state. These irreconcilable goals, rather than geopolitical wrangling between Russia and the West over NATO expansion, are – the authors argue – essential to understanding Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Nargis Kassenova & Temur Umarov | Central Asia in the Shadow of Russia's War | April 23, 2024 Apr 25, 2024

Nargis Kassenova is a senior fellow and director of the Program on Central Asia at the Davis Center. Prior to joining the center, she was an associate professor at the Department of International Relations and Regional Studies of KIMEP University (Almaty, Kazakhstan). She is the former founder and director of the KIMEP Central Asian Studies Center (CASC) and the China and Central Asia Studies Center (CCASC). Kassenova holds a Ph.D. in international cooperation studies from the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University (Japan). Her research focuses on Central Asian politics and security, Eurasian geopolitics, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, governance in Central Asia, and the history of state-making in Central Asia. Temur Umarov is a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. His research is focused on Central Asian countries’ domestic and foreign policies, as well as China’s relations with Russia and Central Asian neighbors. A native of Uzbekistan, Temur Umarov has degrees in China studies and international relations from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, and Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He holds an MA in world economics from the University of International Business and Economics (Beijing). He is also an alumnus of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center’s Young Ambassadors and the Carnegie Endowment’s Central Asian Futures programs. This webinar will be moderated by Scott Radnitz (Director of the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington).

David Ost | Undoing Legal Authoritarianism: The Case of Poland, and its Relevance Elsewhere Apr 25, 2024

David Ost is a professor of Politics at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. He has written widely on eastern Europe, with a focus on Poland, labor, class, democracy, and the radical right. His books include Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics, Workers After Workers’ States, The Defeat of Solidarity, and the edited collection “Class After Communism.” Recent articles include “Why (Which) Workers Often Oppose (Which) Democracy?”, “REN PILL Politics in Poland,” and “The Surprising Right-Wing Relevance of the Russian Revolution.” He is currently finishing a book titled “Red Pill Politics: Fascism and Right-Wing Populism.”

Christopher Miller | The War Came to Us: Life and Death in Ukraine Apr 25, 2024

When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine just before dawn on 24 February 2022, it marked his latest and most overt attempt to brutally conquer the country and reshaped the world order. Christopher Miller, the Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times and the foremost journalist covering the country, was there on the ground when the first Russian missiles struck and troops stormed over the border. But the seeds of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the West were sown more than a decade earlier. This is the definitive, inside story of its long fight for freedom. Told through Miller’s personal experiences, vivid front-line dispatches and illuminating interviews with unforgettable characters, The War Came to Us takes readers on a riveting journey through the key locales and pivotal events of Ukraine’s modern history. From the coal-dusted, sunflower-covered steppe of the Donbas in the far east to the heart of the Euromaidan revolution camp in Kyiv; from the Black Sea shores of Crimea, where Russian troops stealthily annexed Ukraine’s peninsula, to the bloody battlefields where Cossacks roamed before the Kremlin’s warlords ruled with iron fists; and through the horror and destruction wrought by Russian forces in Bucha, Bakhmut, Mariupol, and beyond. With candor, wit and sensitivity, Miller captures Ukraine in all its glory: vast, defiant, resilient, and full of wonder. A breathtaking narrative that is at times both poignant and inspiring, The War Came to Us is the story of an American who fell in love with a foreign place and its people – and witnessed them do extraordinary things to escape the long shadow of their former imperial ruler and preserve their independence.

Volodymyr Kulyk | The Shift Away from Russian in Wartime Ukraine Oct 31, 2023

Contrary to Putin’s expectations, most Ukrainians responded to Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine by a stronger attachment to their country and nation. One element of this attachment is an embrace of the national language at both the symbolic and communicative levels. Not only did Ukrainians come to love their language more than before, but they also started to speak it more often in their everyday lives. Or so they say. Volodymyr Kulyk is Head Research Fellow at the Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He has also taught at Columbia, Stanford and Yale Universities, Kyiv Mohyla Academy and Ukrainian Catholic University as well as having research fellowships at Harvard, Stanford, Woodrow Wilson Center, University College London, the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and other Western scholarly institutions. His research fields include the politics of language, memory and identity as well as political and media discourse in contemporary Ukraine, on which he has widely published in Ukrainian and Western journals and collected volumes. Professor Kulyk is the author of four books, the latest of which is Movna polityka v bahatomovnykh kraïnakh: Zakordonnyi dosvid ta ioho prydatnist’ dlia Ukraïny (Language Policies in Multilingual Countries: Foreign Experience and Its Relevance to Ukraine) that was published in Kyiv in 2021. Currently he is an Adjunct Professor, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, Stanford University.

Alexei Yurchak | Mutations of “Lenin” The Sacred Core of Sovereignty: Soviet, Post-Soviet [...] Aug 17, 2023

Mutations of “Lenin” The Sacred Core of Sovereignty: Soviet, Post-Soviet, Anti-Soviet Alexei Yurchak is Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Berkeley. His interests include political anthropology, linguistic anthropology, science and technology studies, anthropology of the image and Soviet and post-Soviet studies. He is the author of the award-winning book, Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation. He is currently finishing a book on the political, scientific and aesthetic histories of Lenin’s body that has been maintained by a unique laboratory science for a century.

Joshua Zimmerman | Józef Piłsudski, Founding Father of Modern Poland, and his Plan for [...] Aug 17, 2023

Józef Piłsudski, Founding Father of Modern Poland, and his Plan for Ukrainian Independence Joshua D. Zimmerman is Professor of History at Yeshiva University in New York, where he holds the Eli & Diana Zborowski Chair in Holocaust Studies and East European Jewish History. He is the author of Józef Piłsudski: Founding Father of Modern Poland(Harvard, 2022), The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939-1945(Cambridge, 2015), which appeared in Polish translation in 2018, and Poles, Jews and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, 1892-1914 (Wisconsin, 2004). He is also editor of two contributed volumes: Jews in Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule, 1922-1945 (2005), and Contested Memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its Aftermath (2003). Zimmerman’s articles in the popular press have appeared in The Washington Post, Politico, The Daily Beast, The Times of Israel, The Kyiv Post, Engelsberg Ideas, and Rzeczpospolita (Warsaw).

Martin Nekola | War in Ukraine: Impact on the Czech Republic & on Europe Aug 17, 2023

The lecture will focus on the current political developments in Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In response to thousands of civilian deaths and destruction of the country, the international community has imposed fierce sanctions targeting every sector of the Russian economy. The war has created a new reality and changed the relations between Russia and the European Union from the ground. Was it possible to avoid the war? How are the refugees from Ukraine received and how did the conflict change lives of the people in neighboring countries? What will be the impact for Europe in near future? Dr. Martin Nekola, Ph.D. received his doctorate in Political Science at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. His research is focused on non-democratic regimes, the era of Communism, Czech communities abroad and the East-European anti-communist exiles in the USA during the Cold War. From time to time he participates in the election observation missions organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). He is the member of Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), he is the author of more than three hundred articles and has published twenty-four books. He is also Czechoslovak Talks Project coordinator. This event is sponsored by the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic, the Department of History and the Ellison Center for Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington.

TALK | The Northern Sea Route: The Anthropology of Russian Arctic Mega Infrastructure Jan 02, 2023

The Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington presents the first talk (12/1/2022)in the 2022-2023 REECAS Lecture Series on Russia in the Arctic. Valeria Vasilyeva (Ph.D. in Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences) is a research fellow at the Center for Arctic Social Studies, European University at St. Petersburg, Russia. Currently, she is a Fulbright visiting scholar at Boise State University. Her research focuses on mobility practices, social construction of space, and perception of infrastructure in the Russian North. She has conducted fieldwork in several regions on the Arctic coast, but her primary region of interest is the Taimyr Peninsula.

Dean LaRue | How Does the EU Actually Work and How Is It Changing[...] Aug 31, 2022

Dean LaRue presents his lecture, "How Does the EU Actually Work and How Is It Changing in the Face of Russian Aggression in Ukraine?" on Aug. 17, 2022. This lecture was part of the 2022 EU Policy Forum for Educators. More information about the workshop, as well as the visual Presentation Slides accompanying this lecture can be found here: jsis.washington.edu/euwesteurope/ed…cator-workshop/ A complete transcript of the podcast is also available at the above link. Dean LaRue is a Senior Lecturer for the Center for West European Studies and European Union Center in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. Mr. LaRue holds a Master of Arts in Policy Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Global Trade, Transportation and Logistics from the University of Washington. He is a member of the founding team for the West Coast Model European Union, the primary instructor for the UW’s European Union Policy and Simulation course since 2005, and a former Outreach Coordinator for CWES/EUC. Mr. LaRue is a former US Foreign Service Officer for the United States Information Agency and International Product Manager for Amazon.com. The EU Policy Forum is supported by The UW Jackson School of International Studies’ Erasmus+ funded Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, the Center for West European Studies, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the World Affairs Council. This lecture was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Scott Montgomery | EU Economic and Energy Responses to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Aug 31, 2022

Scott Montgomery presents his lecture, "EU Economic and Energy Responses to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine" on Aug. 17, 2022. This lecture was part of the 2021 EU Policy Forum for Educators. More information about the workshop, as well as the visual Presentation Slides accompanying this lecture can be found here: jsis.washington.edu/euwesteurope/ed…cator-workshop/ A complete transcript of the podcast is also available at the above link. Scott L. Montgomery is an author, geoscientist, and affiliate faculty member in the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. He writes and lectures on a wide variety of topics related to energy (geopolitics, technology, resources, climate change), American politics, intellectual history, language and communication, and the history of science. He is a frequent contributor to online journals such as The Conversation, Forbes, and Fortune, and his articles and op-eds are regularly featured in many outlets, including Newsweek, Marketwatch, The Huffington Post, and UPI. He also gives public talks and serves on panels related to issues in global energy and their relation to political and economic trends and ideas of sustainability. For more than two decades, Montgomery worked as a geoscientist in the energy industry, writing over 100 scientific papers and 70 monographs on topics related to oil and gas, energy technology, and industry trends. Montgomery is the author of 12 books and is currently pursuing several areas of research, including the role of Enlightenment ideas in present-day American politics, as well as the future of petroleum and its role in geopolitics and climate change. The EU Policy Forum is supported by The UW Jackson School of International Studies’ Erasmus+ funded Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, the Center for West European Studies, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the World Affairs Council. This lecture was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Glennys Young | Russia's War Against Ukraine: Teaching Opportunities and Challenges Aug 31, 2022

Glennys Young presents her lecture, "Russia's War Against Ukraine: Teaching Opportunities and Challenges" on Aug. 17, 2022. This lecture was part of the 2021 EU Policy Forum for Educators. More information about the workshop, as well as the visual Presentation Slides accompanying this lecture can be found here: jsis.washington.edu/euwesteurope/ed…cator-workshop/ A complete transcript of the podcast is also available at the above link. I am a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union. Over the course of my career, I have become increasingly interested in the USSR’s involvement in transnational movements and processes, whether political, social, cultural, or economic. I have also pursued research interests in the history of Communism and world history. In addition to the books mentioned below, I’ve published articles on a number of topics in Soviet social and political history. My first book, Power and the Sacred in Revolutionary Russia: Religious Activists in the Village (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997), examined the Bolshevik project of cultural transformation through a case study of peasants’ responses to the Soviet anti-religious campaign. In 1999, the book was awarded Honorable Mention for the Hans Rosenhaupt Memorial Book Prize from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. In 2011, I published The Communist Experience in the Twentieth Century: A Global History through Sources (Oxford University Press. Through a collection of carefully selected documents, some presented for the first time in English translation, the book seeks to provide an inside look at how people around the world subjectively experienced, and contributed to, global communism. My current book project is entitled The Return: From the Soviet Union to Franco’s Spain in the Cold War, under contract with Oxford University Press, England. The Return reveals the unrecognized political, social, and cultural shockwaves of the Cold War repatriation of Spanish nationals who had been catapulted to the USSR as refugees and exiles in the Spanish Civil War, or as soldiers who fought for the Nazi Wehrmacht in World War II. What makes the Spanish case distinct with respect to numerous others involving post-World War II repatriations from the USSR is that it involved civilians and military personnel, including prisoners of war. As well, the repatriation of Spanish nationals constituted the largest repatriation of civilians from the USSR to a country in Western Europe during the Cold War. Although the repatriation of Spaniards—both Red Army POWs and civilians—began during World War II, albeit in small numbers, the return of the Spaniards became an international issue beginning in the late 1940s, just as the Cold War was heating up. The book focuses on the seven expeditions of repatriates from the USSR to Franco’s Spain in the second half of the 1950s. The EU Policy Forum is supported by The UW Jackson School of International Studies’ Erasmus+ funded Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, the Center for West European Studies, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the World Affairs Council. This lecture was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Christopher Jones | What to Do About Russia? Russia, the EU, and the International System Aug 31, 2022

Christopher Jones presents his lecture, "What to Do About Russia? Russia, the EU, and the International System" on Aug. 17, 2022. This lecture was part of the 2021 EU Policy Forum for Educators. More information about the workshop, as well as the visual Presentation Slides accompanying this lecture can be found here: jsis.washington.edu/euwesteurope/ed…cator-workshop/ A complete transcript of the podcast is also available at the above link. Chris Jones is an Associate Professor of International Studies at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. His teaching focuses on NATO/Warsaw pact relations, post-Cold War security issues, and political economy of the post-Cold War era. The EU Policy Forum is supported by The UW Jackson School of International Studies’ Erasmus+ funded Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, the Center for West European Studies, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the World Affairs Council. This lecture was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Brendan Mcelmeel | Russia vs. ‘Gayropa?’ Russian Cultural Politics since the Conservative Turn Aug 31, 2022

Brendan Mcelmeel presents his lecture, "Russia vs. ‘Gayropa?’ Russian Cultural Politics since the Conservative Turn" on Aug. 17, 2022. This lecture was part of the 2021 EU Policy Forum for Educators. More information about the workshop, as well as the visual Presentation Slides accompanying this lecture can be found here: jsis.washington.edu/euwesteurope/ed…cator-workshop/ A complete transcript of the podcast is also available at the above link. Brendan Mcelmeel is a doctoral candidate at the Department of History, University of Washington. The EU Policy Forum is supported by The UW Jackson School of International Studies’ Erasmus+ funded Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, the Center for West European Studies, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the World Affairs Council. This lecture was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Eliot Borenstein | 'Everybody Hates Russia:' On the Uses of Conspiracy Theory Under Putin 4.07.2022 Apr 04, 2022

Eliot Borenstein is Professor of Russian & Slavic Studies and Senior Academic Convenor for the Global Network at New York University. He gave this talk as part of a lecture series hosted by the Ellison Center at the University of Washington.

PANEL | In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine (3.7.2022) Mar 08, 2022

The Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies presents "In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine" on March 7, 2022, a panel discussion with UW faculty and other guest speakers on the unfolding situation in Ukraine. Find resources for supporting Ukraine here: https://jsis.washington.edu/ellisoncenter/news/how-to-help-support-ukraine-suggested-organizations-for-donations/ Opening Remarks: Leela Fernandes, Director and Stanley D. Golub Chair, Jackson School of International Studies Moderator: Scott Radnitz, Herbert J. Ellison Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies, and Director, Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies UW and Guest Speakers: Glennys Young, Chair, Department of History and Professor, Jackson School of International Studies Laada Bilaniuk, Professor, Department of Anthropology Ambassador John Koenig, Lecturer, Jackson School and former U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels Chris Collison, Senior Program Manager, National Democratic Institute, Washington D.C. Sofiia Fedzhora, Ph.D. student, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and UW Fulbright Ukrainian Language Teaching Assistant (2021-2022) This panel is sponsored by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, and the Center for West European Studies.

PANEL | Challenges to the Post-Cold War Order: Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan (2.1.2022) Feb 02, 2022

The Ellison Center presents the panel, "Challenges to the Post-Cold War Order: Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan" on Feb. 1, 2022. Speakers: Oxana Shevel, Associate Professor - Political Science (Tufts University) Oxana Shevel is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Tufts University where her research and teaching focuses on Ukraine and the post-Soviet region. Her current research projects examine the sources of citizenship policies in the post-Communist states and religious politics in Ukraine. Her research interests also include comparative memory politics and the politics of nationalism and nation-building. She is the author of award-winning Migration, Refugee Policy, and State Building in Postcommunist Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2011), which examines how the politics of national identity and strategies of the UNHCR shape refugee admission policies in the post-Communist region. Shevel’s research appeared in a variety of journals, including Comparative Politics, Current History, East European Politics and Societies, Europe-Asia Studies, Geopolitics, Nationality Papers, Post-Soviet Affairs, Political Science Quarterly, Slavic Review and in edited volumes. She is a member of PONARS Eurasia scholarly network, a country expert on Ukraine for Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT), and an associate of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute and of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. She currently serves as President of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies (AAUS) and Vice President of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN). Dmitry Gorenburg, Senior Research Scientist (CNA) Dmitry Gorenburg is an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union, Russian military reform, Russian foreign policy, and ethnic politics and identity. His recent research topics include decision-making processes in the senior Russian leadership, Russian naval strategy in the Pacific and the Black Sea, and Russian maritime defense doctrine. Gorenburg is author of "Nationalism for the Masses: Minority Ethnic Mobilization in the Russian Federation" (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and has been published in journals such as World Politics and Post-Soviet Affairs. In addition to his role at CNA, he currently serves as editor of Problems of Post-Communism and is an Associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. (Read more) Carol Williams, Journalist; Former LA Times Moscow Bureau Chief Carol J. Williams is a retired foreign correspondent living near Seattle with her husband and a tuxedo cat. She covered revolution and war for 30-plus years for Associated Press and Los Angeles Times, from USSR/Russia, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine. She has been awarded more than a dozen international honors, including a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1994. Retired from mainstream journalism, she curates “World Briefing by CJ Williams” on Twitter @cjwilliamslat, writes foreign affairs commentary for Seattle website www.postalley.org, and speaks on press freedom and foreign policy at events held by civic groups, libraries and her alma mater, University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies. Moderator: Scott Radnitz, Ellison Center Director. This panel is hosted by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Scott Radnitz | Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia (1.13.22) Jan 19, 2022

Ellison Center Director Scott Radnitz presents his lecture "Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region" on January 13, 2022. The lecture presents Radnitz's book by the same title, and is moderated by Jacqueline Miller, World Affairs Council of Seattle President and CEO, with Discussant Paul Stronski from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This lecture is part of the Ellison Center's 2021-22 Lecture Series, "Scheming and Subversion: Conspiracy in Post-Soviet Space." More information can be found at bit.ly/EllisonTalks2022 Scott Radnitz is the Herbert J. Ellison Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. His research deals primarily with the post-Soviet region and topics such as protests, authoritarianism, informal networks, and identity. His work employs surveys, focus groups, and experimental methodologies. His forthcoming book is “Enemies Within: The Global Politics of Fifth Columns,” edited with Harris Mylonas (GWU), and is under contract with Oxford University Press. His most recent book, “Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region” came out with Oxford University Press in 2021. It investigates why politicians in the region promote conspiratorial claims and what effects that has. His first book, “Weapons of the Wealthy: Predatory Regimes and Elite-Led Protests in Central Asia,” was published by Cornell University Press in 2010. Articles have appeared in journals including Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Democracy, Political Geography, Political Communication, and Post-Soviet Affairs. Policy commentary has appeared in Foreign Policy, The National Interest, The Guardian, Slate, and the Monkey Cage/Washington Post blog. He is an associate editor of Communist and Post-Communist Studies, a faculty member at UW’s Center for an Informed Public, and a member of the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security (PONARS) in Eurasia. He teaches the following courses: States, Markets, and Societies; Contemporary Central Asian Politics; Post-Soviet Security; Interdisciplinary Survey of Eurasia; Failed States; Research Design and Methods; and Social Movements and Revolutions. This lecture is hosted by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Azamat Gabuev | Stalin as a Neo-Pagan Deity in Contemporary Russia (12.8.2021) Dec 10, 2021

Visiting Scholar at Cornell University Azamat Gabuev presents his lecture "Stalin as a Neo-Pagan Deity in Contemporary Russia" on Dec. 8, 2021. The word "cult" has been used with regards to Stalin since a famous report made by Khrushchev "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences". But in post-soviet Russia it returns from political to primary religious meanings. Regardless of his lifetime atheism, Stalin is often associated with mysticism. He became a character of mythologies of neo-pagan religions such as Rodnovery and Assianism. At the same time, the cult of Stalin grew under the veil of Russian Orthodox Church. Not being canonized as a saint, he was depicted in icons, murals and acts in folk-hagiography. Moreover, there are authorized concepts such as “Mystic Salinism” by Alexander Prokhanov. Thus, Stalin could be described as a common deity for separate cults. Azamat Gabuev was born in 1985 in Vladikavkaz. In 2011 he has earned PhD (kandidat nauk) in Law from Kutafin Moscow State Law University. He has been living in Moscow since 2015, where he works as a lawyer. His stories have been published in Russian literary journals including Darial, Oktiabr, and Druzhba Narodov, as well as Russian Esquire. He has been longlisted for two literary prizes in Russia: the Neformat prize in 2009, and the Debut Prize in 2011. In 2018, EKSMO published his first book A Cold Day in the Sun, which was shortlisted in 2019 for the Fiction35 literary prize. Azamat Gabuev is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Cornell University for the fall semester 2021. This lecture is hosted by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.

2021 REECAS Northwest Panel | Feminist Anthropology of Old Europe: Marija Gimbutas (4.30.2021) Jul 28, 2021

The Ellison Center presents the panel "Feminist Anthropology of Old Europe: Celebrating the Centennial of Marija Gimbutas" on April 30, 2021. This panel was part of the virtual 2021 REECAS Northwest Conference. Find more information about the conference here: jsis.washington.edu/ellisoncenter/reecas-nw/ Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994), Professor of European Archaeology and Indo-European Studies at UCLA, wrote numerous popular and controversial books about the prehistoric gods and goddesses of Old Europe. Her research was a source of inspiration for environmentalist, feminist, neo-pagan, and other social movements on both sides of and transgressing the “Iron Curtain.” Born in Lithuania, educated at the Universities of Vilnius, Tübingen and München, Gimbutas immigrated to the United States to teach at Harvard University before moving to the West Coast. This roundtable celebrates the Centennial of her birth. Moderator & Organizer: - Guntis Šmidchens, Kazickas Family Endowed Professor in Baltic Studies; Associate Professor of Baltic Studies; Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington-Seattle. Panelists: - Rasa Navickaitė, Visiting Lecturer, Central European University; Navickaitė's 2020 dissertation examines the transnational reception of Gimbutas’s work and persona in diverse feminist and women’s activist contexts on both sides of the “Iron Curtain.” Among her other publications are “Postcolonial Queer Critique in Post-Communist Europe -Stuck in the Western Progress Narrative?” Tijdschrift Voor Genderstudies (2014); “Under the Western Gaze: Sexuality and Postsocialist ‘Transition’ in East Europe,” in Postcolonial Transitions in Europe (2015), and numerous articles and essays in Lithuanian scholarly publications. - Ernestine Elster, Associated Researcher, UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archeology; Elster was a graduate student of Marija Gimbutas and participated in four of her archeological expeditions. She has authored numerous publications on Italy and Greece in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, among them Excavations at Sitagroi, a prehistoric village in northeast Greece (1986), coauthored with Marija Gimbutas and this panel’s discussant Colin Renfrew. - Colin Renfrew, Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge; Renfrew was a friend and colleague of Marija Gimbutas. He is author of many articles and books, among them Before Civilisation: The Radiocarbon Revolution and Prehistoric Europe (1973); Transformations: Mathematical Approaches to Culture Change (1979); Archeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins (1990); Loot, Legitimacy and Ownership: The Ethical Crisis in Archeology (2000); and Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind (2008). This panel is cosponsored by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, the University of Washington Baltic Studies Program and the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. The 2021 REECAS Northwest Conference, an ASEEES Regional Conference, is organized by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. Image courtesy of Ernestine Elster. From left to right, Ernestine Elster, Colin Renfrew, and Marija Gimbutas in 1986 at the publication celebration for the first volume of the Sitagroi excavations.

Elżbieta Korolczuk | Anti-Gender Politics and Right Wing Populism in Poland (4.27.2021) Jun 23, 2021

Elżbieta Korolczuk presents her lecture "Anti-Gender Politics and Right Wing Populism in Poland" on April 27, 2021. This lecture is part of Talking Gender in the EU, a lecture series hosted by the Center for West European Studies at the University of Washington, covering gender politics in Poland, Latvia, France, and the European Parliament. This lecture is also a Pre-Conference Lecture for the 2021 REECAS Northwest Conference, hosted by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies. Elżbieta Korolczuk, PhD is an Associate professor in sociology working at Södertörn University in Stockholm and American Studies Center, Warsaw University. Her research interests involve: social movements, civil society, politics of reproduction as well as right-wing populism and mobilizations against “gender”. She co-edited two books on motherhood and fatherhood in Poland and Russia (in Polish) and published two volumes on social movements and civil society in Central Eastern Europe: Civil Society Revisited: Lessons from Poland co-edited with Kerstin Jacobsson (Berghahn Books, 2017), Rebellious Parents. Parental Movements in Central-Eastern Europe and Russia co-edited with Katalin Fábián (Indiana University Press, 2017). Most recent publications include an edited volume Bunt kobiet. Czarne Protesty i Strajki Kobiet [Women’s Rebellion. Black Protests and Women’s Strikes] co-authored with Beata Kowalska, Jennifer Ramme and Claudia Snochowska-Gonzalez and published by European Solidarity Centre in 2019 and a monograph Anti-gender Politics in the Populist Moment written with Agnieszka Graff (in press, Routledge). She is also a commentator and a long-time women’s and human rights activist. The Talking Gender in the EU lecture series is organized by the Center for West European Studies and the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence with support from the Lee and Stuart Scheingold European Studies Fund, the EU Erasmus+ Program, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the Center for Global Studies, at the University of Washington, Seattle.

2021 REECAS Northwest Panel | The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh (4.29.2021) May 11, 2021

The Ellison Center presents the panel "The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Peacebuilding and Development in the South Caucasus" on April 29, 2021. This panel was part of the virtual 2021 REECAS Northwest Conference. Find more information about the conference here: https://jsis.washington.edu/ellisoncenter/reecas-nw/ Following the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh during the fall of 2020, what comes next for the region? This roundtable brings together an interdisciplinary panel of experts to discuss the opportunities and uncertainties created by the ceasefire, the prospects for building a lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and potential ways to foster economic and social development in Nagorno-Karabakh and the broader South Caucasus. Organizer and Moderator: – Jeanene Mitchell, PhD, Visiting Scholar, Ellison Center, University of Washington Panelists: – Arman Grigoryan, Associate Professor of International Relations, Lehigh University – Fariz Huseynov, Professor of Finance and Faculty Fellow, Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth, North Dakota State University – Emin Milli, Founder, Restart Initiative This panel and the 2021 REECAS Northwest Conference, an ASEEES Regional Conference, is organized by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Conor O'Dwyer | Coming Out of Communism: The Emergence of LGBT Activism in Eastern Europe (11.8.19) Mar 25, 2021

Conor O'Dwyer presents his book talk "Coming Out of Communism: The Emergence of LGBT Activism in Eastern Europe" on Nov. 8, 2019 at the University of Washington, Seattle. This book talk is a part of the Ellison Center's "1989 30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall" lecture series. While LGBT activism has increased worldwide, there has been strong backlash against LGBT people  in Eastern Europe. Although Russia is the most prominent anti-gay regime in the region, LGBT individuals in other post-communist countries also suffer from discriminatory laws and prejudiced social institutions. Combining an historical overview with interviews and case studies in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, Conor O’Dwyer analyzes the development and impact of LGBT movements in post-communist Eastern and Central Europe. He argues that backlash against LGBT individuals has had the paradoxical effect of encouraging stronger and more organized activism, significantly impacting the social movement landscape in the region. As Eastern and Central European countries vie for inclusion or at least recognition in the increasingly LGBT-friendly European Union, activist groups and organizations have become even more emboldened to push for change. Using fieldwork in five countries, O’Dwyer explores the intricacies of these LGBT social movements and their structures, functions, and impact while also considering their ability to serve as models for future movements attempting to resist backlash. Conor O’Dwyer (Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 2003) is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. He specializes in comparative politics, with a thematic focus on LGBT politics, social movements, democratization, and the state and a regional emphasis on East Central Europe and the European Union. He is the author of Coming Out of Communism: The Emergence of LGBT Activism in Eastern Europe (New York University Press, 2018) and Runaway State-Building: Patronage Politics and Democratic Development (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006). In addition to his time at the University of Florida, he has been an Academy Scholar at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Baltic and East European Studies at Södertörn University in Sweden. This lecture is sponsored by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.

PANEL | The Politics of Memory in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russia (11.7.2019) Mar 18, 2021

The University of Washington presents the panel, "The Politics of Memory in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russia 30 Years After the Berlin Wall" on Nov. 7, 2019. Panelists: Conor O'Dwyer, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida Laada Bilaniuk, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington William Hill, Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute and former U.S. State Department Scott Radnitz, Associate Professor and Ellison Center Director at the University of Washington (Chair) The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was supposed to give rise to a "Europe Whole and Free." Today, the idea of a united Europe is under severe threat. At a time of rising authoritarianism, struggles over how to study, remember, and move past the Communist era are central to the political futures of countries east of the Iron Curtain. Our panel of three experts discuss the politics of history and identity in Poland, Czechia, Ukraine, and Russia. This panel is organized by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.

William Hill | No Place for Russia: European Security Institutions Since 1989 (11.6.2019) Mar 16, 2021

Dr. William H. Hill presents his book talk, "No Place for Russia: European Security Institutions Since 1989" from his book of the same title, published by Columbia University Press. This lecture was given on Nov. 6, 2019 at the University of Washington. This lecture is part of the 1989 30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall series, organized by the Ellison Center of Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies. The optimistic vision of a “Europe whole and free” after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 has given way to disillusionment, bitterness, and renewed hostility between Russia and the West. In No Place for Russia, William H. Hill traces the development of the post–Cold War European security order to explain today’s tensions, showing how attempts to integrate Russia into a unified Euro-Atlantic security order were gradually overshadowed by the domination of NATO and the EU—at Russia’s expense. William H. Hill is professor emeritus of national security strategy at the National War College in Washington and a retired foreign service officer who served in various posts in Europe, the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is a Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute.

Dennis Deletant | The Fall of Communism in Romania (10.29.2019) Mar 09, 2021

Dennis Deletant presents his lecture, "The Fall of Communism in Romania: A BBC Journalist's Perspective" on Oct. 29, 2019 at the University of Washington, Seattle. The lecture covers the fall of communism in Romania from the point of view of a BBC reporter and first-hand witness of the events, honoring the invitation of the UW Ellison Center and American Romanian Cultural Society. Dennis Deletant is currently the Ion Ratiu Visiting Professor of Romanian Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC., and Emeritus Professor of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College in London. With an impressive academic activity in UK, Holland, and the USA, Dennis Deletant has contributed seminal studies on twentieth century Romanian history and politics, 1940s labor camps in Transnistria, the “Bessarabia question”, the Soviet influence on Romanian communism, language policy in Soviet Moldova, as well as the place of Romania in Eastern Europe today. His books Ceausescu and the Securitate: Coercion and Dissent in Romania, 1965-89 (1995), Communist Terror in Romania: Gheorghiu-Dej and the Police State, 1948-65 (1999), Hitler's Forgotten Ally. Ion Antonescu and His Regime, Romania 1940-1944 (2006), and British Clandestine Activities in Romania during the Second World War (2016) have changed Romanian historiography by opening it up to an interdisciplinary approach. For example, in Ceausescu and the Securitate, he takes a cultural studies approach to address the issue of Romanian identity as a propaganda instrument that was supposed to deter any protest which could have “destabilized” the unity of the state. In the same book, he incorporated a detailed report on Romanian literary debates in order to unveil the deception cultivated by some literary critics and poets, avid supporters of the communist regime. For Dennis Deletant, culture and diplomacy are intertwined as he proves when examining British - Romanian relationships in early 1940s in his 2016 book. He did not avoid controversial figures of Romanian history like Marshall Antonescu who led Romania during WWII in fighting alongside Germany. By close reading documents, Deletant is using fine lines in portraying Antonescu and his regime: Antonescu, in the author’s opinion, was not a fascist although an anti-Semitic, while his regime was not dictatorial, but rather authoritarian. His exceptional insight into the aftermath of the war reveals another set of paradoxes, this time in the personality of the first Romanian communist leader Gheorghiu-Dej who succeeded in ascending to power in spite of his ethnic origin, social status, and lack of political expertise. The most awaited book, Romania under Communism. Paradox and Degeneration (2019), is a synthesis of his scholarship, a culmination of his research, in perfect coherence with his argument about Romania’s exceptional place among the countries of the former communist bloc and the unexpected course of events in the aftermath of the 1989 revolution. This talk is hosted by the UW Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies and the American Romanian Cultural Society.

Laura Dean | Political Ethnography with a Gender Lens in the Latvian Parliament (3.1.2021) Mar 02, 2021

Dr. Laura Dean presents her lecture, "Political Ethnography with a Gender Lens in the Latvian Parliament" on March 1st, 2021. This lecture is part of Talking Gender in the EU, a lecture series covering gender politics in Poland, Latvia, France, and the European Parliament. The European Union has set impressive standards on gender equality, providing legal frameworks for equal pay, investing in work/life balance and childcare, and allowing for positive action to advance equal treatment of women across member states. At the same time, Europe witnesses considerable backlash from anti-gender activists and rightwing reactionary movements, calling into question gender equality as a core norm of European democracies. This lecture series investigates actors, institutions, and policies in the area of gender in Eastern and Western Europe, the Baltics, and on the EU level. This lecture series is organized by the Center for West European Studies and the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence with support from the Lee and Stuart Scheingold European Studies Fund, the EU Erasmus+ Program, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the Center for Global Studies. Laura A. Dean is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Human Trafficking Research Lab at Millikin University. She is also a Regional Faculty Associate at the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In 2016, she was a Title VIII Summer Research Scholar at the Kennan Institute part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Kansas and an M.A. in International Studies focusing on Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies from the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. Dr. Dean researches gender and politics issues focusing on women’s representation, public policy, and gender-based violence in Eurasia. Her book Diffusing Human Trafficking Policy in Eurasia was published by Policy Press at the University of Bristol in May 2020.

PANEL | Nagorno-Karabakh: From Conflict to Sustainable Peace? (01.14.2021) Feb 24, 2021

This panel discussion features the following speakers: Dr. Philip Gamaghelyan, Assistant Professor, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego Dr. Resat Kasaba, Ann H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Professor of U.S. Foreign Policy, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington Dr. Kamal Makili-Aliyev, Senior Lecturer, Department of Global Political Studies, Malmö University; affiliated researcher, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Moderator: Dr. Scott Radnitz, Herbert Ellison Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies, University of Washington On September 27, 2020, nearly three decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh escalated into full-scale war. Forty-four days later, on November 10th, a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement between the two countries brought a formal end to fighting. Seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh returned to Azerbaijani control, as well as part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. According to the agreement, Russian peacekeepers have been dispatched to the region for five years (with the possibility of extension), economic and transportation links are to be unblocked, and internally displaced persons and refugees are to be given the right of return. Yet the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh remains undefined, and the agreement is not a formal peace treaty. In the midst of this new status quo, what comes next for Nagorno-Karabakh? This panel discusses the reasons for and outcomes of the recent war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the remaining questions surrounding the ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Panelists also discuss the changing geopolitics and geopolitical actors in the region, including the role of Turkey and the Minsk Group countries, and the necessary elements for building a sustainable peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. This talk is hosted by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies, with the Jackson School of International Studies, at the University of Washington.

Evgeniya Chirikova | Russian Grassroots Activism for the Environment and Beyond Nov 13, 2019

Prominent Russian environmental activist Evgeniya Chirikova (who begins speaking at minute 6:30) discusses recent environmental and political protests in Russia and the awakening of civil society both in Moscow and elsewhere in the country. This talk took place on October 21, 2019 at the University of Washington's Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies with the generous support of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.

William Pomeranz | Law and the Russian State: Russia’s Legal Evolution from Peter the Great to Putin Sep 30, 2019

Kennan Institute Deputy Director William Pomeranz is interviewed by Ellison Center Director Scott Radnitz at the 2019 REECAS Northwest Conference (ASEEES) about his book "Law and the Russian State: Russia’s Legal Evolution from Peter the Great to Putin." From the publisher: "Russia is often portrayed as a regressive, even lawless country, and yet the Russian state has played a major role in shaping and experimenting with law as an instrument of power. In Law and the Russian State, William E. Pomeranz examines Russia's legal evolution from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin, addressing the continuities and disruptions of Russian law during the imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet. The book covers key themes, including: * Law and empire * Law and modernization * The politicization of law * The role of intellectuals and dissidents in mobilizing the law * The evolution of Russian legal institutions * The struggle for human rights * The rule-of-law * The quest to establish the law-based state It also analyzes legal culture and how Russians understand and use the law. With a detailed bibliography, this is an important text for anyone seeking a sophisticated understanding of how Russian society and the Russian state have developed in the last 350 years." https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/law-and-the-russian-state-9781474224246/

Timothy Snyder | On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the 20th Century (4.26.2018) May 14, 2018

Timothy Snyder is the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University, a member of the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a permanent fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. His book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (Tim Duggan Books; February 28, 2017), has resonated with a world-wide audience. On Tyranny has been published in over a dozen countries and is a #1 New York Times Bestseller. His latest book is The Road to Unfreedom (Tim Duggan, April 2018). A frequent guest at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, he has spent about ten years in Europe, and speaks five and reads ten European languages. He is a regular commentator on radio, TV and in print publications, and an award-winning author of books such as Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin and Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning. Snyder received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1997, where he was a British Marshall Scholar. Before joining the faculty at Yale in 2001, he held fellowships in Paris, Vienna, and Warsaw, and an Academy Scholarship at Harvard.

Lauren McCarthy | Trafficking Justice: How Russian Police Enforce New Laws (4.16.2018) May 02, 2018

Lauren McCarthy is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies at UMass, Amherst. In response to a growing human trafficking problem and domestic and international pressure, human trafficking and the use of slave labor were criminalized in Russia in 2003. In this talk, Lauren McCarthy explains why Russian police, prosecutors, and judges have largely ignored this new weapon in their legal arsenal, despite the fact that the law was intended to make it easier to pursue trafficking cases. Based on her extensive research in Russia, she shows how trafficking cases make their way through the criminal justice system and explains why the system has had a difficult time combating this crime.

Serhii Plokhy | Harvard historian on Lost Kingdom: Ukraine & the Search for Russian Borders 3.2.18 Mar 27, 2018

Serhii Plokhy is the Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History and the director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University. His research interests are in the intellectual, cultural and international history of Ukraine and Eastern Europe in general. His numerous books and other scholarly work deal with history of religion, origins of Slavic nations, history of the Cold War era and collapse of the Soviet Union, and were translated into several languages and won numerous awards. Publisher's abstract from the book Lost Kingdom: In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimea, attempting to seize a portion of Ukraine. While the world watched in outrage, this blatant violation of national sovereignty was only the latest iteration of a centuries-long effort to expand Russian boundaries and create a pan-Russian nation. In Lost Kingdom, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy reveals the central role Ukraine plays in Russia’s identity, both as an “other” to distinguish Russia, and as part of a pan-Slavic conceptualization used to legitimize territorial expansion and political control. Spanning over 500 years, from the end of the Mongol rule to the present day, Plokhy shows how leaders from Ivan the Terrible to Joseph Stalin to Vladimir Putin exploited existing forms of identity, warfare, and territorial expansion to achieve imperial supremacy. Dr. Plokhy's visit to the University of Washington was made possible by the Ukrainian Studies Initiative in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

Baltic Ambassadors | Celebrating 100 Years of Baltic Independence (3.2.2018) Mar 16, 2018

"Looking Back, Looking Forward" In celebration of 100 years of Independence in the Baltic States, the Scandinavian Studies Department and the Baltic Studies Program at the University of Washington hosted lectures from: Lauri Lepik, Ambassador of Estonia to the USA Andris Teikmanis, Ambassador of Latvia to the USA Evelina Petrone, Political Officer at the Embassy of Lithuania to the USA

Kennan Institute Director Matthew Rojansky | U.S.-Russia Conflict: The New Normal? (2.27.2018) Mar 07, 2018

Matthew Rojansky is Director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC. He is an expert on U.S. relations with the states of the former Soviet Union, and has advised governments, intergovernmental organizations, and major private actors on conflict resolution and efforts to enhance shared security throughout the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian region. Dangerously dysfunctional relations between Washington and Moscow have been blamed by the press, pundits and politicians on the failure of U.S. policymakers to properly “read” Vladimir Putin and thus to predict the Kremlin’s supposedly strategic foreign policy agenda. However, rather than attempting to predict Putin’s next move or to de-code the meaning behind personnel shuffles at the Kremlin, policymakers and the analysts who support them would do better to pay more attention to Russia in a much broader sense. From the incompatibility of the “European Project” with the worldview of the country’s ruling elite, to the geopolitical reality Russia faces as a sprawling multi-ethnic state surrounded by dynamic rising powers, to worsening military tensions between Russia and NATO, there are deeper trends that are likely to shape Russian policy regardless of who is in the top job at the Kremlin. An appropriate U.S. strategy to address these challenges will emphasize not only strength and deterrence, but also adroit risk management, dialogue, and leadership by example. In other words, now is not a time to panic about the predictably unpredictable Russian threat, but rather to keep calm and carry on.

Gerard Toal | Critical Geopolitics of Russia's Invasions of Georgia & Ukraine (3.5.2018) Mar 06, 2018

Dr. Gerard Toal (Gearóid Ó Tuathail)discusses the current geopolitical antagonism between NATO and Russia. He uses a series of critical geopolitical concepts: geopolitical field, geopolitical culture & geopolitical condition. In doing so, reviews the histories of Russia's invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. Gerard Toal is a Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. He has a Ph. D. in Political Geography from Syracuse University and is an author on over 75 journal articles and 23 book chapters on territorial conflicts, US foreign policy, de facto states, popular culture, media and critical geopolitics. His latest book is Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest for Ukraine and the Caucasus (Oxford University Press, 2017), which is a study of two Russian invasions of neighboring states, Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, and the circumstances surrounding these events, including US involvement in both states. His latest NSF research grant will examine geopolitical attitudes in eight different countries on Russia’s borders.

Monica Filimon | Director Cristi Puiu and Romanian New Cinema (11.16.2017) Jan 30, 2018

Monica Filimon discusses her new book Cristi Puiu (University of Illinois Press 2017) and the beginnings of New Romanian cinema with a specific focus on the works of director Cristi Puiu and his black comedy The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. Monica Filimon is a New York-based film critic and has published various articles, interviews, and reviews in the Cineaste Magazine as well as in many other peer-reviewed journals and anthologies. She is currently an assistant professor of English at Kingsborough Community College, CUNY.

Glennys Young | Trump in the World: Russia (11.27.2017) Jan 23, 2018

As part of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington's series of talks on “Trump in the World: International Implications of the Trump Presidency,” Glennys Young discusses the implications of Donald Trump's presidency from the perspective of Russia

Tony Allison | A Seattleite's Involvement with the Cold War & Citizen Diplomacy(10.24.2017) Dec 14, 2017

In this talk, Seattle native Tony Allison discusses his involvement in a jointly owned Soviet-American fishing venture during the Cold War period. Allison served as Director of the Nakhodka and Moscow offices of the Marine Resources Company and then, after the end of the Soviet Union, as CEO from 1990 until its closure in 2001. The company sponsored or initiated several other forms of citizen diplomacy with the USSR-Russia. Allison became a high school history teacher in Seattle and then transitioned to teaching environmental education at the Washington Park Arboretum and Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and recently initiated an environmental education exchange between Botanical Gardens in Russia and the Pacific Northwest. This talk was presented as part of the Ellison Center's Fall 2017 Master Teacher Workshop: Glasnost and Goodwill: The Cold War, Washington State, and the Power of Citizen Diplomacy.

Glennys Young | The Global Cold War and Washington State (10.24.2017) Dec 14, 2017

Glennys Young is a Professor in the History Department and the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. In this talk, Dr. Young considers the Cold War in relation to Washington State - the effect of the war on the state and their role in it - how residents contributed to efforts for peace, and what this could mean in today's "increasingly dangerous times."

Romanian Ambassador Maior | Security Challenges & Opportunities for NATO in East Europe (11.9.2017) Nov 28, 2017

Romanian Ambassador to the U.S. George Maior is both a diplomat and a scholar, with great expertise in security and intelligence, international law, and political science. His written works and lectures reflect on the turbulent contemporary world and its defense policies.

Sarah Chayes | The 21st Century Gilded Age: A Global Trend (10.19.2017) Nov 08, 2017

Sarah Chayes, a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy and Rule of Law program, discusses how cultural and technological shifts have fueled corruption -- and some explosive reactions to it. She will chart these trends from countries as diverse as Russia, Nigeria and the U.S. Photo by Kaveh Sardari

Glennys Young | Putin’s Russia: A Historian’s View (8.9.2017) Sep 27, 2017

Glennys Young is a Professor in the History Department and the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. In this lecture, Dr. Young considers the question of why the promise of Russia’s democratic transition at the end of Soviet Communism resulted in another form of authoritarian power centered in the person of Vladimir Putin. She looks at several prominent theories, including one she has been working on for an upcoming book, to bring into view the complexity of this question. After putting Putin himself into historical context, Dr. Young critiques how adherents of each theory define the political situation in Russia through how they approach and deal with the Russian and Soviet past. Dr. Young's lecture was part of the Summer 2017 Master Teacher Workshop on “Coming to Terms with the Authoritarian Past in Europe and Russia”at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies. This workshop was organized by UW's Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, the Center for West European Studies, and the Center for Global Studies in partnership with the Word Affairs Council.

James Felak | From the Habsburgs to Hitler and Stalin(8.9.2017) Sep 27, 2017

James Felak is a Professor in the Department of History at the University of Washington In "From the Habsburgs to Hitler and Stalin: How the Trauma of World War One Led Hungary into the Axis & Soviet Empires," Dr. Felak discusses how the enormous losses of land and Magyar population suffered by the Kingdom of Hungary due to the post-WWI Treaty of Trianon would shape much of the country's 20th century experience. Possessed by a desire to roll back the Treaty of Trianon's punitive stipulations, Hungary would find common cause with the Axis powers in WWII but eventually wind up behind the Iron Curtain no larger than it had been since the 1920 peace conference at the Grand Trianon Palace in Paris. Dr. Felak's lecture was part of the Summer 2017 Master Teacher Workshop on “Coming to Terms with the Authoritarian Past in Europe and Russia”at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies. This workshop was organized by UW's Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, the Center for West European Studies, and the Center for Global Studies in partnership with the Word Affairs Council.

Lifflander | What's Old is New: The End of the Last Cold War and the Start of a New One (5.25.2017) Jul 01, 2017

Justin Lifflander moved to Moscow in the fall of 1987 with a degree in Soviet Studies and a desire to become a US intelligence officer. Things didn’t work out as he planned. He tells the story of the warming relations between the super powers – first from the perspective of an embassy driver, then as a missile inspector in the provincial town of Votkinsk. Thirty years later – still in Russia – career and family have given him a broad set of experiences that provide for a unique view of Russia’s relations with the rest of the world. After his weapons inspector role, Lifflander worked as an executive for Hewlett-Packard Russia for twenty years. He then served as the business editor for the Moscow Times from 2010 to 2014 and authored several articles about Russian-American relations.

Robert Bedeski | Roots of the Mongol State: Genghis Khan's Survival and Pragmatism (5.18.2017) May 24, 2017

Robert Bedeski, Affiliate Professor at the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies, draws lessons from the life of Genghis Khan that provide insight into how states and societies form. In this lecture, Dr. Bedeski talks about his research and discusses what "The Secret History of the Mongols" can tell us about life and security today. Dr. Bedeski's new book, "Genghis Khan – Sustaining Existence" is available to read via the UW ResearchWorks Archive, located here: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/38457 Dr. Bedeski is an Adjunct and Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Victoria and an Affiliate Professor at the Jackson School of International Studies.

Russian Human Rights Lawyer Sergey Golubok | Global Mondays Lecture Series (05.12.2017) May 22, 2017

Sergey Golubok is an attorney based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since 2011, he has been representing parties in cases heard before the Russian courts, including the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, and before courts in Belarus, European Court of Human Rights, Committee against Torture, and Human Rights Committee. In addition to representing applicants in the proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights, he also acts for the authors of communications lodged against various States (including Russia, Belarus, and Sri Lanka) with the UN human rights treaty bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture, as well as the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. Dr. Golubok writes extensively on topical issues of international human rights law and international criminal law in both English and Russian and comments on legal issues of public significance for leading Russian periodicals and TV channels.

Scott Radnitz | Trump and Russia: Putin the Pieces Together (5.3.2017) May 22, 2017

The presidency of Donald Trump has vast implications for international affairs and even the internal politics of other countries — it could lead to geopolitical realignments on a global scale. In response, the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington has launched a class on “Trump in the World: International Implications of the Trump Presidency.” This lecture by Scott Radnitz focuses on Russia. Scott Radnitz is Director of the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington.

William Brumfield | Architecture of the Russian North and Digital Collection Launch (5.6.2017) May 09, 2017

Dr. William Craft Brumfield introduces the William Brumfield Russian Architecture Digital Collection, an online resource available through the UW Library featuring over 29,000 images of Russian sites, mostly buildings constructed from the Middle Ages and the present. To access the William Brumfield Russian Architecture Digital Collection, please visit the following URL: http://content.lib.washington.edu/brumfieldweb/index.html Dr. Brumfield also discusses "Architecture at the End of the Earth," an exhibition of his photographs from the Russian north at the University of Washington. Following Dr. Brumfield, University of Washington professors Christopher Campbell, Elena Campbell, Ivan Drpić, and Ellen Hurst provide remarks about Russian architecture and heritage. Brumfield's exhibit and the event at the University of Washington was recently featured in Russia Beyond the Headlines. To read the article, click here: https://www.rbth.com/special_projects/discovering_russia_1/2017/05/12/russian-architecture-at-the-end-of-the-earth-draws-american-audience_761744 To access the William Brumfield Russian Architecture Digital Collection, please visit the following URL: http://content.lib.washington.edu/brumfieldweb/index.html A professor of Russian literature at Tulane University in New Orleans, William Brumfield is the author of over forty books and hundreds of articles on Russian architectural history and is widely recognized as North America’s foremost expert on the subject.

Douglas Smith | Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs (4.25.2017) May 02, 2017

A hundred years after his murder, Rasputin continues to excite the popular imagination as the personification of evil. Numerous biographies, novels, and films recount his mysterious rise to power as Nicholas and Alexandra's confidant and the guardian of the sickly heir to the Russian throne. But as the prizewinning historian Douglas Smith shows, the true story of Rasputin's life and death has remained shrouded in myth. In this lecture, Smith separates fact from fiction, drawing on his extensive archival research. In his book, "Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs," Smith presents Rasputin in all his complexity — man of God, voice of peace, loyal subject, adulterer, drunkard.

Max Bergholz | Violence as a Generative Force: Identity, Nationalism & Memory in a Balkan Community Apr 24, 2017

During two terrifying days and nights in September 1941, the lives of nearly 2,000 men, women, and children were taken savagely by their neighbors in Kulen Vakuf, a small rural community straddling today's border between northwest Bosnia and Croatia. The frenzy — in which victims were butchered with farm tools, drowned in rivers, and thrown into deep vertical caves — was the culmination of a chain of local massacres that began earlier in the summer. Max Bergholz is Associate Professor of History at Concordia University in Montreal. In this talk, he discusses research from his book, "Violence as a Generative Force" which tells the story of the sudden and perplexing descent into extreme violence of a once peaceful multiethnic community straddling the border between Bosnia and Croatia.

Grazyna Szymanska-Matusiewicz | Diaspora Politics and the Vietnamese in Eastern Europe (3.29.2017) Apr 19, 2017

In this lecture, Grazyna Szymanska-Matusiewicz discusses the changing patterns of political involvement of an important and surprisingly sizable part of the global Vietnamese diaspora — the Vietnamese from Central and Eastern Europe. While the Vietnamese American community has long been known for its anticommunist stance, the attitudes of Vietnamese communities in Central and Eastern Europe have been more nuanced. Grazyna Szymanska-Matusiewicz is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Warsaw. Her academic interests concentrate on the Vietnamese diaspora in Poland.

Former CIA Director John Deutch | The Future of US Nuclear Deterrence (3.9.2017) Mar 29, 2017

MIT Professor Emeritus and former US Director of Central Intelligence John Deutch speaks about US nuclear security as part of the Henry M. Jackson/James R. Schlesinger Visitor Lecture Series. Dr. John Deutch served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1995-1996, where he was head of the Intelligence Community (all foreign intelligence agencies of the United States). Prior, he served as Deputy Secretary of Defense (1994-1995) and Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Technology (1993-1994).

Emily Greble | Hierarchies of Citizenship: Islam and the Yugoslav State(2.9.2017) Mar 21, 2017

During this talk at the University of Washington, Emily Greble discusses how Sharia law came to be enshrined in the constitution of interwar Yugoslavia, a modern, European democracy, and why this is significant for understanding the transformation from empire to nation-state, legal pluralism in the modern era, and the nature of minority protections in interwar Europe. Emily Greble, a historian of the Balkans, is Associate Professor of History and East European Studies at Vanderbilt University. Her first book, "Sarajevo, 1941-1945: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Hitler's Europe" (Cornell, 2011) examines the persistence of institutions and networks in the city of Sarjevo under Nazi occupation during the Second World War.

Maria Lipman | On the centennial of Russia's Revolution & search for post-Soviet identity (2.24.17) Feb 27, 2017

Maria Lipman, a Russian analyst and editor of the online journal Counterpoint, discusses Russia's past and future as the country marks the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. According to Lipman, Russia does not have a shared national narrative of this formative event of the twentieth century. Lipman discusses how the Russian government is commemorating the anniversary and talks about what a fourth presidential term for Vladimir Putin might mean for the Russian Federation. Maria Lipman was the featured speaker for the 2017 Herbert J. Ellison Memorial Lecture at the University of Washington.

Former Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev on US/NATO - Russia Relations Yesterday and Today Feb 02, 2017

Andrei Kozyrev served as post-Soviet Russia's Foreign Minister from 1991 to 1996, having previously served as Foreign Minister of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Kozyrev was an early advocate for increased cooperation between the United States and Russia and advocated for the end of the Cold War. Since 2000, Kozyrev has lectured on international affairs and served on the boards of a number of Russian international companies. His most recent article, "Boris Yeltsin, the CIS, and Me" appears in the Wilson Quarterly. He is currently in residence as a Distinguished Fellow at the Kennan Institute in Washington, DC. Kozyrev spoke at the University of Washington, where he discussed US-Russia relations since the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Glennys Young | The Russian Revolution and the Making of the 20th Century (1.25.2017) Feb 01, 2017

The Russian Revolution was at once a symbol of hope for the oppressed and a warning sign for those in power. It fueled decades of anticommunist ideologies and policies all over the world, but it also had unlikely connections with the Pacific Northwest. Glennys Young is a Professor in the University of Washington's Department of History and the Jackson School of International Studies. She specializes in Russia and the Soviet Union.

Robert David Greenberg | Muslim Slavs in the Western Balkans: Challenges to Language (1.23.2017) Jan 26, 2017

In this talk, Robert David Greenberg discusses controversies and unresolved issues surrounding the status of Muslim Slavs in the Western Balkans. The states that emerged from the former Yugoslavia have established new hierarchies of official and regional or minority languages. The new languages, largely considered to be mutually intelligible, co-exist within the borders of the new states, and this reality has posed significant challenges to language planners. Robert David Greenberg is Dean of Arts and Professor of Linguistics at The University of Auckland. He is a specialist in South Slavic languages and linguistics and has worked on sociolinguistic issues in the former Yugoslavia.

Trump and the World | A Roundtable with UW Jackson School Faculty Dec 06, 2016

During his campaign, President-Elect Donald Trump made trenchant remarks regarding US allies, the NATO pact, relations with Russia and China and his views on U.S. immigration policies. Faculty at the Henry M. Jackson School for International Studies at the University of Washington held a roundtable to discuss the implications of a Trump presidency on China, Russia, European Union, the Middle East and refugees and immigrants in the US. Featured panelists: Scott Radnitz, Associate Professor and Director of the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies with a focus on the post-Soviet region, authoritarianism and protests. Sabine Lang, Associate Professor of International Studies and Director of the Center for West European Studies with a research focus on on transnational advocacy and multilevel governance in the European Union. Kathie Friedman, Associate Professor of International Studies and an expert on forced migration and refugees. Joel Migdal (via Skype), Robert F. Philip Professor of International Studies and an expert in Middle East politics, states and societies. He is currently on sabbatical in Israel. David Bachman, Henry M. Jackson Professor of International Studies and an expert on China and US-China relations. NOTE: Due technical difficulties, portions of Dr. David Bachman's responses were inaudible and thus have been cut from this podcast. His remarks as recorded will are available on the Jackson School's YouTube account here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKdU6FiYRLY&feature=youtu.be

Daniel Newman | The Holocaust in the Soviet Union (10.13.16) Nov 08, 2016

Dr. Daniel Newman discusses the experience of Holocaust victims in the Soviet Union and addresses the ways the tragedy is remembered in countries of the former USSR. Remembrance of the millions of Jews who were murdered proved a contentious political issue during the decades of Soviet rule and remains so today. Dr. Newman is the Program Manager of the Initiative for the Study of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union at the United States Holocaust Museum's Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies in Washington, DC.

Carol J. Williams | Trump, Putin, and Russia: What's That All About? (11.1.2016) Nov 02, 2016

Donald Trump has broken with the Republican Party line in his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, promoting good relations with Russia, and criticizing NATO. What's more, Putin has spoken warmly of Trump, and Russia is accused of hacking emails that are then leaked to help Trump's presidential campaign. A week before the election, former LA Times Moscow Bureau Chief Carol J. Williams addressed the intrigue involving Trump, Putin, and Russia at a discussion moderated by Ellison Center Director Scott Radnitz. Williams is former senior international writer for the Los Angeles Times and has won five Overseas Press Club awards, two Sigma Delta Chi citations, and was a 1993 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting.

Ambassador Nicholas Burns | Memo to the Next President (10.5.16) Oct 25, 2016

Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and current U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Policy Board Member Nicholas Burn spoke recently on the challenges and opportunities for US foreign policy during a visit to the University of Washington. Burns, who previously also served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, discussed the conflict in Syria, the global refugee crisis, US-China relations, climate change, and Russian foreign policy.

Mykola Riabchuk | New Bonds and Old Cleavages in Post-Maidan Ukrainian Society (10.11.2016) Oct 20, 2016

The undeclared Russo-Ukrainian war has substantially changed the political views and geopolitical orientations of many Ukrainians. It has also caused a shift in identities and value systems. Mykola Riabchuk, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Political and Nationalities Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, discussed how political attitudes have shifted since the 2013-2014 Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine.

Michelle O'Brien | The Rise of Neo-Nationalists in Russia (8.10.16) Oct 17, 2016

This podcast features Michelle O'Brien, a doctoral candidate in the Sociology Department and a Graduate Fellow at the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. Ms. O'Brien spoke about relationships between groups within Russia, such as the "Night Wolves" biker gang and Vladimir Putin. She also discussed the importance of films in instruction, highlighting "Putin's Kiss" as an example that could be used in a classroom setting. Ms. O'Brien's talk was part of a day long workshop for K-12 educators at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies.

Phillip Shekleton | Anarchy in the UK? The Why, How and What's Next of Brexit (8.10.16) Oct 05, 2016

At the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies summer teacher workshop, experts spoke about populism movements across Europe and Russia. This podcast based on those talks features Phillip Shekleton, a lecturer at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and the former Managing Director of the Center for West European Studies and the European Center. He spoke about the ramifications of "Brexit," diving into some of the demographic issues behind the UK's vote to leave the European Union and explored some of the potential financial consequences.

Prof. James Felak | Populism and Radical-Right Groups in East Central Europe (8.10.16) Oct 04, 2016

This podcast features James Felak, a Professor of History at the University of Washington. Professor Felak spoke about the historical development of political groups and movements such as the Law and Justice Party in Poland and the Fidesz and Jobbik parties of Hungary. Dr. Felak's talk was part of a day-long workshop for K-12 educators at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies.

Dr. Steve Pfaff | Neo-Nationalist Parties in Eastern and Western Europe(8.10.2016) Sep 27, 2016

At the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies summer teacher workshop, experts spoke about populism movements across Europe and Russia. This podcast based on those talks features Steve Pfaff, a Professor in the Department of Sociology and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Washington. Dr. Pfaff formerly served as the Director of West European Studies. During the workshop, Professor Pfaff spoke about how radical-right political movements in Europe have transformed over the last several decades.

Dep. Asst. Secretary of State Rosenblum | USA & Central Asia 25 Years After Independence (02.2016) Jul 12, 2016

The United States and Central Asia – 25 Years After Independence, Why Should We Care? By Daniel Rosenblum, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia at the U.S. Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary Daniel Rosenblum visited UW and spoke at the Ellison Center hosted a talk to a room full of students, faculty, and community members, including representatives of the Seattle Tashkent Sister City Association. He started his remarks by sharing the story of his own journey through a career in various roles focused on the region before launching into the United States’ role in the region and why the West should care.

Evelyn Farkas | Perils of Putin's Russia: Why America Needs to Counter Russia and How (5.06.2016) May 19, 2016

Dr. Evelyn N. Farkas is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative. She served from 2012 to 2015 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, responsible for policy toward Russia, the Black Sea, Balkans, and Caucasus regions and conventional arms control. From 2010 to 2012 she served as Senior Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe/Commander, US European Command, and as Special Advisor for the Secretary of Defense for the NATO Summit. Prior to that she was a Senior Fellow at the American Security Project, where she focused on stability and special operations, counterproliferation, and US-Asia policy. In 2008 to 2009, she served as Executive Director of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, which published the report World at Risk (Random House, 2008). From April 2001 to April 2008, she served as a Professional Staff Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Her issue areas included foreign and defense policy in Asia Pacific, Western Hemisphere, Special Operations Command (policy and budget oversight), foreign military assistance, peace and stability operations, the military effort to combat terrorism, counternarcotics programs, homeland defense, and export control policy. From 1997 to 2001 Farkas was a professor of international relations at the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College. She served in Bosnia with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1996 to 1997, and was an election observer in Afghanistan in 2009. She has published numerous journal articles and opinion pieces and Fractured States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, Ethiopia, and Bosnia in the 1990s (Palgrave/St. Martin’s Press, 2003, 2008). She speaks Hungarian and German; has studied French, Spanish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Hindi; and appears as a commentator on major television networks, including NBC, CNN, and Fox. Dr. Farkas obtained her MA and PhD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Aspen Institute Socrates Seminar advisory board.

Susan Jaques | The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia (4.22.2016) May 10, 2016

During her 34-year reign, Catherine the Great embarked on a single-minded quest to modernize and westernize Russia. Among her tactics was a ravenous acquisition of art, which she used to strengthen her image and that of her empire. A self-proclaimed “glutton for art,” the wily tsarina created St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum and spearheaded the expansion of the former capital into an architectural wonder. Join author Susan Jaques as she discusses highlights of Catherine II’s extraordinary cultural campaign. Following the talk, Susan will be signing copies of her new biography, The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia (April 2016, Pegasus Books). Susan Jaques is a journalist specializing in art. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA. She lives in Los Angeles, California where she's a gallery docent at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Mateo Fumagalli | Stateness, Contested Nationhood & Imperiled Sovereignty in Kyrgyzstan (3.31.2016) Apr 27, 2016

The case of Kyrgyzstan, mired in a durable oscillation between abrupt descents into violence and swift returns to stability, represents a useful vantage point to capture the trans-national dimension of post-Soviet conflicts. Kyrgyzstan’s post-independence political trajectory has been marked by stateness issues and the contestation of nationhood, rendering more acute perceptions of threats to the integrity and survival of the state. Drawing on the linkage and leverage framework, this talk investigates the role of external actors in the domestic conflicts that have occurred in the country, focusing especially on the 2010 events in and around the city of Osh. It shows that linkages with international actors have grown more dense and diverse over time, most notably with Russia and, to a lesser but growing degree, China. Non-western leverage has become increasingly consequential in shaping Kyrgyzstan’s domestic and foreign policy. This has been both conflict-inducing and -mitigating, and has varied considerably throughout the conflict cycle. Ties with Russia have been activated and have turned into leverage, whereas in the cases of China and Uzbekistan links have either not been activated or have been de-activated. Once violence broke out no outside actor showed willingness to become embroiled in the conflict, despite the local authorities’ calls for external intervention. Conflict dynamics have altered both the domestic political landscape and trans-national linkages. Matteo Fumagalli is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at Central European University, Budapest (Hungary). He was awarded his PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2005. Before joining CEU, Matteo worked at University College Dublin (Ireland), the University of Edinburgh and St Andrews University in the UK. Matteo’s interests include comparative authoritarianism; ethnicity, nationalism and diaspora politics; and the politics of natural resources. Matteo has strong interests in Central Asia, the South Caucasus and South-East Asia (especially Myanmar). His recent and forthcoming publications include articles in the International Political Science Review, Electoral Studies, East European Politics, Europe-Asia Studies, Ethnopolitics, Central Asian Survey, Osteuropa, and the Journal of Eurasian Studies. At CEU Matteo teaches courses on Comparative Authoritarianism, Transnational Environmental Politics, Central Asia, and post-Soviet politics.

Lucan Way | Pluralism by Default: Weak Autocrats & Rise of Competitive Politics in Ex-USSR (4.20.16) Apr 26, 2016

Lucan Way | Pluralism by Default: Weak Autocrats & Rise of Competitive Politics in Ex-USSR (4.20.16) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Bálint Ablonczy | A View From Budapest: On Hungary and Contemporary Crises in Europe Apr 08, 2016

Bálint Ablonczy | A View From Budapest: On Hungary and Contemporary Crises in Europe by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Tanya Merchant | Treadgold Lecture | Women Performing Musical Nationalism in Uzbekistan (3.9.16) Mar 18, 2016

Tanya Merchant | Treadgold Lecture | Women Performing Musical Nationalism in Uzbekistan (3.9.16) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Marius Laurinavičius | Russia and the World: A View from Lithuania (3.3.16) Mar 18, 2016

Marius Laurinavičius | Russia and the World: A View from Lithuania (3.3.16) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Marius Laurinavičius | Lithuania, Poland, Russia and International Security (3.3.16) Mar 18, 2016

Marius Laurinavičius | Lithuania, Poland, Russia and International Security (3.3.16) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Michelle O'Brien | Tipping Points in Soviet History (3.12.16) Mar 18, 2016

Michelle O'Brien | Tipping Points in Soviet History (3.12.16) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Robert Bedeski |The Secret History of the Mongols (2.4.16) Feb 19, 2016

Ghengis Khan, the Mongol State, and Primary Existential Angst

Russia, Syria, and the West: Confrontation or Cooperation? (1.19.16) Feb 09, 2016

Russia's intervention in the Syrian conflict has been popular in Russia, but confounding to analysts. This panel comprises experts who will analyze the causes and implications of Russia's recent moves in Syria. What are Russia's objectives? How does it affect the political prospects of President Putin? What does it mean for the Syrian Civil War – both for Russia's allies and for its adversaries in the conflict? And how should the Unites States respond? Will we see confrontation, cooperation – or just chaos?

Ott Toomet | Neighborhoods and Network Segregation in Cellphone Data Dec 11, 2015

New Directions in Baltic Migration and Ethnic Studies

Inta Mierina | Are Emigrants Less Pro-Social in Their New Community than at Home? Dec 11, 2015

New Directions in Baltic Migration and Ethnic Studies

David Abramson | Central Asia's Regional Challenges (11.13.15) Dec 11, 2015

David Abramson | Central Asia's Regional Challenges (11.13.15) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Svitlana Khutka | How Ukraine is Seen in Russia: Public Opinion Dynamics (11.05.15) Dec 10, 2015

Svitlana Khutka | How Ukraine is Seen in Russia: Public Opinion Dynamics (11.05.15) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Brigitte Le Normand | Designing Tito's Capital (12.02.15) Dec 10, 2015

Brigitte Le Normand | Designing Tito's Capital (12.02.15) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

David Abramson | An Anthropologist at the Department of State (11.12.15) Dec 10, 2015

David Abramson | An Anthropologist at the Department of State (11.12.15) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

William Pyle | Privatization's Plot: The Neglected Story of Enterprise Land in Russia (10.28.2015) Oct 28, 2015

Privatization’s Plot: The Neglected of Story of Enterprise Land in Russia When Russia privatized thousands of its industrial enterprises in the 1990s, the land plots underneath them remained state-owned. In the twenty years since, in one of the lesser known chapters of Russia’s post-communist experience with privatization, many enterprises assumed ownership of their plots. The talk will recount this history and explore the causes and consequences of the variation in land tenure observed across Russian industry today.

Adam Stulberg | Strategic Restraint and the Contemporary Russia-Ukraine Gas Crisis (10.21.2105) Oct 21, 2015

Adam Stulberg | Strategic Restraint and the Contemporary Russia-Ukraine Gas Crisis (10.21.2105) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz | What Drives Russian Policy Today (10.15.2015) Oct 21, 2015

Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz | What Drives Russian Policy Today (10.15.2015) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

UK Diplomat Riley | Responding to Ukraine: UK/EU Post-Crimea Policy toward Russia (10.08.2015) Oct 21, 2015

UK Diplomat Riley | Responding to Ukraine: UK/EU Post-Crimea Policy toward Russia (10.08.2015) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Kennan Institute Deputy Director Pomeranz | Ukraine, Russia, & the Effects of Sanctions (10.9.2015) Oct 21, 2015

Kennan Institute Deputy Director Pomeranz | Ukraine, Russia, & the Effects of Sanctions (10.9.2015) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

A. Cirtautas & T. Davis | Immigration, Emigration and Integration in Eastern Europe (8.12.2015) Aug 25, 2015

Migration and Multiculturalism in Europe: A Teacher Workshop on the EU and its Eastern Neighbors. For Middle School, High School and Community College Educators. Hosted by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, at the University of Washington. Arista Cirtautas is a Visiting Lecturer in European Studies at the Jackson School of International Studies and Affiliate Faculty in the UW’s REECAS program. She is a specialist on EU enlargement and East European politics and government. She was based at the University of Virginia before coming to the UW. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California Berkeley. Teresa Indelak Davis was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Seattle in September 2014. A longtime resident of Seattle, Consul Davis has been an active member of the Polish-American community and served as President of Polish American Chamber of Commerce Pacific Northwest, Board Member of the Polish Home Foundation, and as co-founder and Managing Director of Polish Festival Seattle, among others. She spent more than 15 years working at Microsoft in corporate communications positions in Redmond and internationally. In Europe, she managed Microsoft’s Central and Eastern European communications strategy and community affairs programs, including the subsidiary in Poland. In Redmond, she managed global PR programs, disaster response communications, executive relations, and worked as a business communications consultant. She holds an MPA from The Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, UW and a BA in Communications from the University of Washington and has also attended Jagiellonian University in Krakow, before leaving Poland.

Steven Pfaff | Immigration and Assimilation in Western Europe (8.12.2015) Aug 25, 2015

Migration and Multiculturalism in Europe: A Teacher Workshop on the EU and its Eastern Neighbors. For Middle School, High School and Community College Educators. Hosted by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, at the University of Washington. Steve Pfaff is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Washington. He was the former Director of West European Studies. He received his Ph.D. from New York University, and his fields of interest include comparative sociology, collective action, religion, and East Europe.

Michelle O'Brien | Livelihoods, Risk, and Migration to Russia (8.12.2015) Aug 25, 2015

Migration and Multiculturalism in Europe: A Teacher Workshop on the EU and its Eastern Neighbors. For Middle School, High School and Community College Educators. Hosted by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, at the University of Washington. Michelle O’Brien is a doctoral student in the Sociology Department and a Graduate Fellow at the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. She received her Master of Arts degree from the University of Washington and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan. Her research interests lie in the intersection of politics and demography; her dissertation attempts to tackle the complex relationship between conflict and migration. Michelle has extensive experience in Russia and has lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg. More recently, she conducted fieldwork in Nepal. She has a forthcoming co-authored contribution to an edited volume from Springer on Computational Demography.

Oliver Reisner | Sakdrisi Gold Mine: Profit Clashes w/ Georgian National Identity (4.27.2015) Apr 28, 2015

Oliver Reisner | Sakdrisi Gold Mine: Profit Clashes w/ Georgian National Identity (4.27.2015) by The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

Ambassador Razans | Latvia - from Captive Nation to the Presidency of the European Union (4.22.2015) Apr 25, 2015

The Honorable Andris Razans, Ambassador of Latvia to the United States, speaks on “Latvia – from the Captive Nation to the Presidency of the European Union” at the University of Washington on April 23, 2015. This podcast is made possible by support from the UW Baltic Studies Program and the Ellison Center for Russian East European and Central Asian Studies.

Kiki Munshi | Whisper In Bucharest (4.18.2015) Apr 22, 2015

Romanian diplomat, academic and author of "Whisper in Bucharest," Kiki Munshi gives a brief talk about her new book.

Ukraine and Russia: Is there any way out? (4.15.2015) Apr 16, 2015

Derek Nordberg, Scott Radnitz and Jennifer Carroll present a panel at the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, on April 15, 2015.

Willard Sunderland | Baron Ungern: Microhistory, Biography, and the Search for the Russian Empire Apr 15, 2015

Professor Willard Sunderland presents his new book "The Baron's Cloak - A History of the Russian Empire in War and Revolution" at the University of Washington. This podcast is made possible by the generous efforts of the Department of History and the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies.

Thomas De Waal | Great Catastrophe: The Politics of the Armenian Genocide (2.24.2015) Mar 31, 2015

Caucasus specialist Thomas De Waal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace speaks on the politics of the Armenian Genocide in February 2015 at the University of Washington. Mr. De Waal's visit was made possible by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Center at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies.

Stephen Kotkin | Stalin: Power, Geopolitics and Ideas (1.22.2015) Mar 31, 2015

Princeton Russian history professor Stephen Kotkin presents a lecture based on his book Stalin - Paradoxes of Power 1878-1928 at the University of Washington in January 2015. Dr. Kotkin's visit was made possible by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Center and the Department of History.

Russia's Pivot To China In The Context Of A Burning Ukraine (1.6.2015) Mar 22, 2015

This March 2015 panel was co-sponsored by the Ellison Center, the East Asia Center, and the Center for Global Studies at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies. Panelists included Dr. Liz Wishnick from Montclair State University, Dr. Mikhail Alekseev from San Diego State University, and Dr. Judith Thornton from the University of Washington,

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