Symposium 2015

Russia in the XXI Century
The 30th Annual Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium
February 26 - March 1, 2015

The international symposium is an annual public forum designed and enacted by the EPIIC students. It features scores of international practitioners, academics, public intellectuals, activists and journalists in panel discussions and workshops.

Download the Full Program

Download programs from the workshops:

Cyber Conflict & Cooperation: The Role of Russia

The Challenges of Corruption: Impact on Russia

To View Livestreams

Friday, February 27th

Saturday, February 28th - Morning/Afternoon

Saturday, February 28th - Evening

Sunday, March 1st

Schedule:

Wednesday, February 25

Cultural Evening

Presented by EPIIC’s “Russia in the 21st Century” and Tufts’ Russian and Slavic Student Association
Slater Concourse, 6:30pm
Distler Auditorium, 7:00pm

Download the Cultural Evening Program

Thursday, February 26

Keynotes: Russian Identity, 7:00pm, Cabot Auditorium 

• Gregory Carleton, Professor of Russian Studies, Tufts University; Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University

• Suzanne Massie, Author; Trust but Verify: Reagan, Russia, and Me

Religion, Politics, and Identity, 7:15pm, Cabot Auditorium

• Geraldine Fagan, Moscow Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service; Author, Believing in Russia: Religious Policy after Communism 

• Michael Khodarkovsky, Professor of Russian History, Loyola University, Chicago; Author, Bitter Choices: Loyalty and Betrayal in the Russian Conquest of the North Caucasus

• Roman Lunkin, Director, Institute for Religion and Law; Leading Institute Fellow, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 

• Marya Rozanova, Director, Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Socio-Cultural Integration and Associate Professor, Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy, St. Petersburg; Galina Starovoitova Fellow on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. 

Friday, February 27

The State and the Media, 12:30pm, Barnum Hall 008

• Yevgenia Albats, Editor-in-Chief, The New Times, Moscow; Permanent Professor, Higher School of Economics, Moscow

• Karina Alexanyan, Postdoctoral Scholar/Project Manager, mediaX, Stanford University; Affiliate, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University

• Oksana Boyko, Host, Worlds Apart, RT TV; former Political and Foreign Correspondent

• Karoun Demirjian, Moscow Correspondent, The Washington Post

• Irina Gordienko, Correspondent, Novaya Gazeta; Nieman Fellow, Harvard University

• Max Trudolyubov, Fellow, Kennan Institute, Wilson Center; Former Editor and Columnist, Vedomosti

Russia and Asia: The Bear Looks East? 2:30pm, Barnum Hall 008

• Alexander Cooley, Professor and Chair, Political Science Department, Barnard College, Columbia University; Deputy Director, Harriman Institute, Columbia University; Author; Great Games, Local Rules: The New Great Power Contest in Central Asia 

• Guan Guihai, Associate Dean, School of International Studies, Peking University 

• Shiv Khemka, Vice Chairman and Director of investment and entrepreneurial activities in Russia and Ukraine, SUN Group, India; Chairman, Russia Country Committee, Confederation of Indian Industry

• Artyom Lukin, Associate Professor, Deputy Director for Research, School of Regional and International Studies, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok

• Vitaly Kozyrev, Associate Professor, Endicott College, Senior Fellow, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University; former Professor, Institute of Asian and African Studies, Moscow State University

Welcome, Introductions and Keynote, 6:30pm, Cabot Auditorium 

Livestream this Panel

• Anthony Monaco, President, Tufts University

• James Glaser, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University

• Sherman Teichman, Founding Director, Institute for Global Leadership

• Ben Spevack, EPIIC 2015 Colloquium Member

• Alumni Award Presentation: Alexandra Vacroux (EPIIC’86), Executive Director, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University

• Kirill Koroteev, Senior Lawyer, Human Rights Centre, Memorial, Moscow 

• Joshua Rubenstein, Former Northeast Regional Director of Amnesty International; Author, Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary’s Life; Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University

A Keynote Conversation on the U.S.- Russian Relationship, 7:00 pm

Livestream this Panel

• Robert Legvold, Marshall D. Shulman Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, Columbia University

• Dmitri Trenin, Director, Carnegie Moscow Center; former Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Europe, Moscow; served in the Russian Armed Forces, 1972-93

Keynote Address: An Ambassador’s Perspective, 7:30pm

• Amb Jack Matlock, U.S. Ambassador to Moscow (1987-91)

The New Cold War? Russia-US Relations, 7:45pm, Cabot Auditorium

• Oksana Boyko, Host, Worlds Apart, RT TV; former Political and Foreign Correspondent

• Matthew Rojansky, Director, Kennan Institute, Wilson Center; former Deputy Director of the Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

• Feodor Voitolovsky, Head of the political section, Center for North American Studies, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO RAN); Co-author, IMEMO’s 2013 annual forecast on “Russia and the World: Economy and Foreign Policy”

• Andrew S. Weiss, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Dr. Legvold, Amb. Matlock, and Dr. Trenin will join the panel discussion

Saturday, February 28

Ruling Russia: Governance in the 21st Century, 9:30am, Cabot Auditorium

Livestream this panel

• Ilya Ponomarev, Member of Russian Parliament, State Duma; Chairman of Innovation and Venture Capital Subcommittee, Economic Policy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee; one of the leaders of the left flank of Russian politics

• Thomas F. Remington, Goodrich C. White Professor of Political Science, Emory University; Author, Presidential Decrees in Russia: A Comparative Perspective and The Politics of Inequality in Russia

• Stanislav Stanskikh, Russian constitutional expert; Civil Rights Activist; Moderator, Strasbourg Democratic Russian-Ukrainian Dialogue

• Alexandra Vacroux, Executive Director, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University

• Student Presentation: Grigory Khakimov, EPIIC Colloquium Member; Junior, majoring in International Relations with a thematic concentration on Europe and the Former Soviet Union; Former Member, Russian Democratic Party Yabloko

Beyond the Barrel: The Russian Economy, 11:30am, Cabot Auditorium

• Ari Axelrod, Senior Fellow, Council on Emerging Market Enterprises, The Fletcher School, Tufts University; Partner, Banyan Family Business Advisors

• Maxim Bratersky, Professor, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Moscow

• Birgit Hansl, Lead Economist for the Russian Federation and Country Sector Coordinator in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network in the Europe and Central Asia Region, World Bank

• Matthew Murray, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce 

• Stephan Vitvitsky, International Economist, Office of Europe and Eurasia - US Treasury

Security Strategy: Military Reform and Nuclear Capability, 2:30pm, Cabot Auditorium

• Lt. Gen Arlen Jameson (USAF, ret.), Former Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Strategic Command; Vice Chairman, Air Force Academy Board of Visitors

• Michael Kofman, Russia/Eurasia Security and Defense Public Policy Scholar, Kennan Institute, Wilson Center, Adviser for military to military engagements for senior officers at National Defense University

• Brigadier General Kevin Ryan (U.S. Army retired), Director, Defense and Intelligence Projects at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs 

• Svetlana Savranskaya, Director, Cooperative Projects with Russia and Editor, Russian and East Bloc Archival Documents Database, National Security Archive 

• Major General Pavel Zolotarev (Russian Armed Forces, ret.), Deputy Director, Institute of U.S. and Canadian Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (confirmed in principle)

Expert-led, Small-group Discussions, 4:30pm,

• Locations and subjects to be announced.

Geopolitics: Russia and the Post-Soviet Sphere, 8:00pm, Cabot Auditorium

• Igor Istomin, Lecturer, Department of Applied Analysis of International Crises, MGIMO; Executive Editor, International Trends

• Carol R. Saivetz, Research Fellow, Security Studies Program, MIT; Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University 

• Shorena Shaverdashvili (EPIIC’99), Partner and Editor, Liberali, Georgia

• Oxana Shevel, Associate Professor of Political Science, Tufts University

• Maxim Suchkov, Fellow, Institute for Strategic Studies, Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University 

• Dmitri Trenin, Director, Carnegie Moscow Center; former Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Europe, Moscow; served in the Russian Armed Forces, 1972-93

Sunday, March 1

Keynote Address: Russia and Global Challenges for U.S. Foreign Policy, 11:00 am, Cabot Auditorium

Livestream this keynote

• Thomas Pickering, Career Ambassador; former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation; former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Political Engagement: Civil Society and Dissent, 1:00pm, Cabot Auditorium

• Samuel Greene, Head, King's Global Institutes and Director, King's Russia Institute, King's College, London 

• Roman Lunkin, Director, Institute for Religion and Law; Leading Institute Fellow, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 

• Marya Rozanova, Director, Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Socio-Cultural Integration and Associate Professor, Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy, St. Petersburg; Galina Starovoitova Fellow on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. 

Sanctioned Split?  Russia and the European Union, 3:30pm, Cabot Auditorium 

• R. Bruce Hitchner, Professor of Classics and International Relations and Director, Peace & Justice Studies Program, Tufts University; Chair, Dayton Peace Accords Project

• Mustafa Nayyem, Journalist; Member of Parliament, Ukraine; Recipient, 2014 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award 

• Angela Stent, Professor of Government and Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown University; Author, The Limits of Partnership: US-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century

• Vasily Zharkov, Director, Political Science and International Relations Programme, Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences; Columnist, Novaya Gazeta 

Film Screening of "Red Army," 8pm, Somerville Theater, Davis Square 

Red Army is an inspiring story about the Cold War played out on the hockey rink, and a man who stood up to a powerful system and paved the way for change for generations of Russians. Trailer: http://sonyclassics.com/redarmy/