From the “Evil Empire,” through “Upper Volta with Rockets” and then to the “Wild East,” outsiders have time and again tried to come to terms with Russia, its domestic trajectory, and its place in the world. Suddenly, Moscow’s relations with the West are souring and there is talk of a new Cold War, of a geopolitical Great Game. Join CGA Clinical Professor of Global Affairs and leading expert on Russian security affairs Mark Galeotti for a series of three conversations, featuring experts with distinctive perspectives on Russia who will discuss the current state of the country, its future, and the role it is likely to play in the world.
Special series co-sponsored by the NYU School of Professional Studies.
In the second session of the series, Galeotti is joined by Moscow-based writer, Anna Arutunyan is the author of The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia’s Power Cult. Previously, she was the senior correspondent for the Moscow News, and now writes for a wide range of publications, from USA Today to Jane’s Intelligence Review. In her book, Arutunyan analyzes Putin’s leadership in relation to the tension between Western-style democracy and Russia’s long history of authoritarian rule. How do Russians today negotiate this tension and what is the likelihood for change and democratic opposition to Putin?
