Russia has returned to the world stage in dramatic fashion in recent years, with its military interventions in Ukraine and Syria and interference in elections from Macedonia to Michigan.

What is driving this aggressive behavior? Will the current political system survive its architect, Vladimir Putin’s, scheduled departure in 2024? How should the United States deal with Russia?

The Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns will convene on October 11-12, 2019 to tackle these difficult questions. Friday night’s keynote address, and four panels on Saturday, will cover provocative topics like:

The prickly relationships between art and power in Russia

Narratives Russians construct to explain the traumas of 20th century Russian history

The state of civil society in Russia (more lively than is often supposed)

How elite factions constrain Putin’s decision making

The trajectory of Russia’s economic development (including the range of careers available to graduates in Russian studies)