External Events

We promote events pertaining to Russia and Eurasia that are conducted in the Boston area and online. Please check out the links below for more information about upcoming events at affiliated institutions. Scroll further to find information about upcoming external events that might be of interest to the Fletcher community.

Please check out the list below to find events about Russia and Eurasia organized by affiliated institutions.

Greater Boston Area

Davis Center

Friday, February 18, 2025 | 12:30 P.M. – 2:00 P.M. ET
During the Cold War, some European states (Austria, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden) maintained a position of neutrality between East and West. For more than three decades after the Cold War ended, most of these states continued to adhere to what they construed as a neutral status. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted Finland and Sweden to abandon their neutral status and join NATO, but some smaller European states that had been neutral during the Cold War did not seek to join the Western alliance. For the Kremlin, however, the European neutral states are of no special significance, unlike during the Cold War. Yet, a neutral status is demanded by Russia for Ukraine. This demand deviates from earlier understandings when neutrality was a tool or precondition for upholding and safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity. The seminar will discuss the changing Russian understanding of European neutrality in historical perspective. Register here.

Online Events

The Wilson Center
Book Launch | Looking at Women Looking at War
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | 11:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. ET
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Victoria Amelina was busy writing a novel, taking part in the country’s literary scene, and parenting her son. Now she became someone new: a war crimes researcher and the chronicler of extraordinary women like herself who joined the resistance. These heroines include Evgenia, a prominent lawyer turned soldier, Oleksandra, who documented tens of thousands of war crimes and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, and Yulia, a librarian who helped uncover the abduction and murder of a children’s book author. Register here.

Atlantic Council
How long can Russia sustain its aggression in Ukraine?
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | 11:30 A.M. ET
February 24, 2025 marks three years of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, which has upended millions of lives—killing civilians and separating families—and wrought major destruction on much of Ukraine. In carrying out its violence, Russia has expended huge human, military, and economic resources in its campaign to eradicate Ukrainian identity and nationhood. This drain on resources has notably also had an impact inside Russia. While the Russian economy bounced back in 2023 after weathering the initial impact of sanctions and global isolation in 2022, more recently inflation rates have soared as the ruble declines and worsening labor shortages and government stimulus to military companies have threatened to overheat the economy. Russia has also suffered large-scale military casualties, and Ukraine and its partners have made a significant dent in Russia’s energy empire, simultaneously damaging Russia’s energy supply on multiple fronts including through Ukraine’s increasingly successful drone air campaign. Register for the in person event and watch the livestream here.

Davis Center
European Cold War Neutrality in the Kremlin’s Perspective: Historical and Present Implications
Friday, February 18, 2025 | 12:30 P.M. – 2:00 P.M. ET
During the Cold War, some European states (Austria, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden) maintained a position of neutrality between East and West. For more than three decades after the Cold War ended, most of these states continued to adhere to what they construed as a neutral status. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted Finland and Sweden to abandon their neutral status and join NATO, but some smaller European states that had been neutral during the Cold War did not seek to join the Western alliance. For the Kremlin, however, the European neutral states are of no special significance, unlike during the Cold War. Yet, a neutral status is demanded by Russia for Ukraine. This demand deviates from earlier understandings when neutrality was a tool or precondition for upholding and safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity. The seminar will discuss the changing Russian understanding of European neutrality in historical perspective. Register here.

Harriman Institute of Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies at Columbia University
Sovereignty without Sovereignty and Peace without Peace: Georgia’s Post-Election Crisis and Current Mass Resistance
Thursday, February 20, 2025 | 12:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. ET
Georgia’s recent nationwide protests have brought to the forefront a new form of authoritarianism, blending nationalist rhetoric with geopolitical ambitions. This panel explores the political technologies and affective politics in the ruling Georgian Dream party deployed to retain control and hinder the country’s integration into the European Union. By invoking the language of sovereignty and peace while simultaneously wielding the narrative of a multipolar world, the government has justified the repression of dissent and escalated state violence. In this context, the panelists will examine how these tactics maintain an illusion of stability while undermining both democratic processes and the rule of law. Despite unprecedented state violence, the resistance continues to mature, signaling a profound shift toward a grassroots democracy that challenges the current political order. This roundtable will consider the implications of these developments for Georgia’s political future and the broader geopolitical struggles in the region. Register here.

Harriman Institute of Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies at Columbia University
NATO Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Lessons for European Security in Ukraine
Thursday, February 20, 2025 | 4:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M. ET
Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on February 19, 2025 in order to attend this event. Please join the Harriman Institute for a lecture by Ismet Fatih Čančar. Moderated by Tanya Domi. Ismet Fatih Čančar is a political economist and a researcher. In 2024, he was awarded a Fulbright grant and is currently a Visiting Researcher at John Hopkins SAIS conducting research on US policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans. Register here.

Atlantic Council
War and peace: The state of the battlefield and Trump’s diplomacy in Ukraine
Friday, February 21, 2025 | 11:00 A.M. ET
Trump and his national security team appear determined to achieve a durable peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine in the next six months and have taken energetic, but not always consistent, steps to reach this goal. In the weeks before Trump’s inauguration, the team put out elements of an approach that would require major compromise from both Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskyy would have to accept territorial compromise and at least a twenty-year moratorium on NATO membership, and Putin would have to accept a demilitarized zone patrolled by European troops and a major arming of Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression. Register for the in person event and watch the livestream here.