The World Affairs Council of Orange County presents:
PUTIN’S UKRAINIAN MISADVENTURE: WHAT HAS RUSSIA LOST?
Featuring Dr. William E. Pomeranz, Director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center
According to reports, when Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he believed that Russia would be at the gates of Kyiv in a matter a days. After months and months of war, there is no sign of a Russian victory. Indeed, the war’s unintended consequences – in terms of sanctions, economic decline, military defeats, renewed western resolve, and galvanized Ukrainian national identity – indicate the invasion has proven a colossal and epoch-defining mistake. Putin’s crackdown on Russian society may have cemented his grip on power within Russia, but he rules over a diminished nation. There is no clear exit from this geopolitical catastrophe—one that could damage Russian power and prospects even more than the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This event is made possible through the Kennan Conversation program from the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. The Kennan Institute’s mission is to improve American understanding about Russia and the wider region.
An In-Person Lunch Event
Date & Time:
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
11:30 AM Reception
12:00PM -1:30 PM Main Program
Location:
Beckman 404
Chapman University
1 University Drive, Orange, CA 92866
Tickets:
Members: $45
Non-members: $55
Students are free!
Speaker Bio:
Dr. William Pomeranz is the Director of the Kennan Institute, a part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars located in Washington, D.C. He also has taught Russian law at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CERES), Georgetown University. He hold a B.A. from Haverford College, a M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh, a J.D. cum laude from American University, and a Ph.D. in Russian History from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London.
Prior to joining the Kennan Institute, Dr. Pomeranz practiced international law in the United States and Moscow, Russia. He advised clients on investment in the Russian Federation as well as on U.S. anti-money laundering requirements, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and various U.S. sanctions programs. His research interests include Russian legal history as well current Russian commercial and constitutional law. His academic articles have been published in the Russian Review, Slavonic and East European Review, Kritika, Review of Central and East European Law, Demokratizatsiya, and Problems of Post-Communism. He also has provided commentary and conducted numerous press interviews with CNN, NPR, C-SPAN, Reuters, VOA, Bloomberg, and other media outlets.
Moderator Bio:
Dr. Kyle Longley is the Director of the War, Diplomacy, and Society Program and Professor of History at Chapman University, recently joining the faculty in 2020 after more than two decades at Arizona State University. He specializes in U.S. military history, U.S. foreign relations, and modern American politics. He is the author or editor of nine books on topics ranging from U.S.-Latin American relations to southern politics and the American presidency. His most recent works include the prize winning, The Morenci Marines: A Tale of a Small Town and the Vietnam War, Grunts: The American Combat Soldier in Vietnam, LBJ’s 1968: Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America’s Year of Upheaval, and In Harm’s Way: A History of the American Military Experience. He also is a prize-winning educator, receiving the Centennial Professorship for outstanding teaching by the Associated Students of Arizona State University and the Zebulon Pearce Award for outstanding professor in the Humanities at ASU.
