Events

Are you looking to be in conversation with the world of Russian and Eurasian studies? You have come to the right place — pull up a seat.

Davis Center art exhibit

Looking for a recording of a past event? Browse prior listings below, or see all of our event videos on our YouTube channel.

Event Format

Upcoming

Soviet Union 1961 Stamp

Cold War Africa as Seen By Soviet Diplomatic and Military Personnel, 1960-1979

to
In person

Join us for a seminar exploring how African identity was perceived in the Soviet Union—beyond diplomacy and ideology—examining whether a distinct “Soviet perspective” emerged and how stereotypes, racism, and paternalism shaped those views.

Denis Skopin
Denis Skopin

Senior Scholar in Exile, Center for Contemporary History (Berlin); Former Professor of Political Science, St. Petersburg State University

Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer

Director, Cold War Studies Project, Davis Center

Joint declaration signed by presidents of US, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Agreement: Implications for the South Caucasus and Beyond

to
Online

Join us for a discussion of different perspectives on the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal. 

Anna Ohanyan
Anna Ohanyan

Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Stonehill College; Writer

Anar Valiyev

Associate Professor, ADA University

Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer

Director, Cold War Studies Project, Davis Center

Natia Chankvetadze
Natia Chankvetadze

Ph.D., George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Allison Hart

Coordinator, Program on Georgian Studies, Davis Center

Black and white bookshelves

The Cold War and American Sovietology

to
In person

Join us for a seminar that uncovers the relationship between Sovietology studies and the Cold War. 

Sławomir Łukasiewicz
Sławomir Łukasiewicz

Professor of Political Science, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland); the Institute of Central Europe (Poland)

Nadia Boyadjieva
Nadia Boyadjieva

Professor of International Law and International Relations, Institute for Balkan Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Professor of International Law at Plovdiv University

Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer

Director, Cold War Studies Project, Davis Center

black and white picture of Teodor Shanin

The Five Worlds of Teodor Shanin

to
In person

Join Russian-Israeli sociologist Victor Vakhshtayn as he combines eyewitness testimony with historical and sociological analysis to paint a vivid portrait of Teodor Shanin (1930–2020), the distinguished sociologist and founder of the Moscow School for the Social and Economic Studies (‘Shaninka’).

Victor Vakhshtayn
Victor Vakhshtayn

Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Montenegro); Senior Research Fellow, Center for Russian Studies, Tel Aviv University (Israel)

Maxim Shrayer
Maxim D. Shrayer

Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies, Boston College; Chair, Seminar on Russian and Eurasian Jewry, Davis Center

white felt house under a blue sky in Kazakhstan

REECA Master's Program Info Session

to
Online

Join us for a session to learn about the REECA Master's Degree Program. 

Donna Griesenbeck
Donna Griesenbeck

Student Programs Officer, Davis Center

Musical instruments

Bringing the Sounds of Eastern Europe and Eurasia Into the Classroom

to
Online

Discover engaging ways to bring the vibrant musical traditions of Eastern Europe and Eurasia into your K–12 classroom with ready-to-use activities and cross-curricular connections.

Danielle Sekel

Interseminars Project Coordinator, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Humanities Research Institute

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

Fiona Hill

Europe in a Time of War: A Conversation with Fiona Hill

to
In person

Fiona Hill is the first speaker in a new collaborative event series, "The Forum: Europe in a Time of War."

Fiona Hill

Senior Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution

Steven Solnick
Steven Solnick

Executive Director, Davis Center

Parliament Hall, Georgia

Generational Perspectives on Georgian Politics

to
Online

Join us for a webinar on the disruptive political patterns apparent since independence, and what this means for Georgia today.

Gabriel Chubinidze
Gabriel Chubinidze

Program Coordinator, Ilia State University

Tedo Japaridze
Tedo Japaridze

Chairman, Center for Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Studies; Former Member, Georgian Parliament

Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones

Chairman, Advisory Board, Program on Georgian Studies, Davis Center; Professor of Modern Georgian History, Ilia State University (Tbilisi, Georgia)

interrogation room with a chair, desk, and a portrait of Lenin on the wall

Human Rights and Repression During the Soviet Era and After

to
Online

Join us for a discussion that examines human rights and state repression in East-Central Europe and the former USSR before and after 1991.

Recording Available
Olena Nikolayenko
Olena Nikolayenko

Professor of Political Science, Fordham University

Nadia Boyadjieva
Nadia Boyadjieva

Professor of International Law and International Relations, Institute for Balkan Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Professor of International Law at Plovdiv University

Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer

Director, Cold War Studies Project, Davis Center

two women working on machine

DataBasics - Winter Studio

to
Online

Start the new year by conquering your fear of data!

Kelly O'Neill
Kelly O’Neill

Director of Graduate Studies, REECA Program, and Director, Imperiia Project, Davis Center

Ukrainian Pysansky

Ukrainian Pysanky: A Journey Through History and Symbolism Into Today's Classroom

to
Online

Discover the rich history, intricate symbolism, and modern classroom applications of Ukrainian pysanky in this engaging session on the ancient art of decorated eggs.

Megan Luttrell

Outreach Coordinator, Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies at University of Kansas

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

heater set, Palace Square, St. Petersburg

Power, Protest, and Daringness: Snapshots from a Century of Russian and East European Theater

to
Online

Discover how theater in Russia and Eastern Europe has served as a powerful artistic and political voice over the past century—and how you can bring these compelling works into your classroom.

Alisa Ballard Lin

Associate Professor, Graduate Studies Chair, Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, Ohio State University

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

Grain procurement; Dekulakization in the village of Udachne, Donetska oblast. Udachne, 1930s.

Teaching the Holodomor: Inclusive Literacy Workshop

to
In person

Join us for "Literacy Strategies that Work," a workshop for K–14 educators offering practical, inclusive literacy strategies to support diverse learners in the social studies classroom.

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

H. Nicole Richardson

Psychology/ Social Studies Teacher

Serhii Plokhii
Serhii Plokhii

Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History, Harvard University

Motherland Poster and Kremlin Marketing Campaign

Pop-Propaganda: How the Kremlin Markets Its War Like Disney and Coca-Cola

to
In person

Join journalist Andrew Ryvkin, who spent years inside Russia’s propaganda machine, to uncover how the Kremlin markets Putin, the war in Ukraine, and the erosion of freedoms in the age of the attention economy.

Andrew Ryvkin
Andrew Ryvkin

Journalist and Analyst, The Atlantic and Air Mail

Steven Solnick
Steven Solnick

Executive Director, Davis Center

Voronezh District, Dobrinskii Region: Instructor Natalia Sitina teaches a class to end illiteracy among female collective farmers

Literacy Webinar Series for Educators: Teaching for Retention in Social Studies

to
Online

This webinar explores research-based strategies to help students retain key social studies content and build background knowledge through inclusive, literacy-focused instruction.

H. Nicole Richardson

Psychology/ Social Studies Teacher

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

Mariya Prymachenko

From Lullabies to Naive Art: Culture, Memory, and Resilience

to
Online

Discover how art becomes a powerful tool of memory, identity, and resistance in times of conflict in this compelling session of The Arts of Eastern Europe and Eurasia webinar series.

Nataliia Bondarenko

International Education Program Coordinator, The Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

Photographer, Mikhail Trakhman, "These two girls are fond of reading"

Literacy Webinar Series for Educators: Unlocking Complex Text

to
Online

This webinar offers practical, inclusive strategies to help all students access and comprehend complex social studies texts through vocabulary support, text structure instruction, graphic organizers, and multisensory techniques.

H. Nicole Richardson

Psychology/ Social Studies Teacher

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

Literacy

Literacy Webinar Series for Educators: Making Writing Manageable

to
Online

This webinar explores scaffolding techniques and strategies from The Writing Revolution to help educators make social studies writing tasks more accessible and manageable for diverse learners.

H. Nicole Richardson

Psychology/ Social Studies Teacher

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

Past

We’ve hosted dozens of events, many of which we’ve recorded. Search past events for the topics you care about.

Russian Ballet I

Russian Ballet

to
Online

Discover how Russian ballet became a powerful lens for exploring art, politics, and survival.

Daria Khitrova
Daria Khitrova

Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University

Sandra Grudic
Sandra Grudić

Program Administrator, Educator Outreach, Davis Center

flags of Poland, NATO and EU

What’s Next: Poland and European Security

to
In person

Join us for a timely and dynamic afternoon discussion on the way ahead for Poland and challenges to security in Europe. 

Bogdan Klich
Bogdan Klich

Chargé d’Affaires, Republic of Poland

Paula J. Dobriansky
Paula J. Dobriansky

Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Grzegorz Ekiert

Director, Davis Center; Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government; Senior Scholar, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
Harvard University

old photograph of buildings and streets

Digitized Violence: A Spatial Approach to Anti-Jewish Violence in Russian Poland

to
In person

Join us as historians Artur Markowski and Joachim Popek discuss their work mapping anti-Jewish violence in the Kingdom of Poland at the turn of the 20th century.

Artur Markowski

Professor, University of Warsaw

Joachim Popek

Assistant Professor, University of Rzeszów

Kelly O'Neill
Kelly O’Neill

Director of Graduate Studies, REECA Program, and Director, Imperiia Project, Davis Center

Kyiv with Ukrainian Flag Gradient Colors

Kyiv Connection: The Lessons of Ukraine Resilience

to
Online

Join us for the second discussion of "Kyiv Connection: Disciplinary Dialogues on Ukraine,"  with Elena Davlikanova and Yevhen Malik. Together, they will explore what the war in Ukraine has meant for the future of defense. 

Elena Davlikanova
Elena Davlikanova

Senior Fellow, Center for European Policy Analysis (DC); Senior Fellow, Sahaidachnyi Security Center (Kyiv)

Yevhen Malik
Yevhen Malik

Former Marine Infantry Sergeant, Armed Forces of Ukraine; Veteran, Ukraine War

Alexandra Vacroux
Alexandra Vacroux

Director, Scholars Without Borders, Davis Center; Vice President for Strategic Engagement, Kyiv School of Economics

Backlash book

Backlash: China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia

to
Online

In their new book Backlash: China's Struggle for Influence in Central Asia, Edward Lemon and Bradley Jardine show that China’s power projection is far from a one-way street—it is negotiated, resisted, and reshaped by local actors across Central Asia.

Bradley Jardine
Bradley Jardine

Research Director, Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs

Edward Lemon
Edward Lemon

President & CEO, Oxus Society

Nargis Kassenova
Nargis Kassenova

Senior Fellow and Director, Program on Central Asia, Davis Center

See more past events