🔴 Soviet domestic #workers were not confined to one role. Labor shortages and legal protections created leverage and mobility across sectors. Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel 📺

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🔴 POWs as a “captive audience.” @susangrunewald.bsky.social explains how Allied denazification efforts included reeducation programs in German POW camps, including those run by the Soviet Union. Explore the full recording on our YouTube channel

⚫ #Cheburashka’s revival is more than nostalgia. Maxim Trudolyubov examines how children’s entertainment, state cultural funding, and the avoidance of political reality intersect in today’s #Russia Read the full essay: www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/che...

⚪ #Putin’s Motivation: A Multi-Causal Analysis Historian SergeyRadchenko argues that #Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine cannot be reduced to a single cause. History, security concerns, identity, and timing all shaped the decision. 📺Watch the full conversation on our YouTube channel

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🔴 The Long View #012 Radicals and the Soviet Union @mauricejcasey.com on Hotel Lux and the forgotten activists whose lives intersected in 1920s Moscow. Feb 26 | 11 AM ET RSVP: zoom.us/webinar/regi...

⚪ Origins of the War Join Jon Finer, former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor, for a conversation on U.S. policy choices in 2014–2015 after Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine, and the lead-up to the full-scale invasion in 2022. 🗓️ February 27 ⏰1:00 PM RSVP now ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

⚪ Origins of the War Ambassador John Sullivan reflects on reported #Russian intelligence failures before the 2022 invasion. Misjudgment, preparation, and the role of the #FSB remain key to understanding the war’s early phase. 📺 Available on YouTube now

⚪ Origins of the War When did #Putin decide to invade #Ukraine? What evidence would truly illuminate Russian decision-making?

⚫ After two devastating wars, #Chechnya’s leadership under Ramzan Kadyrov has engineered a new identity blending ethnocultural distinctiveness with loyalty to #Moscow. Read the full article for context ⬇️ www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/che...

🔴 HAPPENING TOMORROW The Long View #010 Service and Domesticity in the Soviet Union Historian Alissa Klots discusses her book: Domestic Service in the Soviet Union: Women’s Emancipation and the Gendered Hierarchy of Labor zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🔴 #Samizdat as a technology of free speech. @benjaminnathans.bsky.social on decentralization, ownership, and why samizdat was unlike today’s internet.

⚪ Origins of the War A conversation with Jake Sullivan, former U.S. National Security Advisor and Harvard Kennedy School professor. 📅 February 20 🕚 11:00 AM ET RSVP ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🔵 Ukraine’s harshest #winter of the war. #Blackouts, damaged energy infrastructure, and the emergence of “invincibility points” where people can keep warm and connected. Video report from #Ukraine by Simon Ostrovsky

⚪ Origins of the War A conversation with historian Yaroslav Hrytsak on questions of timing, evidence, and decision making behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. February 17. 10:00 AM ET. RSVP Now ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🔴 The Long View #005 Benjamin Nathans discusses the relationship between the #Jewish emigration movement and the broader #Soviet dissident movement in the late #ColdWar period. ▶️ Watch the full conversation on YouTube

⚪ Origins of the War A conversation with @radchenko.bsky.social 📅 February 11 🕙 10:00 AM ET RSVP Now ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🔵 A single voice, a winter of war. “They want to wipe us out and make us run away, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.” From Dark Winter. www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/dar...

🔴 The Long View #006 @zygaro.bsky.social challenges the idea that the Soviet Union was widely defended at the end. If it had been so precious, he asks, why was there no one left to protect it?

🔴 The Long View #006 @zygaro.bsky.social reflects on why Mikhail Gorbachev resists simple judgment. Neither hero nor failure, he emerges as a deeply human figure shaped by memory, conscience, and personal relationships.

⚫️ The Russia File Russian identity is changing. This article explores how citizenship and emotional attachment to the state are redefining Russianness, and why that shift matters politically. www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/civ...

⚪️ Origins of the War A new series examining how the war between Russia and Ukraine began. The opening event features John Sullivan. 📅 February 3 | 11:00 AM ET RSVP Now ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🔴 The Long View #007 What comes after Putin is a question we are not ready to answer. S. Frederick Starr reflects on generational change and the need to better understand Russian thought and tradition.

🔴 The Long View #007 What comes after Putin is a question we are not ready to answer. S. Frederick Starr reflects on generational change and the need to better understand Russian thought and tradition.

🔵 Dispatches Winter is more than a season in Ukraine Dark Winter reflects on endurance and uncertainty during prolonged crisis. Read Now ⬇️ www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/dar...

🔴 The Long View #007 S. Frederick Starr shares a memorable moment with President Jimmy Carter, handwritten note included.

🔴 The Long View #008 China’s economic pressures are spilling outward. Thane Gustafson explains why exports, not investment, define China’s current economic relationship with Russia.

⚫️ The Russia File Chechnya offers a clear case of authoritarian identity engineering. Written by Evgeny Romanovskiy, this essay explores how tradition, religion, and loyalty are mobilized to reshape identity. www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/che...

💭 “To contain is not to defeat, though to contain is also not to stand still.” Michael Kimmage reflects on George Kennan’s legacy and why his way of thinking about strategy and restraint remains relevant today. Read now ⬇️ www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/geo...

🔴 The Long View #008 The Russian business environment has fundamentally changed. @charleshecker.bsky.social explains why new elites, new laws, and hard feelings complicate any return of Western companies.

🔴 The Long View #008 Sanctions are rarely decisive, especially against large economies. Thane Gustafson explains why Russia has largely absorbed sanctions, and where they have still had real impact.

🔵 War reshapes culture as much as politics. In Dispatches, Blair A. Ruble reflects on how the arts move from survival to resistance, and why culture becomes foundational in moments of crisis. www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/dis...

🔴 The Long View #011 A Forest History of Russia A conversation with Sophie Pinkham on forests, empire, and environmental history. 🎙️ Moderated by Michael Kimmage & Maria Lipman 📅 February 19, 2026 | 11:00 AM ET RSVP Now ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🔴 The Long View #010 Service and domestic labor played a central role in Soviet social life. Historian Alissa Klots discusses women’s work, emancipation, and hierarchy in the Soviet Union. February 12, 2026 | 11:00 AM ET RSVP Now ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🔴 The Long View #008 Even severe economic pressure does not always change political behavior. @charleshecker.bsky.social explains why Russia’s worsening economic outlook may not be the decisive factor for Putin.

🔴 The Long View #008 Western Businesses and Post Soviet Russia, Part 2 What does Russia’s economy look like after years of war and sanctions, and could Western companies realistically return? Charles Hecker and Thane Gustafson join the discussion. Watch on YouTube ⬇️ youtu.be/LKoDpjz1Kuw?...

🔴 The Long View #009 German Prisoners of War in World War II A conversation with historian @susangrunewald.bsky.social on captivity, repatriation, and postwar memory. February 5, 2026 | 11:00 AM ET RSVP Now ⬇️ zoom.us/webinar/regi...

⚫️ Russia and the West share more history than is often acknowledged. This article reflects on how that shared past, and its unraveling, helps explain today’s fractured relationship. Read the full article now ⬇️ www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/rus...

🌎 Power does not disappear. It shifts. In this soundbite from Kennan Conversations, @stephenwertheim.bsky.social reflects on why perceived losses overseas may be pushing the United States to reassert influence closer to home, and what that means for the global balance of power.

🇺🇦 Student life does not stop, even during war. Written by Anastasiia Kostenko, this article explores how students in Ukraine navigate education under extraordinary circumstances. Read the full article below ⬇️ www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/stu...

💭 Regime change does not always mean strategic retreat. In this soundbite from Kennan Conversations, @hannanotte.bsky.social reflects on how Russia adjusted after the fall of the Assad regime and why Moscow is likely to take a comparable approach in Venezuela.

💭 Military force is not only about action, but also about signaling. In this segment from Kennan Conversations, @stephenwertheim.bsky.social reflects on how Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela suggest increasing confidence in the use of force as a political tool.

🇻🇪 Why does Russia care about Venezuela? This explainer outlines the strategic relationship between Russia and Venezuela, and why those ties factor into broader U.S. strategic calculations.

🇷🇺 Global events rarely stand alone. In this segment from Kennan Conversations, @hannanotte.bsky.social reflects on how Russia may connect U.S. intervention in Venezuela with other international crises to underscore what it views as double standards in global politics.

▶️ Kennan Conversations: Maduro’s Fall and Russia’s Response A timely discussion on Venezuela, U.S. foreign policy, and Russia’s global posture with @hannanotte.bsky.social and @stephenwertheim.bsky.social moderated by Michael Kimmage. Watch the full recording on YouTube. youtu.be/sF6aU2UTPDs

🔴 The Long View #008 Western Businesses in Post-Soviet Russia, Part 2 Following a strong response to last year’s event, Thane Gustafson and @charleshecker.bsky.social return to continue the conversation. Register to attend. zoom.us/webinar/regi...

▶️ Explainer: Russia and Venezuela Following recent developments in Venezuela, we are resurfacing this explainer on Russia’s role in sustaining the Maduro government. Produced in 2022, it offers concise background for understanding today’s moment. youtu.be/vm9gKurLF0c?...

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💭 Kennan Conversations: Maduro’s Fall and Russia’s Response Hanna Notte and Stephen Wertheim discuss U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the implications for Russia’s global foreign policy and the emerging international order. Moderated by Michael Kimmage RSVP Now: zoom.us/webinar/regi...