“Domestic Politics in the Shadow of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine”
Draft Agenda | Friday, March 25, 2022
GW Elliott School Hybrid Event (online and in-person)
8:45-9:00 Coffee available for early arrivals
9:00-9:15 Introductions
9:15-10:30 Panel I: Better Understanding Ukraine
Serhiy Kudelia, Baylor University (Virtual)
Putin’s Propaganda and Plans for Ukrainian Domestic Politics
Volodymyr Kulyk, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine (Virtual)
National Unity and Anti-Russian sentiment in Ukraine after Russia’s Full-Blown Invasion
Mikhail Alexseev, San Diego State University
Trends in Support for Letting Donbas Go
10:30-10:45 Coffee Break
10:45-12:30 Panel II: Russian State Narratives and Mass Responses
Marat Iliyasov, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vilnius University
War in Ukraine and Russia’s Memory Politics
Scott Radnitz, University of Washington
Pretexts and Pretenses in Putin’s Casus Belli for Invading Ukraine
Henry E. Hale, George Washington University
How Conservative Are Russians?
Olga Iakimova, Ural Federal University
Xenophobia as a Challenge to Solidarity in Pandemic-Era Russia
Sarah Wilson Sokhey, University of Colorado Boulder
Repression with Rewards: Social Policy & the Russian Government’s Illiberal Strategy
12:30-1:30 Lunch Break
1:30-2:45 Panel III-A: Repression and Manipulation in Russia and Belarus
Theodore P. Gerber, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Russia’s Crackdown on Academic Freedom: Trajectory, Consequences, and Possible Responses
Samuel Greene, King’s College London
The Informational Dictator’s Dilemma: Citizen Responses to Media Censorship, Cooptation and Marginalization in Russia and Belarus
Yulia Khalikova, University of Wisonconsin-Madison
Russia and International Law in the Aftermath of the 2020 Constitutional Amendments
Katie Stewart, Knox College
Strengths and Weaknesses of Securitizing Culture to Enhance Regime Legitimacy
1:30-2:45 Panel III-B: Elites in Russia’s Political System
Richard Arnold, Muskingum University
The Spread of Russia’s Cossack Movement
Kirill Melnikov, Institute of Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Yekaterinburg, Russia).
The ‘Unified System of Public Power’: Driving Forces and Implications of Redefining Russian Federalism
Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, King’s College London
Can Religious Authorities Help with Covid-19 Vaccination? Lessons from the Muslims in Tatarstan (Russia)
Maria Snegovaya, George Washington University, and Nikolay Petrov, Chatham House
The Nomenklatura Origins of Putinite Elites
2:45-3:00 Coffee Break
3:00-3:45 Panel IV: Unrest in Kazakhstan and Its Implications
Azamat K. Junisbai, Pitzer College
Limits of Authoritarian Learning: Making Sense of January 2022 Events in Kazakhstan
Barbara Junisbai, Pitzer College and Dinissa Duvanova, Lehigh University
The Repertoire of Repression in Post-Soviet Autocracies: What Can We Learn from Kazakhstan’s Failed Coup?
3:45-5:00 Panel V: Prospects for Opposition and Protest in Russia
Irina Busygina, Higher School of Economics and Ekaterina Paustyan, University of Bremen (Virtual)
Ready to Protest? Explaining Protest Potential in Russian Regional Capitals
Stephen Crowley, Oberlin College
From Stability to Stagnation: Economic Reform and the Fear of Social Protest in Russia
Robert W. Orttung, George Washington University
Opposition Politics in Russia
Andrei Semenov, Center for Comparative History and Politics, Perm (Virtual)
Contentious Cities: Urban Conflicts in Russian Millionniks
Friday, March 25, 2022, 9 am – 5 pm EST
GW Elliott School Hybrid Event (online and in-person)
Draft Agenda
GW information for guests and visitors regarding COVID-19 vaccines.
