But this was not a country “frozen in time,” as I realized only hours after I arrived in Havana. Time is never, by its very nature, frozen. And if the cliché can be taken to mean that traveling to Cuba is like being transported backwards in time, nor was that my experience. So, what were the different ways time felt like over the three weeks I was there to conduct research on my book project, a substantial part of which examines the military and civilian advisors who were Spanish Civil War exiles in the USSR before arriving in Cuba beginning in 1960?

Uzbekistan follows a now well-established custom since its independence in 1991. Every year on December 8, the Day of the Constitution, the guiding theme for the coming year is announced. For example, 2014 was the year of the “Healthy Child”, 2004 the “Year of Love and Compassion.”

The Uzbekistan government has declared 2015 to be “The Year of Attention and Care for Elder People.”

After Vladimir Putin’s fiery Valdai Club speech in Sochi on October 21st, it has become clear that 2014 will be a watershed year for the Russian Federation and Russia-watchers everywhere. From Euromaidan to the Olympics, from the Crimean Crisis to the support of separatists in the Donbass region, Westerners have been attempting to answer one simple question:

What is motivating Putin?

On Thursday, April 10, 2014, the Ellison Center produced a panel discussion on Ukraine and Russia in light of events in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. In case you missed the event, or if you want to refer back to some of the points, the individual panelists’ discussions are below.  

The consequences of Russia’s annexation of Crimea extend beyond concerns of land sovereignty…

“Russians don’t surrender.” These were the words of Ukrainian Navy Captain Maxim Emelianenko…

Dr. Carol Silverman (professor of anthropology and folklore, University of Oregon) presented the 2014 Ellison Center Treadgold Talk covering the culture and stereotypes of the largest ethnic minority population in Europe, the Roma. Watch a video summary of her talk below.

Ellison Center Director Scott Radnitz speaks with The Record’s Ross Reynolds about the on-going situation in Ukraine. Listen to the interview on Seattle’s local NPR affiliate, KUOW here.

The 2014 Herbert J. Ellison Memorial Lecture with CNN’s Jill Dougherty is now available to watch online from start to finish. Read a brief preview of the event here.  

by Ellison Center Staff I regrettably announce that Allison Dvaladze, who has been the Assistant Director for Outreach for the Ellison Center since 2005, left the Center this month to move to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance’s Global Oncology unit. In the time she worked at the Center, Allison was instrumental in enhancing all aspects