Ukraine loomed large over the 2015 Northwest Regional Conference on Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies. The plenary session focused on East-West Relations During and After the Ukraine Conflict, while the session immediately following addressed the ongoing Conflict in Ukraine.

There was once a time when diplomats could enter smoke-filled rooms and partition half of Europe between their rulers before finishing their cigars. In the 21st century, conflict and diplomacy are far more immediate and challenging. Our campus is smoke-free, but the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies gathered a panel of four experts in one room to discuss real-world options to resolve this conflict approximately one year following the annexation of Crimea. Moderated by Professor Scott Radnitz, the panel brought together experts on finance, culture, and politics to discuss the future, “Ukraine and Russia: Is There Any Way Out?”

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.  

This article is part of the Ellison Center blog Series on Sochi. Click here to read more as we cover the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Russia!    By Sarah McPhee For weeks we have seen the viral image of the tandem toilets, incomplete construction and shoddy workmanship in Sochi. “There is no point hosting

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.  

CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty will sit down with Ellison Center Director Scott Radnitz to discuss the role of resurgent Russia and implications for the US on January 14 at UW’s Kane Hall. Dougherty was the CNN Moscow bureau chief from 1997  to 2005, but actively covered events in Russia and the former Soviet

by Austin Malloy I couldn’t believe what was happening, and that I was there, right in the center of it all. Wedged between a crowd of over 50,000 Russian citizens protesting on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s presidential inauguration and rows upon rows of OMON (Russian Special Forces Police) in full riot gear, I knew