Nicolas Gorjestani 5/2/24

Current events illustrate the growing conflict between Russia and the West. The biggest war in Europe since WWII. Growing tensions that evoke the Cold War. Imprisonment and murder of dissidents. Detention of U.S. citizens on suspect charges. Russian alliance with Iran.  

Join us in hearing noted author and economist Nicolas Gorjestani present a framework and history for understanding this current and growing conflict. Mr. Gorjestani will explain:

i) the conceptual connective tissue linking the first regime change in the former Soviet space (Georgia in 1991/92), the invasion of Georgia (2008), the invasion/annexation of Crimea (2014), and the ongoing war in Ukraine

ii) the West’s policy towards Russia that has been shaped, among other things, by a misunderstanding of the nature of the Russian state and the latter’s strategy to continue to dominate the former Soviet space

iii) that we may expect a real clash of civilizations between Vladimir Putin’s Eurasian vision of an autocracy from ‘Lisbon to Vladivostok’ versus a Western vision of liberal democracy from ‘North America to the Urals’

iv) that the West needs to design a robust “Russia Plan” that should at least include a bold containment strategy to deal with Russia as a disruptive power in the emerging global geopolitical framework.