Lecture

Soviet ideology treated religion as an enemy, a tool of oppression and an expression of backwardness. Militant atheism, the prohibition of religious rituals, and the repression of religious communities aimed to create a secular, rational, and scientific society. Yet, religion mattered in Soviet people’s lives. And with institutional religion restricted, many people expressed their spirituality through “lived religion” - the practice of religion and spirituality in everyday lives. What were the practices of lived religion in the context of state socialism?

From 1941 to 1945, Germany aged a war of extermination on the Soviet Union. This war produced many images: in propaganda posters, the opponents emphasised their own strength while at the same time defaming the enemy as the spawn of evil; both sides attempted to create trust virtually, encouraging the enemy's soldiers to defect. Konrad Tschäpe will show how these images of the other were entangled and communicated with each other- despite the destruction, violence, and war crimes committed.

What explains the resilience of local authorities in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion? Using original survey data, this talk explores how local authorities continue to provide public services and respond to crises because of Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure and massive internal displacement. The findings highlight a shifting social contract in Ukraine towards partnership between authorities and citizens as the foundation for democracy.

On ‘Decentering’ and Reimagining Slavic and East European Studies from the Periphery” will be delivered by Sunnie Rucker-Chang, Associate Professor at the Department of Slavic and East European Studies at Ohio State University. Dr. Sunnie Rucker-Chang writes on racial and cultural formations, minority-majority and minority-minority relations in Southeast Europe. Her work has appeared in Critical Romani Studies, EuropeNow!

The start of Russia's war in Ukraine in 2014 has impacted regional security in the Black Sea through the occupation of Crimea. The massive invasion of 2022 has led to even more profound implications. Yet, Russia has failed to convert the control of Ukrainian territories into lasting strategic advantages. The recent liberation of Kherson and fear in Moscow that Ukraine might go into Crimea indicate a shift in the situation.

The start of Russia's war in Ukraine in 2014 has impacted regional security in the Black Sea through the occupation of Crimea. The massive invasion of 2022 has led to even more profound implications. Yet, Russia has failed to convert the control of Ukrainian territories into lasting strategic advantages. The recent liberation of Kherson and fear in Moscow that Ukraine might go into Crimea indicate a shift in the situation.

Maria Lotsmanova, former head of the document center of the GULAG History Museum, will present two short screenings: a four minute documentary on the Gulag History Museum and an eleven minute documentary short on her family history (with subtitles).

This talk discusses the foreign support for the symbol of an Ottoman-era bridge in the tiny Bosnian village of Žepa, which the US Embassy in Sarajevo paid $62,000 to reinforce in 2016. The bridge is not of much importance to the local population. There is a memorial in the village of Žepa, which was widely considered one of the "safe spaces" for Bosniaks that the Bosnian Serb Army took in July of 1995, as no massacre occurred there. Ignoring the memorial that is important to them, as emblematic of foreign involvement in Bosnia during and since the 1992-1995 war.

Ambassador (ret.) Norman Eisen is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings
Institution and a CNN Legal Analyst. At Brookings, he chairs the institution’s signature anticorruption
program, Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption, and is the founder and
lead editor of the Brookings Russia Sanctions Tracker. He represents Brookings as the civil
society co-chair of the Financial Transparency and Integrity cohort for the Biden
administration’s second Summit for Democracy and co-chairs the Transatlantic Democracy

As Vice Chief, General Thompson is responsible for assisting the Chief of Space Operations in organizing, training and equipping Space Forces in the United States and overseas; integrating space policy and guidance; and coordinating space-related activities for the U.S. Space Force and the U.S. Department of the Air Force. Among other things, he will discuss national and international security as it relates to space, Space Force innovation and integration with academia, industry and the community, and research and partnerships.