Welcome and Introduction:

Ambassador John Herbst
Director, Eurasia Center
Atlantic Council
 
Opening Remarks:

Dr. Yevgenia Albats
Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer
The New Times

Panel Discussion:

Dr. Yevgenia Albats
Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer 
The New Times
 
Minister Andrei Kozyrev
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Russian Federation

Dr. Eugene Rumer
Senior Fellow and Director, Russia and Eurasia Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
 
Ambassador Alexander Vershbow
Distinguished Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
Atlantic Council
 
Moderated by:

Ambassador John Herbst
Director, Eurasia Center
Atlantic Council

Please join the Atlantic Council on Thursday, February 1, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Atlantic Council Headquarters (1030 15th Street NW, 12th Floor, West Tower Elevators) for a timely discussion on Russia's domestic politics, the second in a four-part series of events entitled Russia Today and Tomorrow: Internal Strengths and Weaknesses.

Elections in Russia are scheduled to take place on March 18, 2018. President Vladimir Putin remains popular and is widely anticipated to win a fourth term in office, extending his rule over the Kremlin to at least 2024. Since his return to power in 2012, President Putin has taken Russia in an increasingly authoritarian direction and cracked down on dissent. Though the outcome of the upcoming election is largely expected to favor Putin, the future of Russia, particularly the opportunities and challenges of a twilight and post-Putin era, is still very much unclear.

This panel entitled, "The Direction of Russian Politics and the Putin Factor," will explore the present trajectory of Russia’s political system under Vladimir Putin and prospects for the coming decade.

We hope you can join us for this timely discussion.