Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University

09/08/2026

Revisit the dramatic end of the USSR with firsthand accounts from top U.S. diplomats who navigated the complexities, challenges, and hopes of that transition in the Soviet/post-Soviet republics. Featuring: James F. Collins, George Krol, Jack Matlock, and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, hosted by Nargis Kassenova. In person, 9/22:

This panel revisits the dramatic end of the USSR, featuring firsthand accounts from top U.S. diplomats who navigated the complexities, challenges, and hopes of that transition in the Soviet/post-Soviet republics.

09/08/2026

During WWII, N**i policy in occupied Crimea and the North Caucasus—Soviet Muslim borderlands—was pulled in two different directions, creating a unique chance for survival for local groups associated with Jewish ancestry or Judaism. In-person seminar, 9/16:

N**i policy in occupied Crimea and the North Caucasus was pulled in two different directions, creating a unique chance for survival for local groups associated with Jewish ancestry or Judaism.

09/01/2026

Great news! The articles from our Spring 2026 issue of the Journal of Cold War Studies are now available online. From Brezhnev, Poland & Wallenberg to Cuba, North Korea & Vietnam, find them here:

A new issue of our Cold War Studies program’s award-winning journal includes articles on Brezhnev, Poland, the BBC, Raoul Wallenberg, state-backed youth diplomacy, and a Cuba angle in North Korea’s ties with Vietnam.

08/28/2026

Join us for a seminar that reassesses the history of dramatic arts in the Soviet bloc through the lens of gender and surveillance.

08/27/2026

🇬🇪🇺🇦 Georgians have fought on Ukraine’s behalf at higher rates than other foreigners. Prof. Eteri Tsintsadze-Maass will explore why, discussing ways in which shared trauma and aspirations can create enduring transnational bonds and impact international security. Her approach expands foreign fighters’ possible motivations far beyond profit or ideology to consider questions of vicarious identification and “ontological security." In person, 9/4:

Why do foreign fighters join wars in other countries? Moving beyond characterizations of foreign fighters as either profit-driven mercenaries or transnational terrorists, this event develops a theory of foreign fighters motivated by vicarious identification and ontological security.

08/21/2026

In theater under Communism, it wasn't just the audience watching the actors. Our 9/3 Cold War Studies seminar reassesses the history of dramatic arts in the Soviet bloc through the lens of gender and surveillance, drawing on insights from Romanian Communist Party and State Security archives. In person, with theater critic and scholar Cristina Modreanu of Universitatea de Artă Teatrală din Târgu-Mureș:

Join us for a seminar that reassesses the history of dramatic arts in the Soviet bloc through the lens of gender and surveillance.

08/19/2026

35 years ago Soviet hardliners began a coup attempt that would end in failure within days, ushering in the chaotic final stage of the USSR’s existence. Just in time for this historic anniversary, the Davis Center library offers researchers a new online resource: 10+ hours of transcribed, translated interviews with Gennady Burbulis, a top Yeltsin aide and key player in those fateful events:

A new collection of interviews at the Davis Center library captures a top Yeltsin aide’s insights on key events in Russia during its tumultuous late-Soviet and early-independence years.

08/18/2026

In a couple of weeks, Harvard’s campus will be buzzing with life as students and faculty come back, energized by travels and fieldwork, and the Davis Center’s event calendar will be blowing up with new programming. Don’t miss the talks, films, seminars, and conferences! Sign up for our newsletter today: https://harvard.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=306efea4c5313b9f5981b1aaa&id=77272c6cc3

08/11/2026

In a new report from our Program on Central Asia, authors Adam Wozniak and Nargis Kassenova explore ways that Kazakhstan could strengthen its decarbonization strategy and advance its green-energy transition. Read their key findings and recommendations here:

In a new report, authors from our Program on Central Asia call on Astana to revise and strengthen its current decarbonization strategy. Read their key findings and recommendations.

08/07/2026

In a slim new book from Cambridge University Press, Mark Kramer, director of our Cold War Studies program, explores the collapse of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact military alliance. Drawing on deep archival research, he traces its fall to a radical 1989 policy shift that stopped Moscow from cracking down on dissent in its Central and East European satellites. Read a great summary, including input from 4 reviewers, from H-Diplo:

In a concise new book, Mark Kramer, director of our Cold War Studies program, traces the fall of the Soviet-led alliance to a radical 1989 policy shift that stopped Moscow from cracking down on dissent beyond its de facto borders in Central and Eastern Europe.