Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES)

09/01/2026

The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies is pleased to welcome Dr. Yuri M. Zhukov as our new Director. Dr. Zhukov is a political scientist whose research examines armed conflict, political violence and repression, using geospatial data and mathematical modeling to make sense of how violence spreads and how people and institutions respond to it. He looks forward to advancing the mission of CERES and building on the foundation established by his predecessors, Michael David-Fox and Angela Stent.

(Michael David-Fox, who led CERES from 2021-2026, has departed to become Rector at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, Austria. He will remain connected to our program by serving on the CERES Board of Advisors.)

You can read more about Dr. Zhukov's research on his website: https://zhukovyuri.github.io/

05/06/2026

Celebrating Professor Thane Gustafson, who marked his retirement with the lecture “A Tale of Two Books, Two Wars, and One Climate — Russia and Ukraine/Iran.”

We are deeply grateful for his decades of scholarship, teaching, and service to Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. His contributions to the field and to generations of students will be felt for years to come!

04/20/2026

CERES hosted its annual conference on Central Asia last Friday. 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑝𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑒𝑚, 𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑎: 𝐴𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 featured two panels of experts.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and to our incredible speakers for such thoughtful and engaging discussions. CERES would also like to thank the Chevron Corporation for sponsoring this conference.

03/31/2026

If you couldn’t join us last week, Legacies of the Gulag: Russian Camps Past and Present is now live on our YouTube channel, with Michael David-Fox and Vladimir Kara-Murza discussing the lasting legacy of the Gulag in Russia today.

Join leading historian of the Soviet Union Michael David-Fox in conversation with Russian opposition figure and former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza...

03/17/2026

Make sure to sign up to attend!

Legacies of the Gulag: Russian Camps Past and Present
📍 Arrupe Multipurpose Room
📅 Tuesday, March 24 | 3:00–4:30 PM

RSVP: https://events.georgetown.edu/history/event/38411-legacies-of-the-gulag-russian-camps-past-and

03/16/2026

Over the weekend, Georgetown hosted the 62nd annual meeting of the Southern Conference on Slavic Studies. Scholars from across the field shared their research, and we were especially proud to see CERES students and faculty presenting their work!

01/28/2026

📢 Upcoming Event with Ambassador John Sullivan.

More information & RSVP details are down below.

⚪️ Origins of the War

What led to the war between Russia and Ukraine?

Join John Sullivan for the opening event in a new Kennan Institute series dedicated to understanding how the conflict began.

📅 February 3
🕚 11:00 AM ET

RSVP Now ⬇️
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FAxjLof8RLOJtZx2tRRSZg

01/20/2026

Developments inside Iran carry major implications for the broader Eurasia region, from regional stability to shifting geopolitical dynamics. Join this timely Carnegie Endowment discussion to hear expert insights on what may come next and why it matters beyond Iran’s borders.

🔗 Learn more & register:

Join Aaron David Miller as he engages two veteran Iran analysts, the Carnegie Endowment’s Karim Sadjadpour and the New Yorker’s Robin Wright in conversation to discuss the unfolding crisis in Iran and America’s reaction, on the next Carnegie Connects.

01/20/2026

11/14/2025

Thank you to everyone who attended our event with Dr. Angela Stent and Jill Dougherty last week!

We are grateful for opportunities to bring our community together and appreciate all those who have donated to the Angela Stent Scholarship and Fellowship Fund. Through this fund, we are able to offer merit aid funding to CERES students.

Access our online giving here: https://give.georgetown.edu/CERES