Anton Khlopkov, Founding Director of the Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS), an independent, non-governmental Russian think tank, will visit MIIS as part of the Visiting Experts program of the Graduate Initiative of Russian Studies. Mr. Khlopkov, who is also a member of the Advisory Board under the Security Council of the Russian Federation, will present a lecture titled, “The Iran Nuclear Deal: Role of Russia and Cooperation between Moscow and Washington?” This lecture will take place on Thursday, November 3, from 10:00AM-11:50AM in MG-100, and will be given in Russian. 

In addition to his role as Director of CENESS, Mr. Khlopkov is Editor­-in-­Chief of the Nuclear Club journal, a bimonthly publication through CENESS devoted to atomic energy and nuclear nonproliferation, and Editor-in-Chief of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Encyclopedia. From 2000 to 2009 Mr. Khlopkov worked for the PIR Center (Center for Policy Studies in Russia), including as Deputy Director (2003-2007) and Executive Director (2007-2009). From 2001-2002, he was a Member of the Working Group on Nonproliferation and Export Control of the Partnership for Peace Consortium. He was a Visiting Fellow at of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the (then) Monterey Institute of International Studies (2000).

Anton Khlopkov is the seventh of ten lecturers who will visit the MIIS campus this semester through the GIRS program.

Professor Anna Vassilieva, Founder and Director of the Graduate Initiative in Russian Studies, participated in a roundtable discussion on the value of educational exchanges in fostering mutual understanding and productive discourse between Russians and Americans.

This panel took place as part of the Fort Ross Dialogue, an annual forum organized by the Fort Ross Conservancy, co-hosted by Stanford University’s Preventive Defense Project and the Stanford U.S.-Russia Forum, and in partnership with the Kennan Institute.

At the Fort Ross Dialogue, Russians and Americans evaluate opportunities for improved educational and professional collaboration, as well as prospects for trust and understanding in the midst of a challenging political atmosphere. This particular panel focused on the power of educational exchange programs to promote these goals, particularly in their ability to strengthen personal ties and inspire empathy across culture. Other participants in this panel included renowned experts such as Dan Davidson, President of American Councils for International Education; Kathryn Stoner, Senior Fellow at Stanford University; Victoria I. Zhuravleva of the Russian State University for the Humanities; and Anton Fedyashin of American University.

Major General Pavel Zolotarev (retired) is the Deputy Director of the Institute for U.S. and Canada Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences and a Professor at the Academy of Military Sciences. As part of the Visiting Experts program of the Graduate Initiative of Russian Studies, General Zolotarev will present a series of lectures focusing on US and Russian military and security policies. The first of these lectures is titled, “The Origins and Evolution of Post-Soviet Russia Threat Perceptions,” and will be given on Thursday, October 20. The second, which will take place on Tuesday, October 25, is titled, “Russian Military Doctrine: Past and Present,” and the third, titled, “US Ballistic Missile Defense: Real and Imagined Threats” will be given on Thursday, October 27. Each of these will be given from 10:00AM-11:50AM in MG-100. All three of these lectures will be given in Russian.

Retired Major General Pavel Zolotarev previously served as head of the Information and Analysis Center of the Russian Ministry of Defense and deputy chief of staff of the Defense Council of Russia. He is the sixth of ten lecturers who will visit the MIIS campus this semester through the GIRS program.

 Dr. Alexander Aleksandrovich Dynkin, Director of the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), will visit MIIS as part of the Visiting Experts program of the Graduate Initiative in Russian Studies. Dr. Dynkin will deliver two lectures focusing on Russia’s role in the global economy and international political relations. The first of these lectures, titled, “Russia in a Global Perestroika,” will take place Thursday, October 13 from 12:15PM-2:00PM at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, in the video conference room, and will be given in English. The second lecture, titled, “The Russian Economy and Foreign Policy,” will take place Tuesday, October 18 from 10:00AM-11:50AM in Irvine Auditorium, and will be given in Russian.

Dr. Dynkin is a member of the RAS, Doctor of Economics, professor, Academician Secretary of the Division for Global Issues and International Relations of the RAS, and member of the Presidium of the RAS. He is a member of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Science and Education, the Presidential Economic Council, the Presidential Commission for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security, the Scientific Council of the RF Security Council, and the Scientific Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the RF. At the center of Alexander A. Dynkin’s research are questions of global development, economic growth, prediction, energy, international comparisons, laws of innovative development, international relations and international security. Alexander A. Dynkin’s scientific work totals more than 400 pages, published in Russia, Germany, the US, Japan, South Korea, and other countries. Dr. Dynkin is the fourth of ten lecturers who will visit the MIIS campus this semester through the GIRS program.

Dr. Elena Telegina, Dean of the International Energy Business Faculty and the Director of International School of Business at the Gubkin University of Oil and Gas, will visit MIIS as part of the Visiting Experts program of the Graduate Initiative in Russian Studies. Dr. Telegina, who is a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Science, will deliver two lectures in Russian centered on global energy security. The first lecture is titled, “Global Energy Market – Challenges and Prospects,” and will take place Thursday, October 13 from 10:00AM-11:50AM in MG-100. The second is titled, “Energy Security and Russia’s Role,” and will take place on Monday, October 17 from 12:15PM-1:50PM at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, in the video conference room.

In addition to her Deanship and Directorship with the Gubkin University of Oil and Gas, Dr. Telegina is the Director of the Institute of Geopolitics and Energy Security of Russia, a Professor of Economics, and a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Science. Dr. Elena A. Telegina has profound experience in the fields of global energy security, energy economics, and international energy cooperation and investments. From 2000 to 2010, she served as a Member of the Board of Directors of LuKoil European Holdings in the Netherlands.

Previously, from 1997 to 1999, she was Vice Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, while simultaneously serving as the Vice­ Chairman of the European Energy Charter Conference. In 1998, she served as a Chairman of the Board of Directors at Rosneft oil company. Since 1999, Dr. Telegina has been a Member of the Board of the Union of Oil Exporters of the Russian Federation. Dr. Telegina is the third of ten lecturers who will visit the MIIS campus this semester through the GIRS program.