• LOGIN |
• CONTACT |
• SITEMAP

 

 

Marin Chapter Putin and Medvedev: Back to the Future?

In Russia’s March presidential elections, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to become president once again, with current president Dimitri Medvedev demoted to his former post as prime minister. Russia experts cynically refer to this pre-arranged deal as “castling,” the chess move in which the king changes places with another piece on the board.

Andrei Tsygankov, a Professor of International Relations and Political Science at San Francisco State University, will explore how Russian disaffection with the government’s failure to deliver basic services and its systematic corruption inspired thousands of protesters to pour into the streets following the December parliamentary elections. He will also discuss Putin’s charge that Washington incited the current unrest, and whether this may threaten the “reset” in US-Russian relations.

Will a staggering Russian economy, lacking a developed industrial base and heavily reliant on fossil fuel exports, spark a political power shift?

Speaker(s)