William Brumfield, Professor of Slavic Languages and Germanic Languages, Tulane University, presents an exploration of evolving Russian attitudes toward commemorating the catastrophic sacrifices of the first year (1941-1942) of the Great Fatherland War. This presentation focused on the author's recent field research and photography in the Viazma region of Smolensk oblast'.

Building on her recent research into different forms of civic activism in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, Kateryna Pishchikova, Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy, analyzed a range of recent civic initiatives in those countries and put them in the broader context of more than two decades of uncertain political transformation.

Cosponsored by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University; Krytyka Institute; and Krytyka Magazine // The Ukrainians are about to elect their 7th Parliament on 28 October 2012. The new Verkhovna Rada is expected to approve a set of amendments to the Constitution and Laws critical to the democratic future of Ukraine. So far the Ukrainian electoral process already has a mixed assessment from the international and local observers. A group of experts will meet at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to provide their informed opinion regarding the quality of the Ukrainian elections and their results.

William Green Miller, Senior Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center , and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine