James H. Billington Seminar on Russian History and Culture

Throughout Russian history, the tension between the establishment of the rule of law and the state’s preference to rule through the law has been a persistent element of the relationship between state and society. Even as legal institutions have developed through the course of Russian history, much has remained constant from imperial times to the present day. The panelists addressed such longstanding issues as citizenship, the everyday practice of law, sovereignty, the adversarial process, and legal pluralism from historical and modern-day perspectives.

This seminar is generously supported through the Kennan Institute’s Billington Initiative, which was established in 2016 by private donors as a tribute to the co-founder of the Kennan Institute, Director Emeritus of the Wilson Center, and Librarian of Congress Emeritus, James H. Billington.