Politics and Society in Putin’s Russia

Jan 30, 2014

New schedule changes due to weather

As thousands of athletes prepare to gather in Sochi for the XXII Olympic Winter Games beginning Feb. 7, the eyes of the world are on Russia — and its mercurial leader, Vladimir Putin. To help understand this fascinating and powerful man — and the increasingly conservative political turn the country has taken in his years of rule — Grinnell will host a three-day symposium on “Politics and Society in Putin’s Russia.”

The symposium Feb. 4-6 will feature presentations by leading analysts, activists, scholars, and writers who will discuss the Sochi Olympics, the 2012 Pussy Riot arrests, Putin and hypermasculinity, and minorities in Russia.

The symposium is free and open to the public. All events take place in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101.

Symposium Schedule

Tuesday, Feb. 4

4:15 p.m. – “The Sochi Olympics and Putin’s Russia,” (Rescheduled from 8 p.m.): By Bob Orttung, associate research professor of international affairs and assistant director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at The George Washington University.
4:15 p.m. – “Putin, Hypermasculinity and the Construction of Charisma” (Rescheduled to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5.)
5:30 p.m. – Documentary Screening: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer.: Dinner buffet is open to all; no RSVP necessary.
8 p.m. – “The Sochi Olympics and Putin’s Russia” (Rescheduled to 4:15 Tuesday, Feb. 4.)

Wednesday, Feb. 5

Noon – Scholars’ Convocation, “Pussy Riot and Putin,”(Rescheduled to 4:15.)
4:15 p.m. – “A Conversation about Russia,”(Cancelled)
4:15 – Scholars’ Convocation, “Pussy Riot and Putin,” (Rescheduled from noon): By Masha Gessen, Russian and American journalist, LGBT activist and author of The Man Without a Face: The Rise and Rule of Vladimir Putin and Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot. A question and answer session following the convocation will replace the original 4:15 "Conversation about Russia."
6 p.m. – “Putin, Hypermasculinity and the Construction of Charisma,” (Rescheduled from 4:15 Monday): By Elizabeth Wood, professor of history at MIT and co-director of the MIT-Russia Program. Dinner buffet, open to all, begins as 5:30 p.m. no RSVP necessary.
8 p.m. – “Putin’s Personalist Regime and What It Means for Russian Society,”: By William M. Reisinger, professor of political science at the University of Iowa.

Thursday, Feb. 6

4:15 p.m. – “The Kremlin Turns Ideological: Vladimir Putin’s Response to Mass Protests of 2011-12,”: By Masha Lipman, editor-in-chief of Pro et Contra, Moscow Center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
8 p.m. – “On Moscow, Minorities and Migrants,”: By Catherine Cosman ’67, senior policy analyst for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

This symposium is sponsored by the Rosenfield Program in International Relations, Human Rights and Public Affairs, and co-sponsored by the Russian, Central, and East European Studies Concentration and the John Chrystal Distinguished Foreign Visitor Endowment.