29th Arden House Conference

After a rather harmonious 1st term relationship between George Bush and Vladimir Putin, their 2nd terms show signs of tension. Russians are critical of the U.S. role in Iraq, U.S. troops in Central Asia, U.S. pressure on Iran and North Korea and what they see as unfair U.S. interference and criticism of Russian domestic policy. At the same time, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice have criticized the elimination of elections for Governor and curbs on freedom of the press. World business has also been shaken by the re-nationalization of Yukos and the cutoff of gas deliveries to Ukraine and Moldova. Some U.S. Congressmen want to keep Russia out of the G-7.

We will examine these and other issues on April 21-23, at our 29th annual Arden House Conference. Sponsored by both the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard and the Harriman Institute at Columbia, the sessions bring together practitioners and academic specialists from both Russia and the West in an atmosphere of informality, which facilitates the free exchange of ideas and differences of opinion.

In addition to specialists from Harvard University and Columbia, other confirmed specialists include two Russian legislators: Mikhail Margelov of United Russia and one of the founders of the Rodina Party, Sergei Glaziev. Thomas Graham—Condoleeza Rice’s special assistant for Russian policy—will deliver the keynote address. There will also be sessions on Russian energy policy and the prospects for Russian NGOs.

For the first time, the conference this year will be at Harvard University’s Davis Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The conference will begin Friday evening, April 21st and adjourn after lunch on Sunday. All meals (including the Friday night dinner at the Harvard Faculty Club) are included as part of the conference fee. For those needing hotel rooms we have arranged a special package with the nearby Sheraton Commander Hotel. We hope that you and your associates can join us for what promises to be one of the most interesting of the 29 such conferences.

For more information, contact Marshall I. Goldman at <goldman3@fas.harvard.edu> or telephone 617-495-4485, or Robert Price at rfprice@fas.harvard.edu or telephone 617-495-8900.