Senate Square SocietyEvents
The speakers who have taken our floor.
Each week our discussion platform convenes statesmen, scholars, journalists, and dissidents. Below are past speakers and their lectures. Upcoming events and registration are on Eventbrite.
John E. Herbst
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
“The Transatlantic Alliance and the Defense of Ukrainian Sovereignty”
A career American diplomat, John E. Herbst served as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006 and to Uzbekistan from 2000 to 2003. He now directs the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, where he is a leading voice on Western policy toward Russia and the post-Soviet space.
Vladislav Inozemtsev
Russian Economist and Political Analyst
“The Russian Economy Under Sanctions: Resilience or Slow Collapse?”
Vladislav Inozemtsev is a Russian economist and the founder and director of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies in Moscow. A prolific author and columnist, he analyzes the structural weaknesses of the Russian economy and the political consequences of its dependence on resource exports.
Donald N. Jensen
Russia and Eurasia Analyst
“Inside the Kremlin: Elite Politics and Regime Stability”
Donald N. Jensen is a longtime analyst of Russian domestic politics and foreign policy who has held senior positions at the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Center for European Policy Analysis, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. His work focuses on the inner workings of the Russian political elite.
Simon Ostrovsky
Emmy Award-Winning Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker
“Reporting the Front Line: Documenting Russia's War in Ukraine”
Simon Ostrovsky is an Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker whose front-line reporting on the war in Ukraine has appeared on PBS NewsHour and VICE News. He is known for pioneering open-source techniques to trace Russian forces operating inside Ukraine.
Andrei Piontkovsky
Russian Political Scientist and Author
“After Putin: Scenarios for a Post-Authoritarian Russia”
Andrei Piontkovsky is a Russian political scientist, mathematician, and author, and one of the most prominent critics of the Kremlin. A longtime columnist and opposition figure, he writes on the trajectory of the Russian regime and the prospects for a democratic transition.
Ilya Ponomarev
Former Member of the Russian Duma
“Dissent from Within: A Duma Deputy's Break with the Kremlin”
Ilya Ponomarev is a Russian politician who served in the State Duma, where he cast the sole vote against the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Now living in exile, he remains an active advocate for a democratic Russia and a supporter of Ukraine.
Don Ritter
Former Congressman (PA-15)
“Lessons from the Cold War for Confronting Authoritarianism Today”
Don Ritter represented Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1993. A scientist by training and a longtime voice on U.S. foreign policy, he has focused throughout his career on the contest between free societies and authoritarian rule.
David Satter
Journalist and Historian of Russia
“Memory and Impunity: How Russia Confronts Its Soviet Past”
David Satter is an American journalist, historian, and author who has written about Russia and the Soviet Union for more than four decades, including as Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times. His books examine political violence, historical memory, and the moral legacy of the Soviet system.
S. Frederick Starr
Founder, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
“The Lost Enlightenment of Central Asia and Its Democratic Future”
S. Frederick Starr is an American historian and policy scholar and the founding chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. A leading authority on Central Asia, he has written widely on the region's history, culture, and its place in a changing Eurasia.
Réka Szemerkényi
Former Ambassador of Hungary to the United States
“Energy, Security, and Democracy in Central Europe”
Réka Szemerkényi served as Ambassador of Hungary to the United States from 2015 to 2017 and has held senior advisory roles on national security and energy policy. Her work centers on transatlantic relations and the energy security of Central Europe.
Lech Wałęsa
Former President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
“From Solidarity to Freedom: Lessons for the Democratic World”
Lech Wałęsa co-founded and led Solidarity, the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc, and became a symbol of peaceful resistance to communist rule. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, he served as the first democratically elected President of Poland from 1990 to 1995.
Speaker photographs: John E. Herbst — U.S. Department of State (public domain); Don Ritter — U.S. Congress (public domain); Lech Wałęsa — © MEDEF, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.