Book Talk: What Are Russians Thinking? Russian Ideologies Today
Marlene Laruelle is pre-eminent among contemporary analysts of Russian political society and ideology. In this talk with Anatol Lieven, director of the Eurasia program at the Quincy Institute, Laruelle discusses her latest book, Ideology and Meaning-Making Under the Putin Regime (Stanford University Press, January 2025). This book examines how contemporary Russian political ideology has been generated by a combination of decisions from above and impulses stemming from society and culture. This element of rootedness helps to explain the current regime’s success (to date) in maintaining and stabilizing its rule.
The conversation will take place on Tuesday, April 29th from 12:00 – 1:00 PM Eastern Time.
Program
Topics
Entities
Panelists
Marlene Laruelle
Marlene Laruelle is research professor of International Affairs and Political Science and director of the Illiberalism Studies Program at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. She works on the rise of populist and illiberal movements in post-Soviet Eurasia, Europe and the US. Trained in political philosophy, she explores how nationalism and conservative values are becoming mainstream in different cultural contexts. Laruelle was previously the director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) and of the Central Asia Program (CAP) at GWU.
Anatol Lieven is the director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He was formerly a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar and in the War Studies Department of King’s College London. Lieven is author of several books on Russia and its neighbors including "The Baltic Revolutions: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence" (Yale University Press, 1993), "Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power?" (Yale University Press, 1998), and "Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry" (US Institute of Peace, 1999).