Join us for an engaging discussion with Ambassador of Estonia to the U.S. Kristjan Prikk and Director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute Michael McFaul on:

Russia's War in Ukraine and its Implications on European Security: Why should America care?

More than ten years into Russia's war against Ukraine and more than two years after Moscow launched a full-scale aggression, there is still no end in sight to the largest military conflict in Europe after WWII. What are the implications of this war on the security of Europe but also on the United States? What would it take to end the war and in what kind of a world will we all live on the day after it's all over? The event will feature a discussion on the possibility of a viable Western strategy for success that not only saves Ukraine but also strengthens the United States' role as the leader of the free world.

Estonia's Ambassador to the U.S. Kristjan Prikk started his mission in Washington, D.C. in May 2021. He is a graduate of the US Army War College and has served as the National Security Coordinator to the Prime Minister. Prior to arriving in D.C., he was the Permanent Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Defense. Among his previous assignments are two other tours in Washington as an Estonian diplomat and work on NATO-Russia and NATO-Ukraine topics at a time when these relationships were considerably less charged than today.

Michael McFaul is Director at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995. He served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014).

Opening remarks will be delivered by Amir Weiner, Associate Professor of History and Director of Stanford's Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.

The hybrid event is free and open to the public. To attend in person, RSVP is requested.

This event is part of Global Conversations, a series of talks, lectures, and seminars hosted by Stanford University Libraries and Vabamu with the goal of educating scholars, students, leaders, and the public on the benefits of but also challenges related to sustaining freedom.