Civilizational Dialogue Between Russia and the West

Eighty years ago, the Second World War came to an end. Having defeated Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union fulfilled a vital historic mission by liberating a number of European countries from the Nazi yoke. This panel will reflect on the complex relations between Russia and the West, which include episodes of antagonism as well as striking examples of cooperation. Is it true that a "common European identity" has historically been constructed around the idea of a "Russian threat"? What factors have facilitated dialogue between Russian and Western cultures, and what has hindered it? Why has Russia come to be seen today as a guardian of the traditional values of Western civilization? And does the West still have ideological allies of Russia?

Moderator:
Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation; Co-Chair, Russian Historical Society.

Speakers:

1. Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of Leningrad Region;
2. Karin Kneissl, Head of the Geopolitical Observatory for Key Issues of Russia, St Petersburg State University;
3. Pierre de Gaulle, Chair and Founder of the Pierre de Gaulle Foundation “For Peace and Friendship Among Nations”;
4. Mikhail Lipkin, Director of the Institute of Universal History of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
5. Arnaud Frilley, Director of the Sergei Rachmaninoff Conservatory in Paris;
6. Prisca Zeisel, principal ballerina of the Mikhailovsky Theatre;
7. Evgeny Primakov, Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo).