Next Steps in Overcoming Absent Memory
Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 2-4, 2010
In partnership with Memoria Abierta, the Human Rights and Security Initiative convened 15 scholars and activists to discuss strategies and tactics for growing constituencies in support of transitional justice and challenging absent memory. This meeting is part of a larger project that seeks to address issues of absent memory. More information on that project is available here.
From Stalin to Putin: Persistence of Soviet Institutions in Today’s Russia
December 8, 2009
Russians today still live with the social and political distortions of their Soviet past. Apathy, lack of trust, and an unaccountable government and law enforcement are all the price paid for Stalin’s project. Yet Vladimir Putin has said that young Russians should be brought up to be proud of their history. Maxim Trudolyubov discussed why political elite want to cast Stalin’s legacy in a positive light and why a major rethink of the Stalinist past may be the first step toward real institutional change in Russia. Cosponsored by the Russia and Eurasia Program.
Approaches to Accounting for Post-9/11 Counterterrorism Policies and Actions: The Pros and Cons
October 8, 2009
The United States has recently begun a debate about the need to account for policies and alleged crimes relating to counterterrorism since 9/11 and the best process for doing so: prosecution, commissions, Congressional investigation, general inquiry, something else altogether? Ambassador Tom Pickering, Vice Admiral Lee Gunn (retired), and Suzanne Spaulding led a discussion assessing these sensitive and timely issues.
Lessons for Russia Today?
Overcoming Absent Memory in European and Latin American Contexts
Budapest, May 30 – June 1, 2008
CSIS staff convened scholars and human rights activists with expertise on Argentina, Chile, Northern Ireland, Serbia, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany and Russia to discuss strategies and tactics for overcoming the legacies of dictatorships and their applicability in today’s Russia.
This conference was made possible by generous grants from the Ford Foundation and from East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program of the Open Society Institute.
The Putin Generation: The Political Views of Russian Youth
Moscow, July 25, 2007
Sarah Mendelson and Ted Gerber (University of Wisconsin-Madison) presented findings from their survey of young Russians on democracy, human rights, and perceptions of the past at the Carnegie Moscow Center. The presentation specifically examined the state of collective memory and its implications for Russia’s future.