The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute invites members of the Harvard community and the general public to the following special events:
The Social Roots of Belarusian Dictatorship
A lecture by Pavel Tereshkovich (European Humanities University, Vilnius/Minsk)
Tuesday, April 12, 12:15-2:00
HURI, 34 Kirkland St.
Pavel Tereshkovich is a historian and cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on nationalism, identity, ethnic minorities and cultural hybridity in the western Eurasian borderlands (Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova). He is Director of the Center for Advanced Studies and Education for the Western Eurasian Borderlands (CASE) and Chair of the Department of History at the European Humanities University, an independent Belarusian university-in-exile that has been based in Vilnius, Lithuania since its closure by the Belarusian authorities in 2004.
The State of Social Science Research and Free Inquiry
in the Western Eurasian Borderlands:
Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova
A panel discussion with Pavel Tereshkovich and other scholars affiliated with
the Center for Advanced Studies and Research for the Western Eurasian Borderlands (CASE) at the European Humanities University (Vilnius/Minsk)
Tuesday, April 12, 5:00-7:00
CGIS North K105, 1737 Cambridge St.
Other panelists:
Olga Breskaya, a leading scholar in the field of religious studies and the sociology of religion in Eastern Europe, holds dual appointments as assistant professor for the Department of Cultural and Religious History at Brest State University (BrSU) in Belarus and at the European Humanities University in Vilnius.
Elena Matusevich, CASE Deputy Coordinator, currently serves as lecturer at the European Humanities University (Vilnius/Minsk) and guest lecturer at Humboldt State University in California. Dr. Matusevich's research interests include the media and cultural identity in Belarus, multiculturalism and intercultural communication, postcolonial theory and border studies.
Milana Nikolko, an anthropologist and specialist in social and political philosophy, has held numerous teaching and research positions in Ukraine, the United States, and Canada. Her current research focuses on social capital formation in multi-ethnic Crimea. She also serves as director of the Institute for Social Anthropology, a Ukraine-based NGO that promotes local scientific discourse with the aim of improving research on matters of social importance in the post-Soviet region.
Alexandr Osipian, a historian, currently serves as associate professor of history as well as Secretary of the university Senate at Kramatorsk Institute of Economics and Humanities in Ukraine. His research focuses on the uses of history in politics and nation-building.
Please join us for the following special events:
Friday, April 15, 2011
Davis Center Undergraduate Colloquium on Russian and Eurasian Studies
Opening Remarks / 1:00 p.m. / 1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse Level, Room S050
Terry Martin, Director, Davis Center; George F. Baker III Professor of Russian Studies, Harvard University
Panel I / 1:15-2:45 p.m. / 1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse Level, Room S050
Ellen Bryson, Harvard College, Victim and Accomplice: Poland and Italy in the Danube Basin, 1938
Svetlana Dotsenko, Harvard College, State Capacity, Political Commitment, and Health: A Comparative Study of Tuberculosis in Post-Soviet States, 1990-2009
Annemarie Hanson, Wheaton College, The "War of Memories:" Post-World War II Observations in Russian-Estonian Ethnicity Expectations and Geopolitical Relations
Paul Sawyier, Harvard College, Extremism and Neo-Nazism in Russia, 1990s to Present
Alena Svobodova, Wheaton College, The Terrorism in the Caucasus and Its Influence on the Russo-Georgian Relations
Alex Welles, Wheaton College, The Soviets and Weimar: Rearmament and Revolution
Chair: Timothy Colton, Morris and Anna Feldberg Professor of Government and Russian Studies, Harvard University
Panel II / 3:00-4:15 p.m. / 1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse Level, Room S050
Beth Bryant, Wellesley College, Abortion in the Soviet Union
Ivana Djak, Harvard College, Women's Organizations in Post-Conflict Periods: The State and Nationalism in the Balkans
Erin Ryan, Wheaton College, Conflict, Peace, and Nongovernmental Actors in Nagorno-Karabakh
Kaitlin Terry, Harvard College, Milada Horáková: A Story of Past and Present
Alice Underwood, Harvard College, Rights on Parade: The Russian LGBT Community's March toward Equality
Chair: Jeanne Wilson, Professor of Political Science, Wheaton College
Panel III / 4:30-5:45 p.m. / 1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse Level, Room S050
Jordan Bryant, Harvard College, Russia's Appian Way: How the Classics Shaped Imperial Identity from Peter I to Alexander I
Anne Burke, Wellesley College, Examining the Igor Tale and Its Authenticity
Jessica Flakne, Harvard College, The Role of Religion in the Thought of T.G. Masaryk: An Inquiry into the Implications of Religion on Theories of Democracy and Nationalism
Danielle Guillette, Harvard College, Perceptions and Realities: Solidarity through the Lens of Media and the Soviet Politburo
Aseem Shukla, Harvard College, Spoken Identities: Trends of Language Choice in the Ukrainian Parliament
Chair: Thomas Hodge, Professor of Russian, Wellesley College
Friday, April 15, 2011
Images of Eternal and Evolving Eurasia
Photography Exhibition Opening
Student photographers from Harvard, Wellesley and Wheaton
1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse Level
5:45-6:45 p.m.
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Seminar Calendar
April 16-30, 2011
For upcoming events not yet published in this calendar, please visit our website: http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php.
Monday, April 18
Literature and Culture Seminar
"Writing after Yugoslavia: Literature in Politics and Politics in Literature"
Igor Štiks, CITSEE Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh; author of the novels A Castle in Romagna and Elijah's Chair
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor, Room S354
4:15-6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 26
Cold War Studies Seminar
"Dealing with a Communist Dictatorship: U.S. Policy and the Softening of Soviet-Style Rule"
László Borhi, Visiting Professor of History, Indiana University; Senior Fellow, Institute of History, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor, Room S354
12:15-2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 27
Seminar on Russian and East European Jewish Studies
"Russian Jewry in Motion: Relations with Israel, the Kremlin, and Itself"
Yuri Kanner, President, Russian Jewish Congress
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor, Room S354
12:15-2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 27
Central Asia and Caucasus Seminar
"Land and Power in Khorezm: Farmers, Communities and the State in Uzbekistan's Decollectivisation"
Tommaso Trevisani, Postdoctoral Fellow, Berlin Graduate School for Muslim Cultures and Societies, Freie Universität Berlin
1730 Cambridge Street, 2nd Floor, Room S250
4:15-6:00 p.m.
To purchase a parking permit for the Broadway Garage (located on Felton Street, between Cambridge Street and Broadway), please visit Harvard University Parking Services<https://www2.uos.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/permit/purchase.pl>. To register a new visitor login, choose "Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies" and enter department code 2020. All parking-related questions should be directed to the Parking Services Office at 617-495-3772.
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students-
The Outreach Program at the Davis Center is pleased to announce a one-day workshop commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The workshop will feature lectures devoted to the political, historical and ecological consequences of the disaster, as well as comparisons between the event in Chernobyl and the recent nuclear disaster in Japan (for more details, please see complete agenda below). The workshop is free and open to the public. Full day attendance is not required. RSVPs are also not required, but are appreciated.
Workshop, Chernobyl: 25 Years Later
Sponsored by the Davis Center Outreach Program
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
9am--4pm
1730 Cambridge Street, S450
9:00-9:30 AM Welcome and Introductions
Cris Martin, Davis Center
9:30-11:00 AM Lecture: History of the Chernobyl Disaster
Igor Lukes, Professor of International Relations and History, Boston University
11:00-11:15 AM Break
11:15-12:45 PM Lecture: Ecological Consequences of Chernobyl Disaster
Paul Josephson, Professor of History and Chair, Colby College
12:45-1:30 PM Lunch Break
1:30-2:30 PM Lecture: Chernobyl's Impact on Local Life and Politics
Tammy Lynch, Independent Researcher
2:30-4:00 PM Lecture & Discussion: Nuclear Power in the 21st Century
Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
5:00-7:00 PM Opening Reception: Photo Exhibit, "...the day the Ferris wheel stood still..."
Tania D'Avignon, Photographer
The exhibit, sponsored by Harvard's Ukrainian Research Institute, will be held in Fischer Commons in the Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA.
For more information about this workshop, please contact Cris Martin at clmartin(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:clmartin@fas.harvard.edu>
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
Please note the last session of this academic year's Study Group on Jews in Modern Europe at the Center for European Studies:
Date: Thursday, April 28, 2011
Time: 4:15 PM - 6:00 PM
Topic: Jewish-Russian Poets Bearing Witness to the Shoah
Speaker: Maxim D. Shrayer, Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies, Boston College
Location: Goldman Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
Sponsor: Study Group on Jews in Modern Europe<http://www.ces.fas.harvard.edu/studygroups/sg21.html>
Contact: Phyllis Albert, phyllisalbert(a)gmail.com<mailto:phyllisalbert@gmail.com>
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
Please note that this event will be held on Thursday, April 14 .
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students-
We are very pleased to announce that Slavenka Drakulić -noted Croatian journalist, essayist and novelist-will be at the Davis Center later this month to discuss her new book, A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism: Fables from a Mouse, a Parrot, a Bear, a Cat, a Mole, a Pig, a Dog, & a Raven. In his review of the book in The New republic, Tim Snyder argues "...Slavenka Drakulić summons her own group of animals, each with its own literary genre, and each with a story to tell about life in a communist country... these stories are not really fables (despite the subtitle's promise) because the animals do not reveal the problems of human nature through their own actions, foolish or wise. Instead they are there to instruct us, and what they are all saying, in their different ways, is: remember. At bottom this book is the work of a very gifted novelist who is using every imaginable trick, and some fairly unimaginable ones, to help us recall what seems like the very recent past."
To learn more about this new work, please attend Slavenka's book talk (details below). Please share this announcement with your (current and former) students and colleagues as it's sure to be of interest to many.
Thursday, April 14
Book Talk
Sponsored by the Davis Center Outreach Program
A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism: Fables from a Mouse, a Parrot, a Bear, a Cat, a Mole, a Pig, a Dog, & a Raven
Slavenka Drakulić, Author
1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse Level, Room S020 (Belfer Case Study Room)
4:00-6:00 p.m.
If you would like paper copies of the attached flyer for distribution or postering, please contact Cris Martin at clmartin(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:clmartin@fas.harvard.edu>.
[cid:image003.jpg@01CBF3AC.24BF4370]
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
You are invited to a lecture by
Professor Bryan Rennie
Westminster College, PA,
Friday, April 8th, 2011, 4 PM
Davis Center, Room S354, CGIS, 1730 Cambridge Street
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA:
Mircea Eliade, facts and interpretations
Mircea Eliade, the great Romanian historian of comparative religion, wrote on Yoga, the ancient Balkan god Zalmoxis, alchemy, and many other subjects. He almost single-handedly invented the field of the study of shamanism; and edited the Encyclopedia of Religion during his tenure at the University of Chicago. He was also an important and prolific prose writer whose darkly surrealistic contrivances remind one of Borges, or of a new Gogol. Eliade's scholarly reputation has in recent years been overshadowed by discussion of his political activity before and during the Second World War in and on behalf of the fascist regime in Romania. Professor Rennie has devoted much of his career to the study of Eliade's voluminous corpus; and this lecture will address the philological, phenomenological, and political facets of Eliade's fascinating work and life. The lecture will be moderated by J.R. Russell, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies, and is supported by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard.
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING. APPLY NOW!
2011 SUMMER RESEARCH LABORATORY
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DATE: 13 June- 5 August, 2011
* * *
Applications for the SRL are due April 15th for U.S. citizens and permanent residents
The Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign invites all to apply to the 2011 Summer Research Laboratory (SRL). Since 1973, the SRL has provided scholars with access to the university's Slavic and East European Library (one of the largest REEE collections in the country), the services of Slavic Reference Service (SRS) librarians, and specialized workshops and forums for junior scholars. Previous SRL participants have called the lab "the best place to do Slavic research." Please consult our website for more specific details: http://www.reeec.illinois.edu/srl/
Housing grants are available via a U.S. Department of State Title VIII grant. A limited amount of travel grants is available for graduate students participating in the training workshops. In order to be eligible for grants, scholars' research must be policy-relevant, and research must focus on the formerly socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. For a full list of eligibility criteria, please visit the website linked above. Given the Title VIII stipulations, grants are only available to U.S. citizens. Limited funding is available for non-U.S. citizens.
Though the SRL runs the majority of the summer, scholars rarely stay for more than two weeks. Therefore it is easy to schedule an SRL visit around other summer plans (e.g., internships, study abroad).
A variety of other events and conferences are held in conjunction with the SRL:
JUNIOR SCHOLAR TRAINING WORKSHOPS:
This summer we will host two interdisciplinary research workshops for junior scholars. Though the structure of the workshops is the choice of the individual workshop leader, participating scholars usually provide papers which are then critiqued by other participants. The purpose of the workshops is to share interdisciplinary knowledge and sources on the regions, network with scholars of different fields, and hone current research. In addition, participants receive an orientation to the SRS (Slavic Reference Service) and the Slavic and East European Library. Since the JSTW is an all-day event, participants are highly encouraged to apply for additional housing beyond the term of the workshop in order to conduct research in the UIUC Library.
Central Asian Sovereignty in the Face of Massive Economic Dislocation: Globalization, Labor Migration and Other Discontents
June 13-15, 2011
Moderator: Russell Zanca, Ph.D., Northeastern Illinois University, Anthropology
When the U.S.S.R. disbanded, many western scholars reasoned that Central Asian countries would be well united and form a kind of economic development bloc that would enable the growth of prosperous states based on shared history, education, language, religion, and culture. Little of this reasoning has come to pass. Antagonism is strong, and prosperity seems more than limited for most citizens. One of the major globalizing elements in contemporary Central Asian society is labor migration to Russia, Europe, Asia and North America. While migration has proven beneficial for millions of people in myriad ways, it also has upset social relations and caused resentment between governments and citizens.
In bringing together young scholars who are cognizant of and interested in this main globalizing dynamic in Central Asia, participants will examine the question of why Central Asia has traveled down this road, and what innovations or mechanisms will need to arise or be put in place so that failing state models don't characterize the Central Asian states in the future. Dr. Russell Zanca, Professor of Anthropology and Central Asia Specialist, Northeastern Illinois University, will be moderating the workshop.
Sources will include scholarship, institutional reports, and analytical journalism focusing on labor migration, weak and failed states, foreign aid/advice programs, international disputes, state resources management, attempts to strengthen alliances, and inter-ethnic conflict.
Space and Circulation in Russian and Eurasian Studies
June 13-15, 2011
Moderators: John Randolph, Ph.D. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, History and Kelly O'Neill, Ph.D. Harvard University, History
This workshop will bring together scholars from a variety of disciplines who are interested in using the analysis of spatial relationships-and of the circulation of people, things and information across our geography-to discover and interpret important problems in Russian and Eurasian studies. We will consider such topics as the potential meaning of recent literatures on space and mobility for our discipline; the variety of tools (such as Geographical Information Systems, or GIS) that scholars are using to analyze spaces and the relationships that cross them; and the question of how to frame and visualize research, in terms of space and circulation, to maximum effect. Dr. John Randolph, Associate Professor of History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Kelly O'Neill, Assistant Professor of History, Harvard University, will be co-moderating this workshop.
The workshop will build from a short selection of readings and web-based materials, as a basis for common discussion. It will then revolve around presentation of participants' ongoing research projects, focusing on the role of space and systems of circulation within them. The moderators, who are currently working on projects imagining what GIS can tell us about the making of the Early Russian Empire, will present examples from their work. Participants will have time to consult with GIS experts at the University of Illinois Scholarly Commons; to work in the University's famed Slavic Collections; and to attend a number of concurrent workshops and symposia, as part of the University's Summer Lab.
2011 Ralph and Ruth Fisher Forum: June 27-28, 2011
The 2011 Fisher Forum will be held in conjunction with the 2011 SRL. This year's Forum is entitled "Finding a Place in the Soviet Empire: Cultural Production and the Friendship of Nations," a free and public conference, will take place June 27-28, 2011 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The symposium brings together leading scholars from Russia, Canada, the UK, and the US, with expertise in a variety of disciplines (including history, literature, cinema, linguistics, and anthropology), who will explore the problem of empire, subjectivity, and cultural production in the Soviet Union. The conference will focus on: the theoretical underpinnings of the concept of national cultures developed in the new socialist society of the 1920s and 30s, language planning, the subsequent creation of national cultural heroes, the relation between emerging models of Soviet subjectivity and national identity, the institutions and institutional practices that provided the framework for the production, translation, and transmission of national literatures and cultures, the Soviet vision of world literature, and its translation into Russian, the impact of the Second World War on the development of Soviet and national cultures and subjectivities, the tension between Soviet and national histories and memories, late and post-Soviet consequences of policies and practices that were initiated in the 20s and 30s, and the role of post-colonial theory and other critical models in analyzing Soviet cultural practices and policies. Papers should address broad questions from a theoretically sophisticated perspective, but should also focus on a specific set of literary/cultural formations and subjectivities. Comparative analysis is most welcome, as well as work that situates Yiddish in the broad context of the friendship of nations. The co-conveners are Gennady Estriakh, Professor of Jewish Studies at NYU and Harriet Muray from UIUC.
Individualized Research Practicum
Slavic Reference Service
The SRS librarians are phenomenally well-versed in the reference sources of the region. SRL scholars who are graduate students are highly encouraged to apply for an Individualized Research Practicum. SRS staff will develop a personalized, project-based program for each participant covering electronic tools and software, print and electronic bibliographic resources and databases, archival sources, vernacular-language search techniques, vernacular keyboard options, vernacular full-text resources, and as needed, online consultations with information specialists located in Eurasia and Eastern Europe. The practicum is also a wonderful way to learn of research resources available in a REEE country before travelling to that country.
In order to maximize the worth of the practicum, applicants are encouraged to contact the SRS before attending. Scholars are asked to share the extent of research already accomplished, an abstract of their project, whether they have travelled to the region, and any other relevant information.
* * *
Applications for the SRL are due April 1st, 2011 for international applicants,
April 15th for U.S. citizens and permanent residents
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students-
We are very pleased to announce that Slavenka Drakulić -noted Croatian journalist, essayist and novelist-will be at the Davis Center later this month to discuss her new book, A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism: Fables from a Mouse, a Parrot, a Bear, a Cat, a Mole, a Pig, a Dog, & a Raven. In his review of the book in The New republic, Tim Snyder argues "...Slavenka Drakulić summons her own group of animals, each with its own literary genre, and each with a story to tell about life in a communist country... these stories are not really fables (despite the subtitle's promise) because the animals do not reveal the problems of human nature through their own actions, foolish or wise. Instead they are there to instruct us, and what they are all saying, in their different ways, is: remember. At bottom this book is the work of a very gifted novelist who is using every imaginable trick, and some fairly unimaginable ones, to help us recall what seems like the very recent past."
To learn more about this new work, please attend Slavenka's book talk (details below). Please share this announcement with your (current and former) students and colleagues as it's sure to be of interest to many.
Friday, April 14
Book Talk
Sponsored by the Davis Center Outreach Program
A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism: Fables from a Mouse, a Parrot, a Bear, a Cat, a Mole, a Pig, a Dog, & a Raven
Slavenka Drakulić, Author
1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse Level, Room S020 (Belfer Case Study Room)
4:00-6:00 p.m.
If you would like paper copies of the attached flyer for distribution or postering, please contact Cris Martin at clmartin(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:clmartin@fas.harvard.edu>.
[cid:image003.jpg@01CBF3AC.24BF4370]
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
Dear Davis Center colleagues,
I thought you would want to know about this excellent show. There is a showing for adults at 6 as well. I invited these puppeteers, who perform with a swazzle and a hurdy-gurdy, to the US.
Hope you are well!
Dassia
_____
Dassia N. Posner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor-in-Residence, Department of Dramatic Arts, University of Connecticut
Dramaturg, Connecticut Repertory Theatre
Center Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
Email: dassia2(a)gmail.com<mailto:dassia2@gmail.com>; dassia.posner(a)uconn.edu<mailto:dassia.posner@uconn.edu>
Website: www.dassiaposner.com<http://www.dassiaposner.com>
Free Russian Folk Puppet Show
Wednesday April 6
5-6 p.m. in 36-156 at MIT
This fun, free, and interactive show stars Petrushka, the Russian Punch. Performed by Alexander Gref and Elena Slonimskaya of the Vagrant Booth Theater, this show incorporates music, laughter, and hand crafted puppets and is fun for children of all ages.
Sponsored by the MIT Russian Club and MIT FamilyNet
For more information, contact Sergey Nikolenko at sergey.a.nikolenko(a)gmail.com<mailto:sergey.a.nikolenko@gmail.com>
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617.495.4037
F 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu