Join King's College London for a talk with Simon Saradzhyan, Nabi Abdullaev and Domitilla Sagramoso on the conditions under which Vladimir Putin’s Russia decides whether to intervene militarily. As we approach the fifth anniversary of Vladimir Putin's military intervention in Ukraine, it is worth asking what drives such actions: When does Putin's Russia intervene militarily, and why? Russia used direct military force against Georgia in 2008 to protect the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it employed covert and overt military force in Ukraine in 2014 to annex Crimea and assist the Donbas secessionist movement and it became militarily engaged in Syria in 2015 in support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. What lead the Russian leadership to resort to the use of force in these three scenarios? Were Russia's actions following a clear "grand strategy?" What was the role of ideology? To what extent did national interest play a part? Can Russia's "strategic culture" offer a convincing answer? Mr. Saradzhyan and Mr. Abdullaev, in conversation with Dr. Sagramoso, will explore the factors that have shaped Russian military-political decision-making under Vladimir Putin. Registration is requested.

Speakers: 

Simon Saradzhyan, founding director, Russia Matters Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Nabi Abdullaev, director for Russia & CIS, Control Risks; professor of policy analysis, Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences

Domitilla Sagramoso, lecturer, department of war studies, King's College London