Alfred Gourdji Distinguished Lecture Series: What Does Putin Want?

Everyone has ideas about who Vladimir Putin is and what he wants. As a long-time researcher, analyst, and teacher of Soviet and Russian history and politics, Prof. Suny will discuss the various ways Putin is imagined and provide his interpretation of the Russian president's views and policies, particularly as regards the war in Ukraine.

Ronald G. Suny, Ph.D. is the William Sewell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of History and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Michigan, and Emeritus Professor of Political Science and History at the University of Chicago. His research has centered on Russia and the former Soviet Union, including the non-Russian nationalities of the Russian Empire. He has authored numerous scholarly books and articles. Professor Suny has twice been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and has received both a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship.