A conversation with Dara Massicot, of the Carnegie Endowment, on the evolution of the Russian military after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the development of Russian strategy and the various conflicts, from Chechnya to the annexation of Crimea in 2014, that laid the foundation for Russia's decision, in 2022, to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A conversation with Samuel Charap, of the Rand Corporation, on the origins of the war, with a focus on the development of Russian foreign policy after 2012, on the European security architecture after 1991 and on the place of Ukraine in U.S. foreign policy. This conversation emphasizes questions of nuclear strategy and nuclear non-proliferation in relation to the origins of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

A conversation with Constanze Stelzenmueller, of the Brookings Instittuion, on the origins of the war, with particular focus on the evolution of European policy toward Eastern and Central Europe after 1991 and on the role of Germany in "Minsk" diplomacy in 2014 and 2015. This conversation places the origins of the war in a European and transatlantic context.

A conversation with sociologist Ekaterina V. Klimenko, affiliated scholar at the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University, on the uses of medieval history in Russian politics and Russian foreign policy. Alicja Curanovic, professor at the University of Warsaw, serves as a respondent.

A conversation with the historian Nicole Eaton, a professor of history at Boston College, on her new book, German Blood, Slavid Soil.

A conversation with Timothy Snyder, a professor at the University of Toronto, and author of many pioneering books on the history of Eastern and Central Europe. This conversation focuses on the status of Ukraine in Europe, on the evolution of Russian foreign policy under President Vladimir Putin and the reasons for Russia's invasion of Ukraine first in 2014 and then, on a much larger scale, in 2022.

A conversation with Patrick Travers, former advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister, on the origins of the war, on policy choices made by Canada and its allies and on assessments of Russia's motivations for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

A conversation with Stephen Sestanovich, of the Council on Foreign Relations, on the long arc of U.S. policy toward Russia, the evolution of Eastern and Central Europe after the end of the Cold War and the motivations held by Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine in February 2022.

A conversation with Dmitri Alperovitch about his recent book, World on the Brink, exploring the roots of the war in Ukraine through a global lens, linking the war in Europe to scenarios of a possible invasion of Taiwan.

A converastion with Bradley Gorski, a professor of literature at Georgetown University, and Yasha Klots, a professor of literature at Hunter College, on the literary scene in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

A discussion with Times opinion columnist M. Gessen, author of eleven critically acclaimed books, host of "The Idiot" podcast, and winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Opinion Writing.

A conversation with Eric Ciaramella, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on the long arc of U.S. policy toward Ukraine, focusing first on 2013-2014 and the first round of conflict between Ukraine and Russia and continuing with the lead-up to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This conversation foregrounds questions of information, assessment and analysis.

A conversation with Daniel McCarthy, an Advisory Council member of the Kennan Institute, and David Byrne, a historian and author of the book, James Burnham: An Intellectual Biography. This conversation explores the long career of James Burnham, his relationship to Leon Trotsky and his articulation of an anti-communist policy for the United States at the outset of the Cold War. It looks as well at Burnham's contributions to the American conservative movement, from Barry Goldwater to Donald Trump.

A conversation with Catherine Belton, of the Washington Post, and Shaun Walker, of The Guardian, on the origins of the war. This conversation looks into the role intelligence played prior the war, the U.S. assessmeent that Russia would invade and the divergent assessments of other countries, including Ukraine, about when or whether the war would take place.

A conversation with Alexander Bick, a professor at the University of Virginia who served on the National Security Council in 2022, about the origins of the war, about policy choices made by the United States and about assessments of Russian actions and motivations in the lead-up to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

A conversation with the historian Margaret MacMillan, emeritus professor of history at the University of Toronto and at Oxford University, and author of many books on the history of war. This conversation will place a special emphasis on the evolution of the nation state in the eighteenth century, the role of the nation state in European history before and after World War I and the ways in which this "deep history" have shaped Russia's serial invasions of Ukraine since 2014.

A conversation with Ivan Krastev, chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, on the origins of the war in Urkaine, with special attention to paid to the European dimensions, to the growth of the European Union in the 2000s, to the evolving relationship between Ukraine and Europe in 2013-2014 and to Europe's relations with Russia prior to Russia's 2022 invasion.

A conversation with Odd Arne Westad, a historian of the Cold War at Yale University, that focuses on the end of the Cold War, on the many ways that the Cold War did not end between 1989 and 1991 and on the deep historical origins of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with an emphasis on the global factors that have shaped Vladimir Putin's decision making.

A conversation with Gwendolyn Sasse, Director of the Centre for East European and International Studies, and author of Russia's War against Ukraine, a book published by Polity Press in 2023. This conversation explores the history behind Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The recent defeat of Viktor Orban will have implications felt across Europe and in Ukraine. This conversation explores the configurations of European politics, as reshaped by this election, from the foreign policy of the European Union to the structures of European support for Ukraine. It also examines attitudes in Moscow, which had openly backed Prime Minister Orban's re-election bid and had construed Hungary under Orban as a relatively friendly European country. This conversation looks at Vladimir Putin's likely response to this election and to a Europe that will be less amenable to Russian influence in the future.

This conversation with Ian Buruma, of Bard College, focuses on his recent book, Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945. On one level, this conversation concentrates on the story told in the book and on the German-Soviet interactions documented in this book. On another level, it looks at the dynamic of wartime writing and of writing about war after the fact, expanding beyond the subject of World War II.

A conversation with Pavlo Klimkin, former Foreign Minister of Ukraine and a member of the Kennan Institute Advisory Council, on the diplomatic backdrop to Russia's serial invasions of Ukraine, starting with the events of 2013/2014, continuing through the long phase of "Minsk" diplomacy and looking in detail at the events of 2021 in Ukraine-Russian relations.

A conversation with Angela Stent, of the American Enterprise Institute and Georgetown University, on the origins of the war, with an emphasis on U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Cold War, the open-ended 1990s, the rise of Vladimir Putin, the crisis caused by Russia's annexation of Crimea and the lead-up to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A conversation with Serhii Plokhy, renowned historian at Harvard University and author of several books on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This conversation will explore Professor Plokhy's new book, David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the historiographical questions in involved in understanding the origins of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A conversation with German Ambassador to Italy, Thomas Bagger, on the origins of the war with a focus on the European dimensions to this conflict. This conversation will review policy thinking and choices from the 1990s to 2022, looking carefully at assessments of Russian strategy and decision making.

A conversation with Tom Graham, a Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the book Getting Russia Right, on the long history of the war in Ukraine, starting with the fall of the Soviet Union and moving on to various chapters in U.S. policy toward Russia and Ukraine.

A conversation with Lana Estemirova, journalist, human rights activist, and author of the memoir Please Live: The Chechen Wars, My Mother and Me. This new book provides readers an intimate glimpse into Ms. Estemirova's childhood, lived amidst the brutality of the Chechen Wars and made remarkable by the work of her mother, legendary Memorial human rights activst Natalia Estemirova. The discussion will explore the implications of the events of the 1990s and 2000s on Chechnya's political trajectory and the essential role citizens can play when they take up the call of activism.

A conversation with Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment on the origns of the war, looking in particular at the military dynamics behind this conflict and at Russian notions of security and strategy, starting with the Russia-Georgia War of 2008, continuing with the first Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and exploring in detail the reasons behind Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A conversation with Serhii Plokhy, of Harvard University, and Oxana Shevel, of Tufts University, on the state of Ukrainian studies today, exploring questions of sources and archives as well as new directions in research.