Co-sponsored by Kennan Conversations.

This lecture will propose three separate dates as possible points of origin for the war in Ukraine: 1654, 1991 and 2021. Professor Kimmage will outline the implications embedded in chronology, which is fundamental to explaining the origins of this war. He will also take a close look at the difficulty of conducting chronological analysis in the absence of solid empirical evidence — a challenge for those attempting to understand decision-making in Putin's Russia, whether it be academic researchers or the intelligence community and policymakers.

Michael Kimmage is the director of the Kennan Institute. From 2014 to 2016, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He is the author, among other books, of Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability, which was published with Oxford University Press in 2024 and will be coming out in paperback in 2027.

Photo credit: Asta Liutkute.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at [email protected]. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.