For decades, the Soviet Union was an authoritarian force in a polarized world. After the political transitions of the 1990s, democracy seemed to finally prevail; however, thirty years later it is in peril across the globe as several traditionally democratic countries have fallen victim to authoritarian backsliding.
The political landscape changed forever on December 1, 1991, when Ukraine held a referendum on its independence from the Soviet Union, garnering overwhelming support from tens of millions of its citizens. This was the pivotal moment that paved the way for the signing of the Belavezha Accords on December 8, 1991, and the final collapse of the USSR.
On the 30th anniversary of this historic event, join us to examine and rethink Ukraine's past and plan for its future as a democratic stronghold in Eastern Europe.
FULL PROGRAM AGENDA
11:00 - 11:10 am – Opening Remarks:
Kathryn Stoner, Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
Oleksiy Honcharuk, Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Bernard and Susan Liautaud Visiting Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
11:10 am - 12:45 pm – Panel 1: The Soviet Collapse and the Collapse of Democratic Promise
Moderator: Vitali Shkliarov, Political analyst, Belarusian activist, and film director
Marta Dyczok, Associate Professor (History and Political Science), Western University
Rose Gottemoeller, Steven C. Házy Lecturer at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, and Former Deputy Secretary General of NATO
Norman Naimark, Robert & Florence McDonnell Professor of E. European Studies, and Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Serhiy Plokhiy, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
2:00 - 3:30 pm – Panel 2: How Did Ukraine Transition into a Democracy?
Moderator: Myroslava Gongadze, Chief, Ukrainian Service, Voice of America
Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Director of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy, Stanford University
Oleksiy Honcharuk, Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Bernard and Susan Liautaud Visiting Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Steven Pifer, Former US Ambassador to Ukraine, William J. Perry Research Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University
Kathryn Stoner, Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
4:00 - 6:00 pm – Screening of the docuseries COLLAPSE: How Ukrainians Destroyed the Evil Empire
COLLAPSE is a seven-episode docuseries and political thriller that explores the decay of the Soviet Union in its last months. For the first time on screen, the Ukrainian perspective was brought to the global narrative, as well as recently unclassified details from the CIA and KGB archives. The series was produced by Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster.
6:00 - 7:00 pm – Q&A with Filmmakers
Moderator: Yaroslav Lodygin, Film director, scriptwriter, and Board Member of Ukrainian Public Broadcasting Company, producer of "COLLAPSE"
Marta Dyczok, Associate Professor (History and Political Science), Western University
Serhiy Plokhiy, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
Oleksandr Zinchenko, "COLLAPSE" screenwriter and historian
