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On 17th of June, the University of Georgia and New Economics School Georgia hosted an unprecedented conference on: “Tracking Russian Influences in Post-Communist Countries”.
Within the framework of the conference, heavyweights in the field of politics and international relations discussed Russian revisionist strategy that aims to undermine the existing international order, as witnessed in its systematic and hostile foreign policy against the United States and Europe.
“I think that a lot of this countries the population, themselves, they understand that there is Russian influence but don’t quite understand that the manifestations and the hard facts that come behind it. That’s why it is important to have research that shows specifically what actions Russian proxies undertaking, how they are being carried out.” Michael Carpenter- Adviser of Ex Vice-President of U.S. - Joe Biden- in International Relations, National Security Consultant at Lithuania National Defense Foundation, Director of Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.
At the conference various issues were discussed:
“Since the Kremlin is taking this extensive approach to interfere with events of another countries. We should have a similarly comprehensive approach. We need to have a strategy, we need to use the tools that are at our disposal, and we have to build our resilience: media literacy, critical thinking, teaching modern history properly. There is lot of thing that can government can do to communicate better with their own population.” Veronika Vichova - Analyst and a Coordinator of the Kremlin Watch Program
Also, the presentation of the research of the University of Georgia- “Russia’s Economic Footprint in Georgia – a Tool for Political Influence” was held, where speakers discussed economic influence of Russia in Georgia, its effect on political decisions and communication strategies.
The conference hosted heavyweights in the field of politics and international relations:
Brian Whitmore- Senior Fellow and Director of the Russia Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), in Washington D.C.
Jeffrey Mankoff - Deputy director and senior fellow with the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program.
Dr. Krassen Stanchev- CEO of KC 2 Ltd and Board Chairman, founder and former Executive Director of IME (www.ime.bg) - the first Bulgaria’s independent and free market think thank (1993), former member and committee chairman of the Constitutional Assembly (1990-1991), one of the most quoted Bulgarian observers. He was a principle drafter and leader of reforms from central planning to market economy and is one of the leaders of those reforms in Bulgaria and new Europe.
Žygimantas Pavilionis - MP of the Republic of Lithuania, Chair of Transatlantic and Democracy Subcommittee.
Luke Coffey- Director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation and he is the author of the report “NATO Membership for Georgia: In U.S. and European Interest”.
Veronika Víchová -Analyst and a Coordinator of the Kremlin Watch Program at the European Values Think-Tank.
Nina Jankowicz -Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute currently working on a book about the evolution of modern Russian influence campaigns in Eastern Europe. In 2016-2017, she advised the Ukrainian government on strategic communications under the auspices of a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship. Her writing has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, BuzzFeed News,The Wilson Quarterly, and others. She is a frequent commentator on disinformation and Russian and Eastern European affairs, and she has been interviewed by CNN's Christiane Amanpour and PBS's Judy Woodruff.
Tamar Kintsurashvili- Executive Director of Media Development Foundation - MDF since 2017. Priorly she served as a chairperson of the MDF’s board. Tamar is an author and co-author of numerous researches and publications on hate speech, anti-western propaganda, Kremlin influence index, media literacy, freedom of expression, media transparency and accountability and media self-regulation.
Temuri Yakobashvili- Founder and President of the TY Strategies LLC, boutique consultancy company and Executive Vice President of PASS LLC, a global social-impact consultancy, Yakobashvili also founded and remains president of the New International Leadership Institute, an NGO dedicated to fighting corruption and promoting good governance.
Susanne Spahn (PhD)- Political Scientist, Historian and Journalist. Dr. Spahn conducts research on Russia`s foreign policy in the post-Soviet area and Russian information policy. She published book “The Image of Ukraine in Germany: The Role of the Russian Mass Media. How Russia Influences the German Public Opinion“ followed by the study „Russian media in Germany – independent journalism or political weapon?“
