View of the Capitol dome in the sunrise from room 902 of the Hart Senate office building.
Due to extended travel I only recently had the chance to go through pictures taken during the World Russia Forum 2009 in Washington D.C. on April 27 and 28. Please enjoy the overdue photo report from the annual event!
A volunteer helps to organize conference folders early in the morning before the conference.
Participants listening to the opening speech by Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak
His Excellency Sergei Kislyak, Russian Ambassador to the United States of America, addressing the participants of the World Russia Forum 2009.
Honorable William Burns, U.S. Under Secretary of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, addressing the participants of the World Russia Forum 2009. Honorable Burns praised Russia for its recent economic successes and the democratic developments that he witnessed while serving America in Moscow for nearly a decade.
Peter Loukianoff, co-founder and managing partner of Almaz Capital Partners, one of Russia Blog’s content partners, socializing after his speech.
Igor Panarin, the controversial Russian scholar who famously predicted the fall of the United States, was media’s most “wanted” speaker of the World Russia Forum 2009.
Mr. Panarin stayed away from his usual doom-and-gloom scenarios and optimistically suggested that neither Russia nor America will be falling apart any time soon, given productive mutual cooperation.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) stayed loyal to the official Washington’s position on Russia. Among many criticisms towards Russian government, he said that “When Putin had a chance to choose between stability and freedom, he chose stability.” Many Russian participants disagreed with the Senator (who didn’t take questions) but were glad to hear a different take on the U.S.-Russia relations.
World Russia Forum 2009 gathered over 300 participants!
Georgian National TV recording Yuri Mamchur’s introduction of the panel “Current American and Russian Agendas in the Former Soviet Space.”
Honorable Thomas Pickering, Vice-Chairman of the Hills & Company, former U.S. Under Secretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to Russia, addressing the participants of the World Russia Forum.
Edward Lozansky, the founder of the World Russia Forum.
David Satter, a former Moscow correspondent, is a long time observer of Russia and the former Soviet Union. He is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Satter, who has written extensively for the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, was highly critical of the Russian government and journalists’ safety in modern Russia.
Discovery Institute's (from left to right) Matthew Scholz, Yuri Mamchur, Eric Garcia, and John Wohlstetter at the World Russia Forum reception at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Yuri Mamchur, director of the Real Russia Project, and Michael Averko, Russia Blog's contributor, at the reception at the Russia Cultural Center.
We look forward to hosting you in Spring 2010 in Washington D.C.!
