The Budapest Memorandum After 30 Years: A Conversation with Eugene Fishel, John Herbst, and Serhii Plokhii

Join us for a conversation with Eugene Fishel, Distinguished Fellow, Center for Security Policy Studies, George Mason University, John Herbst, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and former US Ambassador to Ukraine, and Serhii Plokhii, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University.

Moderated by Emily Channell-Justice, Director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University.

IN-PERSON and ONLINE via Zoom Webinar (live). Registration is required to attend online. 

About the Speakers

Eugene M. Fishel is a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Security Policy Studies, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. He is a 30-year veteran of the Department of State, where he has focused on the post-Soviet region. He has also served as Director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council, as Special Advisor to the Vice President (National Security Affairs), and Assistant National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council.

John E. Herbst is senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and served for thirty-one years as a foreign service officer in the US Department of State, retiring at the rank of career minister. He was US ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006, when he worked to enhance US-Ukrainian relations, help ensure the conduct of a fair Ukrainian presidential election, and prevent violence during the Orange Revolution. Prior to that, he was ambassador to Uzbekistan (2000-03), where he played a critical role in the establishment of an American base to help conduct Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Serhii Plokhii is the Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and the Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University. His interests include the intellectual, cultural, and international history of Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on Ukraine. Chernobyl Roulette: War in the Nuclear Disaster Zone is his latest book published by W.W. Norton in September 2024. His recent books include The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History (W.W. Norton, 2023); Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters (W.W. Norton, 2022); The Frontline: Essays on Ukraine's Past and Present (HURI, 2021); Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis (W. W. Norton, 2021); Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front: American Airmen behind the Soviet Lines and the Collapse of the Grand Alliance (Oxford University Press, 2019); Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe (Basic Books, 2018); and The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine (Basic Books, 2015). Serhii Plokhii's books have won numerous awards, including the Ballie Gifford Prize and the Shevchenko National Prize (2018).

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This event is organized by Harvard's Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) as part of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program.

Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Hanna Leliv, HURI Events Logistics Coordinator, at hleliv@fas.harvard.edu at least two weeks in advance of the session.

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