Join us to hear Russia expert Anastasia Edel speak on the Rollercoaster of the US-Russian Relationship.

• 11am – 12pm: Speaker Presentation, followed by Q & A
• 12pm – 2pm: Buffet lunch from Ann's Catering

Anastasia Edel is a Russian-born American writer and social historian who teaches in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UC Berkeley. In her early life in the Soviet Union and later Russia, she witnessed the ascension of Mikhail Gorbachev, the introduction of perestroika, the fall of the USSR, and the ascension of Boris Yeltsin.  In 1995, she moved to England, and in 2003, to the Bay Area.  She has a unique cultural perspective on Russia and has explored the myths, beliefs, and historical developments that feed Putin’s anti-democratic ideology.

She is the author of Russia: Putin’s Playground, a concise guide to Russian history, politics and culture. Her writing has appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, Project Syndicate, Quartz and World Literature Today. She’s a staff art critic for the Piedmont Post and is currently at work on a new book, The Gone Empire.

• $30 for the luncheon in advance
• $35 at the door
• ($5 discount for LWVP members)

Attendance is free for the speaker portion without the lunch.

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