
Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies
The Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, consists of content-based programs for graduate students with advanced Russian language proficiency.
The Initiative offers funding and professional support to emerging scholars and specialists in addition to outstanding educational content.
Monterey Summer Symposium

It is our pleasure to announce the upcoming Monterey Summer Symposium 2023. It will be held in Armenia and Georgia, running from July 2 to July 18. Armenia and Georgia are two very different countries, differently positioned geopolitically, though with shared history in the Soviet Union.
Application for the Monterey Summer Symposium 2023 is closed.
Learn more about the Summer Symposium
Featured Programming
The Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies (MIRS) consists of content-based programs for graduate students with advanced Russian language proficiency. The Initiative offers funding and professional support to emerging scholars and specialists in addition to outstanding educational content.
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The Ambassadorial Series
Interviews with former U.S. ambassadors to Russia and the Soviet Union for use by scholars and students.
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Monterey Conversations
Conversations with leading experts, policymakers and journalists.
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Visiting Experts Program
Inviting the best minds in the field of Russian Studies to speak and visit with graduate students.

The Ambassadorial Series
New exclusive interview with former US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan. In the latest segment of our Ambassadorial Series, Jill Dougherty talks with John Sullivan about the tense relations between the US and Russia that culminated in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The interview is released as a video, podcast, and transcript.

Monterey Conversations Series
MIRS has released a new series of the Monterey Conversations: “U.S.-Russian Relations - A Conversation with Ambassador John Sullivan,” “Whither Arms Control? A Conversation with Rose Gottemoeller,” “Soviet History Revisited,” “Covering Russia - On the Ground and from Abroad,” and “Russia’s Post-Soviet Space Program.” Watch the recordings of these series here or listen to the audios.
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