We are delighted to host celebrated investigative journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan as they discuss their timely and fascinating book The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russia’s Exiles, Émigrés, and Agents Abroad. Building on their extensive expertise on Russian intelligence, this event will discuss the complex and changeable role of Russian émigrés from the October Revolution up until the present day.

In recent years, Russia’s compatriot policy has had a significant impact on influence and intelligence operations. Soldatov and Borogan sketch the individual histories of some of these compatriots – and their relationship to state – to show how Russians’ presence in the West has been perceived by the Kremlin as a potential opportunity and threat. These histories and perceptions are of direct relevance to understanding the modern-day Russian compatriot policy and its significance for intelligence operations.

The event will last one hour, with a thirty-minute guided discussion followed by thirty minutes for audience questions.

Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan are experts on the Russian security services and investigative journalists from Moscow. They are the founders and editors of the Agentura.Ru website, as well as the authors of several books, including The New Nobility, The Red Web, and The Compatriots. They frequently write and provide expert commentary on Russian intelligence matters for leading publications in Russia, Europe, and the USA, such as the BBC, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, among others.

Dr Jade McGlynn is a Research Fellow specialising in Russian political culture and foreign relations at the Henry Jackson Society. She lived in Russia for five years and has worked across the broader post-Soviet space, from Ukraine to Kazakhstan.

Jade holds a DPhil in Russian from the University of Oxford, where she also gained her BA in Russian and Spanish. She also has a Masters by Research from the University of Birmingham. Her DPhil examined how the Russian government have used the politics of memory and national identity to legitimise Russian foreign and domestic policy. She is currently preparing a manuscript based on this research for publication in 2021, entitled Making History Great Again: The Politics of Memory and Belonging in Contemporary Russia. Jade has also published her research as articles, chapters, and reports in leading academic journals, collected volumes, and think tanks.

Prior to joining HJS, Jade worked as a Lecturer and Research Assistant at the University of Oxford, teaching papers in Russian language and literature, as well as courses on History as part of Oxford University’s new access outreach programme (Opportunity Oxford). She has also held fellowships and research positions at the University of Birmingham, University of Voronezh (Russia), and Middlebury Institute of International Relations in Monterrey.

You can RSVP for your tickets HERE

#HJSEvents