In this two-session series, Professor Jess Velona explores how Putin’s autocracy and invasion of Ukraine have strong parallels throughout modern Russian history. The discussion will examine how Tsarist and Soviet Communist regimes, for all of their differences, exhibited commonalities including a penchant for imperial expansion, suppression of ethnic and national traditions, and scorn for democracy and individual rights. We’ll explore how this culminated in the Gulag, the Great Terror, deliberate famine in Ukraine, the consequences of the Soviet collapse, and finally, how these events led to Putin’s fight to restore Russia’s imperial glory.

About the Presenter: Jess Velona has taught courses on Russian history, the Nazi regime, and other topics at Fordham University’s College at 60 and NYU’s School of Professional Studies, as well as African American history at CUNY’s College of Staten Island. He has been a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School since 2006.  Jess graduated from Harvard College and received an MA in history from NYU before completing Columbia Law School. He was a law clerk for then-Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg,  As a one time candidate for public office in Manhattan and former aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Jess loves sharing his passion for politics and history with students and adult audiences across the New York metropolitan area.