Fort Ross Dialogue 2020
Fort Ross Dialogue, organized by Fort Ross Conservancy in partnership with Kennan Institute and World Affairs, concluded its week-long virtual conference which covered a variety of topics of concern in US-Russian bilateral relations. The conference ran from November 30th through December 4, 2020.
Day 1: Fostering Peace In a Time of Nuclear Proliferation
Opening Remarks: Fort Ross Conservancy CEO Sarah Sweedler; World Affairs Council President & CEO Philip Yun; California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis
Speakers: Four-term governor Edmund G. Brown; Senator Sam Nunn: Ambassador Anatoly Antonov; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov; Kennan Executive Director Matt Rojansky; Payne Distinguished Lecturer and Hoover Institution Research Fellow Rose Gottemoeller
Opening Remarks: Pavel Negoitsa, Viktor Martynov
Speakers: Moderator: Daria Kozlova, VYGON Consulting, Director, Oil & Gas Industry Regulatory Consulting; Vladimir A. Kalanda, Deputy Vice President, Transneft; Viktor Martynov, Gubkin University, Rector, Professor; Andrew McGrahan, President Chevron Neftegaz and Chairman CPC-R at Chevron; Igor Tonkovidov Sovcomflot, Chief Executive Officer and President; Golunov Nikita, Gubkin University, Vice-rector for additional professional education
Day 3: US-Russia Health Cooperation: Borderless Threats Require Global Solution
Speakers: Judy Twigg, Moderator & Speaker, Virginia Commonwealth University, Professor: Dr. Stephen J. O’Brien, Nova Southeastern University, Professor and Director of Research, Office of Research and Technology Transfer; Dr. Vasily Vlassov, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Professor; Dr. Erica Richardson,European Observatory on Health Systems, Technical Officer
Day 4: Native American Heritage Commission Digital Atlas
Opening Remarks: Timothy Kelly, Fort Ross Conservancy President
Speakers: Dr. Jason MacCannell, California State Parks, Special Assistant to the Director; Kaylee Pinola, University of San Francisco Graduate Student; Bob Sam, Councilman For Sitka Tribe of Alaska
Day 5: Historic & Contemporary Land Management Practices
Opening Remarks: Governor Oleg Kuvshinnikov, Vologda Region, Russian Federation
Speakers: Secretary Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency; Kaylynn Bittle, Healthy Soil Alliance, Youth Team Lead; Brendan O’Neil, California State Parks, Natural Resource Program Manager for the Sonoma-Mendocino Coast District; Nina Hapner, Kashia Band Of Pomo
Highlights from the week
From Anatoly Antonov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the USA, “The creation of the first Russian settlement at Fort Ross, California back in 1812 not only opened the way for the development of vast territories and trade, but also facilitated the establishment of friendly contacts between peoples of the two continents. I am convinced that efforts to preserve the common cultural and historical heritage will certainly promote the unifying principles in Russian-American ties.”
From Former Governor Jerry Brown, “The Fort Ross Dialogue is an important forum for Russians and Americans to reflect on their common history, and more importantly, their common future. This year’s Dialogue included a discussion between top nuclear experts from the U.S. and Russia — precisely the sort of exchange we need to see more of in Washington and Moscow.
From Matt Rojansky, Executive Director Kennan Institute, “One of the most damaging long term consequences of the current difficult period in US-Russia relations has been the erosion of people-to-people contacts. Russia and the United States share a rich and complex common history, of which Fort Ross is a core part. The Fort Ross Dialogue, now in its ninth year, plays a vital role in building awareness of that history, while expanding and sustaining contacts among today’s leaders in business, civic and community organizations, and science and education. Looking beyond the current difficult official relationship, it is clear that these ties will be essential to a peaceful and prosperous future for both our great countries and the wider world.
Common Cause-American and Russian Cooperation During WWII
Seventy five years ago Moscow and Washington joined an alliance to defeat Nazi Germany and to liberate European nations from an ideology that justified the slaughter of millions of civilians. Realizing the international significance of Allied sense of duty to defeat Axis powers, Fort Ross Conservancy and the Soloviev Foundation produced a short feature film, entitled ‘A Common Cause: American and Russian Cooperation During World War II.”
The film, which premiered at Fort Ross Dialogue 2020, was made possible by generous support of the Soloviev Foundation.
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