Public lecture

Press release — 17 October 2012

Dr. Ria Laenen from the University of Leuven (Belgium) will give a public lecture about

THE EURASIAN UNION PROJECT: RUSSIA’S GLOBAL AMBITIONS AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

on 25 October 2012, 12.15-13.45 at the Faculty of the Social Sciences and Education (Lossi 36), room 104

The ‘Near Abroad’ continues to be Russia’s number one foreign policy priority. The lecture explores the contours and origins of the ambitious Eurasian Union project that was announced earlier this year during the Russian presidential elections campaign. It is argued that the Eurasian Union project constitutes a litmus test of President Putin’s foreign policy.

Ria Laenen is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of International and European Policy, KU Leuven. Her dissertation, defended in 2008, focused on Russia’s ‘Near Abroad’ and compatriots policies. Her current research focuses on Russia’s great-power ambitions, as well as the link between national identity and foreign policy in Russia.

Dr. Laenen is currently a CEURUS Visiting Fellow. For more information, see also her personal website.

The lecture is organized by the Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS), University of Tartu.