Alexander Torshin, First Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council (the upper house of Russia’s parliament) visited DC in early March. While in Washington, AFPC hosted a University Club dinner in honor of the Chairman.

Between December 19 and 24, an AFPC delegation visited the Russian regions of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan to conduct field research on Russia’s Muslim minority, confessional relations in the Russian heartland, and the rising threat of Islamic radicalism within the Russian Federation. The delegation – led by AFPC President Herman Pirchner and AFPC Vice President Ilan Berman – traveled to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, and subsequently to Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan and the spiritual seat of Russia’s Muslim community.

As part of its two-decade tradition of organizing fact-finding missions to Russia, the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) sponsored a December 15-19 visit of senior American statesmen led by four former Under Secretaries of State: Paula Dobriansky, Robert Joseph, Richard McCormack and William Schneider.  Also joining the trip was former Assistant Secretary of Defense Mary Beth Long, as well as AFPC President  Herman Pirchner, Vice President Ilan Berman, and Senior Associate Wayne Merry.

On October 20-21, the U.S-Ukraine Foundation held its annual Roundtable on Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood. As in previous years, AFPC served as a major sponsor of the even

On October 20-21, the U.S-Ukraine Foundation held its annual Roundtable on Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood. As in previous years, AFPC served as a major sponsor of the event.

On Monday, October 4, 2010, AFPC hosted a dinner with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.  The Kremlin’s envoy to the U.S. since 2008, Kislyak previously served as deputy minister of foreign affairs, as well as Russia’s permanent representative to NATO in Brussels

The power struggle that has dominated Ukrainian politics since the Orange Revolution of 2004/2005 will be at least partially resolved by the country’s upcoming presidential elections -- elections that are now almost certain to sweep the greatly unpopular pro-Western president, Victor Yushchenko, from power. What will come after remains to be seen.

On February 9, 2009, the American Foreign Policy Council convened a Capitol Hill conference on U.S. policy toward Russia. The high-profile event featured presentations by AFPC President Herman Pirchner, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer, former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Army War College Professor Stephen Blank, and AFPC Senior Associate E. Wayne Merry.

On Tuesday February 3, AFPC hosted a small working luncheon with Mr. Victor Suvorov. Suvorov, a former Soviet army officer who served in military intelligence, defected in 1978 to the United Kingdom. He is the author of eighteen books that have been translated into more than twenty languages. His better known works included: Inside the Aquarium: the Making of a Top Soviet Spy and Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?

The Fall 2008 issue of Demokratizatsiya, the scholarly journal of post-Soviet democratization, carried AFPC President Herman Pirchner”s 14 page article, “The Uncertain Future Sino-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century”.