Tucson Festival of Books

Poking the Russian Bear


For centuries, the bear has symbolized Russia--strong yet brutal and clumsy. Three authors, who have encountered that easily provoked and cruel beast either personally or through the lens of history, will detail the dangers and opportunities of dealing with Russia in the 21st century.


Panelists
Julia Ioffe

Julia Ioffe is a Russian-born American journalist whose articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Foreign Policy, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, The New Republic, Politico, and The Atlantic....

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Michael McFaul

Michael McFaul is a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University....

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Candace Rondeaux

Candace Rondeaux is a globally recognized expert on international affairs, U.S. national security, irregular warfare, and the strategic use of organized violence. She is the author of "Putin's Sledgehammer," and is senior director for the Future Frontlines program at New America, an open source public interest intelligence service....

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Books:
Autocrats Vs. Democrats
China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder
Michael McFaul
Current Issues / Politics / Social Science
HarperCollins Publishers
October 2025
ISBN 9780358677871
512 pages
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Motherland
A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy
Julia Ioffe
Current Issues / Politics / Social Science
HarperCollins Publishers
March 2025
ISBN 9780062879127
512 pages
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Putin's Sledgehammer
Candace Rondeaux
Current Issues / Politics / Social Science
PublicAffairs
May 2025
ISBN 9781541703063
Buy now