Sergey Kislyak

As a part of the William Van Cleave guest lecture series, DSS was graced with the presence of Russia’s Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak on Thursday April 30^th. The ambassador addressed a crowded room, comprised of a healthy mix of students, academics and politicians. The event, graciously coordinated by faculty member Robert Joseph, was the most well attended of the lecture series this academic year. Hats off to the faculty for such a well produced event.

Kislyak addressed a variety of topics, ranging from strategic arms agreements to the recent success of Russian players in the Nation Hockey League. Though his lecture was quite informative as well as persuasive, I came away certain of one thing - Kislyak has an enormous amount of pride for his motherland. His enthusiasm was not tempered either; the ambassador spoke of Russia much like I would boast of America.

Ambassador Kislyak’s lecture highlighted several opportunities for cooperation between the United States and Russia, but he was most contentious over the 2008 South Ossetia War. The ambassador made clear his disapproval of United States’ unsympathetic reaction, bemoaning Russia’s victim status in the conflict. His arguments were framed quite convincingly, but failed encompass the entire portrait. Kislyak used the same tactics throughout his lecture to understate the misdeeds of the Russian Federation, while exaggerating those of other nations.

Ambassador Kislyak demonstrates the breadth of his sympathy for the Georgians.

The event culminated in a Q&A session, in which the ambassador surprisingly fielded unfiltered questions from the audience. This is where the ambassador truly earned his stripes as a diplomat. Kislyak confronted issues of the INF, Iran’s nuclear program, and the Russia-Ukraine gas disputes in an impressive fashion, while accomplishing the seemingly impossible task of placing Russia in a positive light in each case.

The evening concluded with a reception, which gave the audience the opportunity to interact with Ambassador Kislyak on a more casual basis. I left the lecture impressed with what a good sport the ambassador seemed to be.

Students of strategy should be taking notes from the ambassador, who’s skills as a diplomat were on par with our own Dr. Joseph. This leads me to believe that though the geopolitical prestige of the Russian Federation has dropped over the years, they certainly do not suffer from a lack of diplomatic talent.