SPRINGFIELD — On Wednesday, March 9 at noon, the World Affairs Council will present author Constantine Pleshakov at an Instant Issues webinar on Russia’s Foreign Policy in the 21st Century.

A former foreign-policy analyst at the Institute of U.S. and Canada Studies in Moscow, Pleshakov emigrated to America in 1998. He has published six books on geopolitics, war, and revolution, translated into 12 languages. His most recent book is The Crimean Nexus: Putin’s War and the Clash of Civilizations. Other titles include The Tsar’s Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima, Stalin’s Folly: The Tragic First Ten Days of World War II on the Eastern Front, and There Is No Freedom Without Bread! 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism. A native of Yalta in Crimea, he is currently a visiting professor at Amherst College.

The program will be moderated by a longtime member and friend of the council, Stephen Jones, professor of Russian Studies at Mount Holyoke College and co-author of Georgia: From Autocracy to Democracy.

This event is free and open to the public. Click here to register.

SPRINGFIELD — Today, Dec. 13, at noon, the World Affairs Council will present an Instant Issues Online webinar featuring Gedeon Werner, Novak Family Endowed Polish Chair at the School of Business at Quinnipiac University, on “Poland’s Quarrel With the EU: A Prelude to Polexit?”

Werner combines both academic teaching and leadership of the American Polish Business Leadership Scholarship program. Through this program, aspiring young Polish business professionals complete their MBA studies at Quinnipiac University and are provided with the opportunity to gain substantial working experience in American businesses. Werner also conceptualized and developed the Global Business Affairs Polish Certificate program to be offered at the School of Business. He serves on the board of directors of the the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning at Elms College.

World Affairs Council board member Michael Sweeney will moderate the program. The event is free and open to the public. To register, click here.