David J. Kramer, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute, visited the Maxwell School on Feb. 22, 2024, for a talk marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The event was hosted by the Moynihan Institute’s Center for European Studies and the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Kramer spoke of Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and shared how it has not gone according to plan. His audience in the Strasser Legacy Room included students, faculty and staff. Among them: Tetiana Hranchak, visiting assistant teaching professor, who joined the Maxwell School through the Scholars at Risk Network after fleeing Kyiv.

Kramer is author of “Back to Containment: Dealing with Putin’s Regime” (The McCain Institute for International Leadership, 2017). He taught at Florida International University’s Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, where he also was senior fellow in the Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy and director for European and Eurasian Affairs. He also worked in Washington, D.C., for 24 years, including as senior director for Human Rights and Democracy with the McCain Institute for International Leadership. In addition, he served eight years in the U.S. Department of State.