View source for Weber: Political Economy of Russian Power

'''Date:''' July 18th at 17:00 CET / 11:00 EDT  
'''Platform:''' Cisco Webex Webinars  

=== Link to Video Recording ===
[https://eucom.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/eucom/recording/playback/c5cdde8d07a9103cbf9f0050568183df Link to Video Recording] -- Passcode: RSIvideo2023

=== Details ===
RSI will host Yuval Weber, Alexandra Vacroux, and Robert Otto to discuss the Russian economy. The panel will highlight academic work on the political and economic aspects of Russia and discuss what role it plays for the Russian State.

=== Biographies ===

==== Yuval Weber ====
[[File:Photo_Yuval_Weber.jpg|thumb|200px|Yuval Weber]]  
'''Title:''' Subject-Matter Expert on Russian Military and Political Strategy  
'''Affiliation:''' National Intelligence University  

Yuval Weber, PhD, is a Subject-Matter Expert on Russian Military and Political Strategy at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare at Marine Corps University in Quantico, VA. He also serves as Research Assistant Professor at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service in Washington, DC. 

Dr. Weber has also taught or researched at the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Harvard University, and the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia. He is the author of a recently released book entitled ''The Russian Economy,'' which examines the tension between demands of economic modernization and the security state in Russia's political economy dating back to Tsarist times.

==== Alexandra Vacroux ====
[[File:Photo_Alexandra_Vacroux.jpg|thumb|200px|Alexandra Vacroux]]  
'''Title:''' Executive Director  
'''Affiliation:''' Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University  

Dr. Alexandra Vacroux is Executive Director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Her scholarly work addresses Russian and Eurasian policy issues, including the war in Ukraine. As Director of Graduate Studies for the Davis Center’s MA program in regional studies, she has mentored dozens of Harvard’s best and brightest students and regional experts. 

Prior to joining the Davis Center in 2010, she lived in Washington, DC, where she was a Scholar at the Kennan Institute, part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University.

==== Robert Otto ====
[[File:Photo_Robert_Otto.jpg|thumb|200px|Robert Otto]]  
'''Title:''' Advisor-Director of Russian Affairs  
'''Affiliation:''' State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research  

Robert Otto received his Ph.D. in Russian history at the University of Wisconsin in 1983. He served in the US Intelligence Community over a 30-year period during which he worked on a variety of Soviet and then Russia-related topics. These included the Soviet defense industry, leadership politics during the Yeltsin and Putin periods, and the Russian security services. 

He has served as a consultant for many published works. After retiring in 2020 as the State Department’s Senior Intelligence Officer for Russian Affairs at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), he returned to INR as an adviser to the Office Director for Russian Affairs in 2022.