20
May 2016
Past Event
The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin

The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
May 20, 2016
20
May 2016
Past Event

1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20004

Speakers:
Charles Davidson

Former Executive Director, Kleptocracy Initiative

David Satter

Former Senior Fellow

Kevin Klose

Professor, University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism and former president, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Carl Gershman

President, National Endowment for Democracy

Robert Amsterdam

Founding Partner, Amsterdam and Partners

Hudson Senior Fellow David Satter is known in Russia for having written that the apartment bombings in 1999, which were blamed on Chechens and brought Putin to power, were actually carried out by the Russian FSB security police.

In his new book, __The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin__, Satter tells the story of the apartment bombings, Boris Yeltsin’s role presiding over the criminalization of Russia, and Putin’s rise to power. As the threat represented by Russia becomes increasingly clear, Satter’s description of where Russia is and how it got there will be of vital interest to anyone concerned about the dangers facing the world today.

On May 20, Kevin Klose, the former director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Carl Gershman, the head of the National Endowment for Democracy; and Robert Amsterdam, a prominent international lawyer, joined Satter to discuss the book. Charles Davidson, executive director of Hudson's Kleptocracy Initiative, moderated the conversation.

Related Events
22
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Colombia Recalibrates: Security, Stability, and the US Alliance
Featured Speakers:
Marcela Prieto Botero
Evan Ellis
Sergio Guzmán
Antonio Garrastazu
Daniel Batlle
Rubio
22
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Colombia Recalibrates: Security, Stability, and the US Alliance

Join Hudson Institute for a panel that will examine how far de la Espriella can advance economic and security reforms without a legislative majority and how his approach will shape Colombia’s relations with the United States.

Rubio
Featured Speakers:
Marcela Prieto Botero
Evan Ellis
Sergio Guzmán
Antonio Garrastazu
Daniel Batlle
23
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Tablet Magazine’s What Really Matters: A Live Episode at Hudson Institute
Featured Speakers:
Walter Russell Mead
Jeremy Stern
What really Matters
23
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Tablet Magazine’s What Really Matters: A Live Episode at Hudson Institute

Join Hudson Institute and Tablet Magazine for an exclusive live recording of What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead. Mead, the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship, and his cohost Jeremy Stern, editor in chief of Colossus, will bring their wide-ranging perspectives to help make sense of the news and understand the most consequential developments in American politics and world affairs.

What really Matters
Featured Speakers:
Walter Russell Mead
Jeremy Stern
23
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Inertial Confinement Fusion Bolsters Strategic Deterrence
Featured Speakers:
Mark Herrmann
Keith LeChien
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Madelyn Creedon
engineers
23
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Inertial Confinement Fusion Bolsters Strategic Deterrence

Join Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative for a discussion of Inertial Confinement Fusion Is Key to America’s Nuclear Deterrent, a new memo authored by Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs and Former Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Madelyn Creedon.

engineers
Featured Speakers:
Mark Herrmann
Keith LeChien
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Madelyn Creedon
24
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Ending Self-Imposed Scarcity: Expanding Defense Production with New Technology and Techniques
Featured Speakers:
Jeff Frankston
Andy Magliochetti
Rolf Ziesing
Bryan Clark
Nadia Schadlow
Jai Malik
drone
24
September 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Ending Self-Imposed Scarcity: Expanding Defense Production with New Technology and Techniques

Join Hudson Institute for a discussion of how the DoW and industry are changing defense manufacturing for twenty-first century deterrence and combat.

drone
Featured Speakers:
Jeff Frankston
Andy Magliochetti
Rolf Ziesing
Bryan Clark
Nadia Schadlow
Jai Malik