March 27, 2000
Leading Russian political strategist to discuss election results on April 5
By Jennifer McNulty
One of Russia's leading political strategists will discuss the outcome of Russia's
presidential election during a free public talk on Wednesday, April 5, from 7 to
9 p.m., in the Baobab Lounge at Merrill College.
Vyacheslav Igrunov, the chief organizer for Russia's leading democratic party, Yabloko,
and the director of Grigorii Yavlinsky's current presidential campaign, will discuss
"Russia's Presidential Elections: The Yeltsin Succession and What Comes Next."
His visit is being sponsored by UCSC's Politics and History Departments.
"Igrunov will discuss how the Russian presidential election on March 26 figures
into the drama of Russian politics and what we can expect in its wake," said
Michael Urban, professor of politics and chair of the Politics Department.
Igrunov, who has been a member of Russia's parliament since 1993, is the founder
of an archive for the democratic movement in Russia that Urban calls "the best
single source of information on democracy in Russia." He is also director of
the Institute for Humanities and Political Studies in Moscow, a highly regarded private
social science research institution that was the first nongovernmental research institution
organized in Russia since the 1917 revolution.
With a long history of political dissidence behind him, Igrunov has emerged as one
of Russia's most effective political organizers. His visit to UCSC will be preceded
by talks at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.
