Myths and Biases – Why is the West Losing Psychological War with Russia? A Discussion with Maria Domańska, PhD.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the perception of Moscow’s policies by the West has become much more realistic than before.

However, deeply entrenched misconceptions about Russia still make it difficult for allies to respond adequately to Europe’s most significant security threat since 1945.

Western governments still need to work out a long-term approach toward Moscow, which could contribute to achieving sustainable peace in Europe. Failure to accomplish that so far results from three main fallacies: the misinterpretation of political messages sent by the Kremlin, the underestimation of the link between domestic repression and foreign aggression, and the fear of Russia’s collapse.

We invite you to join us at the Kosciuszko Foundation Washington DC on Wednesday, May 29th at 6pm to meet with Ms. Maria Domanska, PhD, an expert on Russia, and currently a visiting fellow at CEPA (Center for European Policy Analysis).

Ms. Domańska will discuss the issues and concerns mentioned above, and take questions from the audience

Maria Domańska, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at the Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), and a visiting fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). She specialises in Russia’s domestic politics, including formal and informal aspects of the political system, state propaganda, politics of memory, domestic determinants of Russia’s foreign policy, and political emigration originating from Russia.

Between 2006–2015 she was a career diplomat in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she worked in the Eastern Policy Department and in diplomatic posts in Belarus and Russia. She has served as the head of Political Section in the Polish Embassy in Moscow for three years.

Ms. Domanska authored and co-authored numerous analytical papers on Russia’s domestic politics that can be accessed on the OSW website.

Refreshmens will be served.

The meeting is free and open to public. Please RSVP to kfdc@thekf.org as our space is limited.