Elbe river meeting 75

Elbe 75 - Cooperating for World Peace

April 24 - 25, 2020 Berlin – Torgau - Strehla, Germany

Organizers and Sponsors:

American University in Moscow

Burganov Museum

Eurasian Assembly, Moscow

Eurasian Center, Washington, DC

International Center for Public Diplomacy – NRNU MEPHI

International Foundation "Fenix”

International Union of Russian Compatriots

Russia House, Washington, DC

US-Russia Friendship Society

Vision

April25,2020, marks the 75th anniversary of the momentous occasion when U.S. and Soviet forces met at the Elbe River successfully cutting the German army in two.

The "Meeting on the Elbe" signaled the approaching end of the Nazi regime and was heralded around the world. Today, the joyfulness created by that open display of comradeship between East and West is needed more than ever.

For many years, American and Russian veterans, as well as public organizations, have kept the spirit of that Elbe River linkage alive with commemorations and reunions and by erecting monuments, plaques, and statues in our two countries.

This year we intend to bring the ceremony back to its starting point at the Elbe River, where we will reenact that historic moment. At the same time this event can be a great opportunity to engage in a long-awaited US-EU-Russia dialogue in view of unprecedented tensions that threaten the security of our nations and the world.

Program

April 24, 2020 – Berlin

9.00 – 13.00

Dr. Herbert Reginbogin at the Catholic University of America's Institute of Policy Research underscores: The world is racing towards a future of multi-polarity. Regional economic and military heavyweights will compete for influence in their respective spheres of interest, not unlike the European balance of power of the nineteenth century. In this context, the primordial question will be how to stabilize that system, while avoiding the cataclysm of war that in the past proved to be the only means to settle questions of power. Christopher Clark has called this threat the problem of political ‘sleepwalkers’, stumbling into a global war without intention but with necessity, due to the logic of the system that they build. To avoid the threat, not only is a new foundation needed for global security but an architecture overall that structures the game.

Neutral security corridor between NATO and Russia and a belt of neutral islands in the China Seas become a buffer zone with the effect of reducing tension between rivaling great powers as trade can continue. The commitments made to transform the pockets of conflict into mutually important geographical stable areas based on a set of rules allow for potential prosperity. Most importantly, the logic of a global security system revolving around the pillars of neutrality can work because they serve the self-interest of the nations involved– the necessary premise for the stability of any system. Although the Swiss were neutralized by outside forces in 1815, they would fight to the death to defend their neutrality which has become the cornerstone of their self-image and foreign policy. At the same time, they (and other neutrals) have been actively contributing humanitarian relief, good offices, and diplomatic services to the world at large because it was in their own best interest. In short, a global security architecture based on the norms of neutrality can be the answer to the security dilemma of the 21st century. This project will address the above issues and questions with the goal of transforming the working group into a knowledge-hub for solutions, strategies, and security mechanisms involving permanent neutrality.

14.00- 18.00Round Table Discussion about lessons of WWII and how to resume US-EU-Russia dialogue with participation of well-known historians and scholars.

· Gen Col. Valery Baranov, former Deputy Commander, Russian Internal Troops Academy

· Bruce Bean, Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University

· Werner Busch, Président d'honneur, Association Internationale des Professeurs de Philosophie

· Gen. Keith Dayton, Director Marshall Center, Garmisch, Germany

· David Foglesong, Professor, Rutgers University

· François Heisbourg, International Institute for Strategic Studies and Special Advisor at the Paris-based Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique

· Gen Maj. German V. Kirilenko, Doctor of Military Sciences, Russian General Staff

· Jeremy Kuzmarov, Professor, Tulane University

· Peter Kuznick, Professor, American University, Washington, DC

· Edward Lozansky, President, American University in Moscow, Professor of Moscow State and National Research Nuclear Universities

Thomas Meaney, Fellow, Max Planck Institute, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

· Natalia Narochnitskaya, Senior Fellow, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (TBC)

· Herbert Reginbogin, Professor, Catholic University of America, Institute for Policy Research

· Sergei Rogov, Science Advisor, Institute of USA and Canada, Russian Academy of Sciences

· Gen. Kevin Ryan, former Defense Attaché, US Embassy in Moscow, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

· Victor Savinych, Russian Cosmonaut, Member of the Russian Academy of Science, President, Moscow Institute of Geodesy and Cartography

· Martin Sieff, Senior fellow, American University in Moscow, former Senior Foreign Policy Editor of the Washington Times

· Gen. Peter Zwack, former Defense Attaché, US Embassy in Moscow, Senior Research Fellow at the Wilson Center

6.00 - 9.00 PM: Reception and Concert featuring Youth Brass Band, classical music and Jazz.

April 25–Torgau & Strehla

9.00 AM

Departure from Berlin to Torgau & Strehla

11.00 AM - 6.00 PM

Brass bands marches, followed by veterans and guests to the Elbe Memorials, wreath laying ceremony, speeches by veterans and dignitaries. Historical reconstructionof the Elbe River linkage, friendship trees planting ceremony.

5.00 - 7.00 PM

Teleconference Moscow - Washington – Torgau

7.00 PM

Return to Berlin

For additional information, registration and offering financial support please visit www.RussiaHouse.org/wrf.php