SAVE THE DATE
Monday, September 23, 3:30PM
National Press Club, Washington DC
On Monday September 23, The Remembrance Society will hold a press conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Russian apartment bombings in Moscow, Buinaksk and Volgodonsk which killed 300 persons and injured 1,000 and brought Vladimir Putin to power. There is overwhelming evidence that the bombings were carried out by the Russian Federal Security
Service (FSB) and that Putin came to power with an act of terror against his own people.
The question of how Putin came to power is of immense importance to Americans because it shows why the defense of Ukraine is so important. At the same time, the truth about the bombings is an important way to inform the Russian people about the Putin regime. Only Russians can end the war against Ukraine. The truth about the bombings can be an important
contribution in reaching them and bringing Russia’s aggression to an end.
Aso, the apartment bombings, in calling attention to Putin’s acts of terrorism against his own people, and more recently against the people of Ukraine, are critical in branding Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, the subject of legislation pending in the U.S. Congress.
To discuss the 25 th anniversary of the apartment bombings and their significance, The Remembrance Society has brought together three of the world’s leading experts on Putin’s rise to power. They will discuss the bombings, the evidence and the lessons for the present day.
Briefing Panelists:
Andrei Piontkovsky is a Russian scientist, political writer and analyst. He is a member of PEN International and a regular political commentator for the BBC World Service and Radio Liberty.
Dr. Piontkovsky is also the author of several books on the Putin presidency, including Another Look Into Putin’s Soul and Russian Identity. He holds a doctorate in mathematics from Moscow State University and is a member of the American Mathematical Society.
David Satter is TRS vice chairman and director of education programs, a journalist, historian, the author of six books on Russia and the Soviet Union, and a documentary film director. A former Moscow correspondent of the Financial Times of London (1976-82), he has followed Russian events for almost five decades. In September 2013, he was accredited as a Radio Liberty correspondent in Moscow. Three months later, he was expelled from Russia becoming the first U.S. correspondent to be barred from Russia since the Cold War.
Evgeny Savostiyanov was one of the leaders of the electoral campaign in 1988 of the famous Soviet dissident Academician Andrei Sakharov. After the failure of the August 1991 coup attempt, he personally shut down the headquarters of the Communist Party of the USSR. From 1991 to 1994, he headed the Moscow Office of the FSB and he worked from 1996 to 1998 as deputy head of the administration of President Yeltsin. He later participated in democratic political movements and made a brief run for the presidency of Russia in 2000. In 2009, he initiated a movement for Russian-American rapprochement. He is the author of several books, including, “Secret Services on the Edge” (2017), “Democrat & Counterspy” (2020), and “I shut
down the CPSU” (2023).
Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett serves as President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, established in 2008 to continue the legacy of her father, the late Congressman Tom Lantos. Under her leadership, The Lantos Foundation has rapidly become a distinguished and respected voice on key human rights concerns. Dr. Lantos Swett is the former Chair and Vice-Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and teaches Human Rights and American Foreign Policy at Tufts University. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Board of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) and the Budapest based Tom Lantos Institute