ANHW Corporate Board
Former US Ambassador to Russia
Michael McFaul
on Putin: How He’s Changed and What He Wants Now
Friday, December 5, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Eastern
via Zoom
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul offers a rare, firsthand view of Vladimir Putin — his rise, his fears, and his vision for Russia’s place in the world. Ambassador McFaul has known and studied Putin for decades. He will share what drives Putin now and what he wants. He will also share on the new alliance between Russia, China and North Korea.
Michael McFaul is a professor at Stanford and Director of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also an international affairs analyst for NBC News.
Ambassador McFaul served for five years in the Obama administration rising to become US Ambassador to Russia.
He has authored and co-authored several books, including, most recently Autocrats vs Democrats and From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia.
His current research interests include great power relations between China, Russia, and the United States, the relationship between democracy and development, and American foreign policy.
Ambassador McFaul was born and raised in Montana. He received his B.A. from Stanford University and then, as a Rhodes Scholar, earned his D. Phil. in International Relations at Oxford University.
