Russia's War Against Ukraine: A Conversation with Fiona Hill

The Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver  welcomed Fiona Hill, an expert on Russia who worked in the past three U.S. administrations, who joined Korbel Dean Frederick “Fritz” Mayer for a conversation about Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

“It is with immense pleasure that we welcome Dr. Hill, one of the world’s foremost experts on Russia to share her insights as we seek to understand the ongoing crisis in Ukraine,” says Mayer. “Her appearance is an invaluable opportunity for our students and the broader community to learn more about what has brought us to this moment and the consequences we may experience for years to come.” 

Hill is currently a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Recently and notably, she served as the senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2019. Prior to her position on the National Security Council, she served as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council from 2006 to 2009 and as director of strategic planning at The Eurasia Foundation in Washington, D.C. From 1991 to 1999, she held several positions directing technical assistance and research projects at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, including associate director of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, director of the Project on Ethnic Conflict in the Former Soviet Union, and coordinator of the Trilateral Study on Japanese-Russian-U.S. Relations. 

Hill has researched and published extensively on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, regional conflicts, energy, and strategic issues. She is the author of “There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century” and co-author of “Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin.”  Hill holds a master’s in Soviet studies and a doctorate in history from Harvard University where she was a Frank Knox Fellow.