Past Event

Watch the recording from the lecture HERE

In the fall of 1971, Canada hosted the first-ever visit of a Soviet head of government, and the first-ever visit of longtime Yugoslav President Tito. At the time, these visits signified a new opening to East European communist states, and were part of then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s effort to raise Canada’s international profile. Unexpectedly, however, the visits sparked a controversy over the appropriateness of inviting leaders of non-democratic regimes to Canada. How do state leaderships strike a balance between permitting peaceful demonstrations against such visits, and maintaining the image of a good host? When do the advantages of bilateral summits between world leaders outweigh the disadvantages? In 2022, as we continue to debate the painful questions of how democratic leaders engage with non-democratic regimes, it is useful to revisit an era where interpersonal contacts between leaders were seen as a way to reduce the tensions of the Cold War.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of The Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, we are excited to announce the ‘EURUS at 50: Lecture Series’, a series of lectures highlighting the visits of regional figures and statesmen to Ottawa throughout the Institute’s history. The first event in the series, “Bilateral Summits under Détente: The Visits of Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and Yugoslav President Iosip Broz Tito,” will be presented by Dr. Andrea Chandler. The lecture will discuss the separate visits to Canada of Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and Yugoslav President Iosip Broz Tito in 1971.

The event will take place on Thursday February 3rd at 6:00 pm on Zoom.

Please register here to receive the Zoom link.