page_title: Stanford US–Russia Forum
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Stanford US–Russia Forum / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Delegates present their CRP
context_page_description: The Stanford US–Russia Forum is an organization dedicated to bringing students at leading Russian and American universities together for research in public policy, business, economics and many other disciplines. The program begins with a fall conference in Russia, followed by six months of work on collaborative research projects and a capstone conference in the spring at Stanford University. Currently in its tenth year, more than 400 undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students from Russia and the U.S. have participated in the program.
context_section_description: SURF was founded in the fall of 2008 by four students from Stanford University and Moscow State University who wanted to maintain dialogue on U.S.-Russia cooperation despite the deterioration in relations caused by the Russo-Georgian war.
  SURF’s first public event was a one-day conference in November 2008 at Moscow State University focused on the most pressing problems in US-Russian relations. The conference attracted widespread student interest and was attended by delegates from MSU, MGIMO, the Higher School of Economics, the Academy of National Economy, as well as students from Stanford University, Yale University and University of Pennsylvania.
  In the fall of 2009, the organization launched the SURF Exchange Program, a six-month program for twenty American and twenty Russian students, selected on a competitive basis. During the fall, the SURF delegates participated in a series of virtual seminars with guest lecturers including Dmitri Trenin (Director, Carnegie Moscow Center) and Donald Kennedy (Editor, Science). In the winter, the delegates continued to meet virtually in small groups that researched and produced Collaborative Research Projects (CRP). The program concluded with a week-long capstone conference at Stanford University in April 2010. The capstone conference brought together organizers, participants and sponsors of SURF, as well as a number of special guests. Speakers included the 66th U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Arkady Dvorkovich, and Former Adviser to US President Bill Clinton for Russia and Ukraine Coit Blacker. Following the conference, the CRP results were published in the SURF Journal. The first SURF Exchange Program was formally recognized for its work fostering civil society ties between the US and Russia by Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov.
caption: Delegates present their CRP
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