Yegor Gaidar, one of the principal architects of Russia's painful transition from communism, will assess his country's current situation in a speech Tuesday, Jan. 18, at the University of Washington.

Gaidar's Seattle appearance will be the first stop in a 10-day series of visits with U.S. academic, business and government leaders. His political memoir, "Days of Defeat and Victory," was published this month by the University of Washington Press.

Gaidar headed the first post-communist government of President Boris Yeltsin in 1991 as minister of economics and then acting prime minister, helping steer Russia toward capitalism and democracy. He resigned at the end of 1992, only to return to lead the government the following year. But a few months later he quit again in a showdown with Yeltsin over the pace of reform.

Now the head of the Russia's Democratic Choice Party, Gaidar, an economist by training, continues to be a leading voice for economic and political liberalization.

In his Seattle lecture, sponsored by the UW's Jackson School of International Studies, Henry M. Jackson Foundation and World Affairs Council, Gaidar will discuss Yeltsin's legacy, the nation's prospects under acting president Vladimir Putin, the war raging in Chechnya and other topics.

The talk will be at the UW's Kane Hall 130 at 7:30 p.m. Free tickets are available at the University Book Store in the University District, downtown Seattle and Bellevue.
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For questions, contact Michael Duckworth at the University of Washington Press, (206) 221-4940, or michaeld@u.washington.edu. To obtain a review copy of Gaidar's book, contact Cynthia Kludt at (206) 543-4050.