Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on October 7, 2026 in order to attend this event.
Please join the Harriman Institute for a book talk by Hanna Notte. Moderated by Alexander Cooley.
In 2022, Vladimir Putin commanded Russian forces to invade Ukraine, producing a rupture with the United States and Europe the world has not seen since the Cold War. In addition to unleashing immense losses on the Ukrainian people, the war turned into a long battle of wills in which Russia refocused its entire state machinery to achieve one purpose: Outlast the West, at any cost necessary.
Russia foreign policy analyst Hanna Notte tells a story that has long been obscured: that the Kremlin is waging a war not only on Ukraine, but over global order. Blending critical analysis with reportage from over a dozen countries, We Shall Outlast Them takes readers on a panoramic journey through this new era of statecraft, with its successes and its failures. From the comedy of Russia’s antics at the UN to the melodrama of its outrageous nuclear threats, Notte renders an astonishing portrait of a newly outward-facing Russia. With sensitivity and depth, she shows why the country enjoys enduring appeal among some people around the world while casting a dark shadow onto others.
Putin is the one pulling the strings, but he is not the only player. Propagandists, diplomats, businessmen, and rogue agents have done his bidding: They have outmaneuvered sanctions, forged surprising alliances, and charmed the Global South. From civilian shelters to military bases, presidential palaces to tense borderlands, Notte chronicles the untold stories of those waging Russia’s battles—but also of everyday people swept up in Putin’s agenda. Whether from activists, refugees, or whistleblowers, these stunning accounts lay bare the true toll of Russia’s power games.
Dr. Hanna Notte is the director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California. She is also a senior associate (non-resident) with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an associate fellow with the Kennan Institute. Her expertise is in Russian foreign policy, the Middle East, and arms control and nonproliferation. Notte holds a doctorate and an MPhil in international relations from Oxford University and a BA in social and political sciences from Cambridge University. Based in Berlin, she regularly writes for outlets such as the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, the New York Times, War on the Rocks, and ZEIT, among others. Notte previously worked with the Shaikh Group, a nongovernmental organization focused on informal diplomacy in Middle East conflicts, supporting its engagement with Russia. During her doctoral studies, she was a visiting researcher with the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Carnegie Moscow Center. She is the coauthor of Death Dust: The Rise, Demise, and Future of Radiological Weapons Programs (Stanford University Press, 2023).
