Message from the President of the Carnegie Endowment

From its inception in 1910, the Carnegie Endowment has been a pioneer -- it was the world’s first institution dedicated to "peace research." Today, we are proud to carry on Andrew Carnegie’s tradition of innovative institution-building with our
Moscow Center and Russian and Eurasian Program.

When the Cold War ended, the Carnegie Trustees considered how the Endowment might contribute to the historic transformations taking place in the former Soviet Union—transformations vital to the future of the newly independent states, to America’s interests, and to world peace. After more than seven decades of communism, opinion leaders and policy-makers in Russia lacked the healthy experience of unfettered intellectual debate and a respected, neutral place where they could exchange views. Scholars had nowhere to go for interdisciplinary research in the public policy field - a field that barely existed under Soviet power but now encompasses some of the most compelling issues confronting the countries of the region. Nor did Russians and others in the post-Soviet states who are interested in public policy have much opportunity for sustained collaboration with Americans.

To respond to these important needs, the Endowment in 1993 expanded its Washington-based Russian and Eurasian Program and created the Carnegie Moscow Center, the first - and still the only -- public policy research center of its size and kind in the region. No other research institute has the same presence in Moscow or impact on so many cross-cutting issues. Fifteen senior staff members at the Moscow Center and the Endowment in Washington form two complementary halves of an ambitious program of collaborative work -- starting with joint research and culminating in publication and public debate. The result is a truly binational and unique Russian-American endeavor.

In these pages you will find evidence of the extraordinary success of our Russian and Eurasian Program and Carnegie Moscow Center. In three short years, far exceeding our own expectations, Carnegie has become the leading institution in Moscow in the field of Russian and Eurasian studies. We are proud of our new public policy journal, Pro et Contra, which is garnering rave reviews and a dedicated readership. And already, the Center has begun conducting activities beyond Moscow in Russia’s increasingly assertive regions, and beyond Russia in some of the newly independent states.

Andrew Carnegie built things to last. Indeed, most of the hundreds of institutions he established at the beginning of this century -- from libraries, to museums, to the Endowment itself -- still are serving the needs of the world community as we near the century’s end. Our long-term plans for the Moscow Center are very much in keeping with his vision. We are working to ensure that the Carnegie Moscow Center thrives in the 21st century as a lasting testament to intellectual partnership between Russians and Americans, occupying a permanent place in Russia’s growing public policy community.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews
President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace