Immigration and Russian foreign policy are focal points of contemporary US politics, yet little in-depth information about either is on offer. This panel discussion will address both through the lens of the unrecognized impact of the waves of Russian-speaking immigrants to the US described in Hammer and Silicon, (Cambridge University Press, 2018). The presentation of the book and the panel discussion will provide important background for current policy discussions through delving into the unintended consequences of past Soviet and Russian foreign policy that allowed for the immigration of many highly educated, talented Russian-speaking scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs to the US. Hammer and Silicon presents the untold story of the significant contributions of these technical professionals to the US innovation economy, particularly in the sectors of software, social media, biotechnology and medicine.

Drawing upon more than 150 in-depth interviews split between Boston/Cambridge and Silicon Valley, the book chronicles the hardships they endured in transit and in cultural adaptation; while also exploring how they took advantage of new opportunities in their adopted homeland. Their stories and experience are part of a broader picture of immigrant contributions to the US tech sector that is extremely relevant to today’s debates over the future of immigration policy.

Author Bios:

Dr. Sheila M. Puffer is University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University, Boston, USA, where she is a professor of international business at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business. She is also an Associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, and has served as program director of the Gorbachev Foundation of North America. In 2015 she was a visiting research professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University where she studied entrepreneurs and other technical professionals from the former Soviet Union. She worked for six years as an administrator in the Government of Canada and has consulted for a number of private and nonprofit organizations. Dr. Puffer earned a diploma from the executive management program at the Plekhanov Institute of the National Economy in Moscow and holds BA (Slavic Studies) and MBA degrees from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a PhD in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Daniel M. Satinsky, Esq. is a Business Development Consultant and Independent Scholar. For more than 20 years, Daniel has been engaged in technology-related international business projects and building practical business networks, with a concentration on Russia-related projects. He has traveled to the Soviet Union and Russia more than 100 times from 1984 to the present. He was President of the Board of the U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England for more than 15 years and is an Associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies of Harvard University. He holds a Master of Law and Diplomacy degree from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from James Madison College of Michigan State University.

Moderator: Anna Uritsky, is a Harvard Club member, who has been the Executive Director and a Board member of the U.S.- Russian Chamber of Commerce of New England for the last 8 years. She studied and worked in Russian, Hungary, and the United States. She previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Moscow office), and pre-eminent strategic communications firm the PBN Company (Moscow office). Anna attended the Budapest University of Economic Sciences (currently Corvinus University of Budapest) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.