"Russia and the Near Abroad" will be the topic for February's foreign policy program presented by the Edgar Dyer Institute for Leadership and Public Policy scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon at Coastal Carolina University's Myrtle Beach Education Center. The public is invited to this free event in CCU's Great Decisions Program.

"Near Abroad" refers to the newly independent republics that emerged after dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Years after the end of the Cold War, the question of whether Russia is a stabilizing or destabilizing power, globally and in the post-Soviet region, has yet to be answered. This presentation will focus on Russia's actions in its "near abroad" to include invasions of Georgia and Ukraine.

The featured speakers include Gordon Smith, a prolific author and editor specializing in Russian politics and law. His commentaries on Russian domestic political, legal and foreign policy matters have appeared in numerous media outlets, including Time, The New York Times, USA Today and The Christian Science Monitor. Smith is director of the Walker Institute of International and Area Studies and professor of political science at the University of South Carolina.

Mariam Dekanozishvili, an assistant professor of politics at CCU, will also lead the discussion. Her area of teaching and research specialization is European/European Union (EU) politics, with a focus on integration and policymaking in the EU. Before coming to the United States, she worked for the Ministry of European Integration for the country of Georgia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

This program is the first in a series of the Great Decisions Program presented by the Dyer Institute, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and CCU's Department of Politics and Geography. Visit the website at coastal.edu/humanities/ilpp/.

The Myrtle Beach Education Center is located at 900 79th Ave. N. in Myrtle Beach. For more information, call 843-349-2767 or 843-349-6952.