Given the present existential dangers in Russia-U.S. relations, an historic 1985 citizen’s summit that was televised from Leningrad and Seattle, will be replicated on June 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia and Kingston, New York.
By Scott Ritter
Real Scott Ritter
We live in dangerous times. Now is the time for the people of the United States and Russia to set the example of how civil discourse and dialogue can pave the way for peace between our two nations.
On June 18, Americans and Russians from all walks of life will come together to engage in an act of “people’s diplomacy.” Whether seated in a theater in beautiful Saint Petersburg, or in the historic Mohican Hotel in downtown Kingston, New York, the participants will be doing what we collectively can only hope our respective leadership will do — engage their citizen counterparts in constructive dialogue which seeks to better relations between their two nations.
The 2025 Space Bridge/Citizen’s Summit takes place on the 40th anniversary of the historic, groundbreaking 1985 “Leningrad-Seattle” Citizen’s Summit organized by two legendary journalists, Phil Donahue of the United States and Vladimir Pozner of the Soviet Union.
The 1985 Space Bridge became the gold standard for citizen-to-citizen diplomacy, setting in motion numerous follow-on Citizen’s Summits that helped both nations navigate the troubled waters of the Cold War toward a path that led toward peaceful coexistence.
Like its 1985 predecessor, the 2025 Citizen’s Summit seeks to strengthen the dialogue between the civil society of our two countries and promote the idea of “people’s diplomacy” – open dialogue, exchange of experience and establishment of cultural ties.
The Space Bridge aims to serve as a bridge between cultures, generations, and nations. The program will combine live discussions, cultural exchanges, historical reflection, and a forward-looking perspective. The main goal is to demonstrate that, despite differences, people can find common ground and understand each other.
Watch the entire 1985 Citizen’s Summit:
The goals of the 2025 US-Russia Citizen’s Summit for Peace are as follows:
• Strengthen mutual understanding between Russian and American citizens.
• Demonstrate that, despite disagreements, people can find common language.
• Create a positive news story amid tense international relations.
By creating a space for an open dialogue where participants can discuss any topical and pressing issues, including those related to social, economic and cultural interaction, we can deepen understanding between Americans and Russians.
The Citizen’s Summit provides participants with the opportunity to share successful practices in democracy, civic participation and the protection of human rights, while assisting in the dissemination of cultural and educational initiatives that contribute to the strengthening of friendship between peoples.
The summit will also assist in the dissemination of cultural and educational initiatives that contribute to the strengthening of friendship between peoples, and in the process, help identify possible follow-on joint initiatives and projects involving the participants that can have a positive impact on the lives of citizens of both countries.
The Citizen’s Summit will be more than just a dialogue between Americans and Russians—it will be a shared experience, one that hopefully expands beyond the respective forums in Saint Petersburg and Kingston, and resonates to every corner of both the United States and Russia, empowering all who witness it to join in on this joint venture to prove to ourselves and our leaders that, if given the chance, our two peoples can choose peace over war, prosperity over sanctions, and cooperation over confrontation.
Hosts of the 2025 Spacebridge/Russia-USA Citizens Summit
“My civic mission is to show the world the real Russia—not the version portrayed by Western media, but a nation defined by innovation and hospitality.
I am proud to be a Russian citizen, to drive innovation within our country by developing and bringing to market Russian products and services sought after both domestically and internationally, and of course, to lead this project.
I hope for a sincere dialogue between Russian and American citizens—essential for true progress—that unfolds not through the lens of media, but face to face. Like my fellow Russians, I have many questions for U.S. citizens, and I’m deeply curious to hear their responses.”
Scott Ritter (in Kingston, NY)
“In 1985, when the first Space Bridge took place, I was serving in the US Marines, preparing for a possible war with the Soviet Union. I viewed the dialogue between Americans and Russians with some interest, since it humanized people I had only previously viewed as my enemy.
Three years later I was able to participate in my own personal Space Bridge. I had been assigned to the Russian city of Votkinsk, where I served as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty. Over the course of two years, I had many conversations with the citizens of Votkinsk, after which I vowed never again to view the Russian people as my enemy.
I have traveled to Russia twice in the past two years, continuing the conversations I began more than 37 years ago. I watch as my country once again seeks to view Russia and its people as enemies of America and Americans. I am struck by the importance of simple dialogue among people as the key to building friendship between nations. I am proud to be able to help facilitate such dialogue today, as part of this project.”
The Venue
Interior of the Mohican Market in Kingston, NY. (Courtesy of Gerald Celente)
The Mohican was originally a market and bakery located in Uptown Kingston’s historic Stockade District. Established in 1880, the Mohican moved to its current address in 1930. For decades it was a popular place for the citizens of Kingston to do their shopping.
The Mohican is surrounded by American history—across the street is the courthouse where John Jay, the first Supreme Court Justice of the United States, wrote the Constitution of New York State—a document which went on to comprise some 70 percent of the U.S. Constitution.
The New York Constitution was written in the summer of 1777, when the Uptown Stockade District served as the first capital of New York State. British troops occupied Kingston on October 3, 1777, and burned the city to the ground as punishment for providing succor and haven for the revolutionaries.
As Kingston fell into hard times in the 1980’s, businesses in the Uptown Stockade District shuttered their windows. The Mohican was not immune to these economic difficulties and was abandoned like many other old establishments.
In 2002 the Mohican property was purchased by Gerald Celente, the founder & director of the Trends Research Institute and publisher of the Trends Journal. Today the Mohican serves as the headquarters of the Trends Research Institute, and the home of Gerald’s annual “Occupy Peace and Freedom” rally.
Gerald Celente speaking at 2024 Occupy Peace & Freedom Rally. (Courtesy of Gerald Celente)
The Mohican serves as the perfect venue for introducing a Russian audience to the real America — the country that exists in the vast space that separates Los Angeles, California and New York City.
For the purposes of the 2025 Citizen’s Summit, the Mohican will be transformed into an idyllic slice of Americana, a café where the participants can enjoy some food and drinks while being entertained with live music in the lead-up to the event.
The 2025 Citizen’s Summit will be streamed live in both Russia and the United States.
For the American audience, the event will be broadcast using Gerald Celente’s YouTube channel (@gcelente). We are planning to link in audiences from the so-called “Family of Podcasts” (including on Consortium News‘ CN Live! YouTube channel) that have collaborated in the past on events such as this. More information about how one can watch the 2025 Citizen’s Summit will be published in the days leading up to the event.
How to Be Chosen to Participate
The number of people who will be in the live audience is, because of the intimate nature of the Mohican venue, capped at 50 participants. We are looking for a diverse mix of participants who would be interested in asking questions to their Russian counterparts about life in Russia and answering questions from their Russian counterparts about life in the United States.
If you live in the vicinity of Kingston, and would like to attend, please send an email to Scott Ritter.
Include your name, age, gender, background/experience, and a brief paragraph on what you hope to accomplish by participating in the Citizen’s Summit. If you are selected, you will be sent a ticket to the email address from which you submitted your request.
You will need this ticket to get into the venue.
The doors will open at 12 noon, and there will be a buffet for food and a bar for refreshments. A band will be playing in the background. Take the opportunity to mingle and get to know your fellow attendees — you’ll be making history together!
Everyone should be seated and ready to go at 2 pm sharp, when the event begins. The Citizen’s Summit will last three hours and will include several cultural interludes where Russian and American musicians and singers will perform.
And for the next three hours your hosts will guide you through an interactive experience that hasn’t been seen in 40 years — a genuine Citizen’s Summit where Americans and Russians can get to know each other through dialogue and conversation.
The event is free of charge, including the buffet and non-alcoholic drinks.
However, nothing in this life is free, and donations are welcome to help offset the costs associated with pulling off an event of this scope and scale (a donation button is located at the bottom of this page.)
To those of you who will watch the 2025 Citizen’s Summit via the live stream, know you will be joining a community of millions who will be sharing this experience.
And for those of you who will be participating as audience members in this interactive adventure, soak in every minute, because you will be making history.
In any event, I look forward to seeing you all in Kingston, either in person or online, on June 18 for this historic event — the 2025 U.S.-Russian Citizen’s Summit!
DONATE TO THE SUMMIT
Scott Ritter is a former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD. His most recent book is Disarmament in the Time of Perestroika, published by Clarity Press.
MANY THANKS FOR PUBLICISING THIS! That’s a great idea to have A US-Russia Citizen’s Summit. It will help water down the ignorant, anti-Russia propaganda from mainstream western media. I want to listen to this and provide a link to it to others i know in New Zealand who will want to hear/watch this great event.
Thank you for sharing information about this important event. Where is the link to participate online?
Sincere best wishes for resounding success in your admirable efforts to increase peace on Earth with the timely, wise and brilliant event: 2025 Space Bridge/Citizen’s Summit, featuring direct, sincere, good-hearted dialogue between benevolent Americans and benevolent Russians.
May the event serve as a profoundly inspirational example for others/equally benevolent people to follow. – all across this Earth.
Peace.
Much Success! A wonderful and necessary effort. Standing up for a win-win world has to come from the bottom up. And with the escalating effects of climate change showing up, it’s either cooperate together or die together. It is certainly apparent that our political elite have no clue nor interest beyond their own well being. Rather than the solution, they are in fact the problem.
I wish the organisers and participants of this meeting all the very best in their endeavour. I have read a few comments in the thread that are negative, saying that the problems between Russia and the US are too big and the stakes (nuclear war) are too great to be solved or even helped by such a small event. But I take a different view. Prejudices brought about by misleading narratives, constantly fed to us through our media and repeated by people we know, can only be eradicated by talking to people on the other side and learning to see the situation through their eyes – to walk in their shoes – even for a short time. I find this is one of the greatest problem in the Collective West; we all live in our little social circles and don’t even know a Russian, a Chinese or an Iranian person. Yet our government is asking us to demonise them – to hate them – and even to go to war with them. We don’t their histories or what is important in their culture – and we aren’t willing to examine our own history and our own culture. Perhaps, this small movement – a meeting of open- minded people from both countries will benefit those who attend and those who watch and give us understanding and the commitment to fight for peace. And let us all hope, that more of these meetings take place and are televised on Youtube.
Thank you. You are absolutely right. Far too many Americans are in a bubble of ignorance about the rest of the world. The planet is bigger than the United States.
Friendship initiatives are nice, but this situation is 100% due to US aggression and narcissism, not a “lack of friendship” between the two nations (does the US know what friendship means?). Also, the problems in the US “leadership” are endemic and rooted in greed, megalomania and sociopathy, not some sort of “misunderstanding” about Russia / whatever other US-designated target. Also, they couldn’t care less whether the US people are for their wars and so on. So this looks like a stark misdiagnosis of the problem.
I am somewhat surprised not to hear from somebody else that Ike initiated a foundation called People to people for exactly this reason.
Finally! I talked about “people to people diplomacy” with different people in power in the USA and in Russia; all of them agreed but nothing was done! Way to go! And US and Russia have to start show the impacts of the nuclear war, like it was done in 1970s….
most tested and tried methods to change the trajectory will not work any longer. these, maybe, well meant initiatives blunt the russian resolve that is needed to seperate itself from the us and the west in order to survive.
What a terrific opportunity to bring sanity into consciousness that is the outcome of people of good will, intelligence, groundedness and desire for a meeting of the minds to be together to meet to share to envision to discover reservoirs of creativity benefitting a context of possible solidarity. Solidarity of shared interest in meeting the climate challenge and acknowledging the existential foolishness of war when La Vida is consensually seen as the most important concern on earth.
The entire nation should be watching this…
And the deranged leadership of all the European countries that are actively trying to whip up popular support for massive increases in military spending and ‘preparation’ for a future conflict with Russia, by a barrage of lies and propaganda intended to terrify the masses into compliance and acceptance of their warmongering!
The madness in Europe is, as I see it, far, far worse than it is in the US or elsewhere.
Agreed Will. Just look at the propaganda the bloody brits are broadcasting by way of sensational “war games” podcasts. Fomenting more and more fear and Russiaphobia.
It’s not the citizens who are the problem, it’s the bloody politicians and governments. They are the ones instilling hatred and animosity. Guy Fawkes was on the right track:
Xxxx://news.sky.com/video/the-wargame-behind-the-scenes-of-new-podcast-series-which-simulates-russian-attack-on-uk-13381381
What a marvellous idea this Citizens Summit. I look forward to it.
@willD:
isn’t warmongering europe closely tied to NATO = USA?
NATO aggression, NATO eastward expansion despite
assurances such as james baker’s “not one inch eastward!”
in 1990 have caused misunderstandings and deep mistrust.
my EU country hosts the largest US airbase in europe.
my country’s f.lawmakers will welcome new US missiles,
as of 2026, after a 20year break. they will spend billions
to make us “fit for war!” i wish they had the courage to
opt for independence from US tutelage instead.
as high-level decision makers don’t come to their senses,
our last hope is on grass root movements which will help
people see: our only enemy is the fear they CON_stantly
instill in us, hoping to govern us accordingly – while they
and their arms makers keep laughing all the way to their
bank$ …
That Mohican looks very nice. From what I gather from the photo, it seems to have a lot of character and a unique charm. And Celente’s a pretty cool guy, love how he’s currently hammering the Zionists every chance he gets.