An historic dialogue between American and Russian citizens takes place Wednesday in the midst of the gravest international crises in decades. Watch the replay.
Scott Ritter moderated from the U.S. He wrote:
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 Wednesday at 2 pm EDT 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. Hosting from St. Petersburg was Pavel Balobanov.
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.
The Russian language song at the conclusion could become a powerful, effective anthem for peace between Americans and Russians were English subtitles of the song’s lyrics added to the video, and widely distributed. Thank you to all the good people who participated in making this profoundly moving, timely peace event possible.
God knows all of humanity needs to emphasize and advocate peacemaking now more than ever.
It is gratifying to witness this effort on the part of the citizens of the US and Russia to open dialogue between the two peoples. I hope that the message that most people in the US do not believe the tsunami of lies which many in our government, together with the mendacious MSM, acting as propaganda agents, have told us for many years about Russia and its people. Thanks to Scott Ritter and the others who have made this effort possible. Please convey to the Russian people that we no longer have a democracy in the US and that we, the people, are no longer represented by the politicians who pretend to be our representatives.