The one-time youngest world chess champion in history and an expert on Winston Churchill and the Cold War will headline Churchill Fellows Weekend 2016 on April 9-10.
The event, which is being hosted by the National Churchill Museum, will be held on the campus of Westminster College. On April 9, admission to the National Churchill Museum will be free in celebration of Winston Churchill Day, the anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill receiving his honorary American citizenship in 1963.
Garry Kasparov, the Soviet who in 1985 became the youngest world chess champion in history at the age of 22, will begin the Churchill Fellows Weekend with a free public lecture at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury.
In his 20th year as the world's top-ranked chess player, Kasparov abruptly retired from competitive chess to join the vanguard of the Russian pro-democracy movement and as founder of the United Civil Front organized the Marches of Dissent to protest the repressive policies of Vladimir Putin.
Facing imminent arrest during Putin's crackdown, Kasparov moved to New York City in 2013 and is a commentator and lecturer on politics and a human rights activist. His latest book, "Winter Is Coming: Why Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped," chronicles the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the dysfunctional relationship between Russia and the world's leading nations since the fall of the Iron Curtain and his own personal journey.
On Sunday, April 10, Dr. Klaus Larres, who is the Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor in History and International Affairs at the University of North Carolina, will deliver the annual Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture at 2 p.m. in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury.
The lecture titled "War, Terror and Global Order: the Search for Stability from the "Iron Curtain' to the Present" is free and open to the public. After the lecture, a free reception and book signing by Dr. Larres will be held at 3 p.m. in the Galleries of the National Churchill Museum.
New Churchill Fellows will also be inducted.
Larres is the author of "Churchill's Cold War: The Politics of Personal Diplomacy" (2002) and has written many essays and articles about Churchill and recent European politics. His research interests include the international history of the Cold War and the economic and geo-strategic developments in the post-Cold War world.
He is considered an expert on contemporary transatlantic relations, European integration and 20th century American, German and British foreign policies in comparative perspective.
Since 2009, Dr. Larres has been a senior fellow at the Centre for Transatlantic Relations, a leading Washington, D.C., think tank, and EU Centre of Excellence. He also holds a senior research fellowship at the leading German think tank SWP (Institute for Security and International Affairs) in Berlin.
Those interested in attending the entire weekend of Churchill activities can purchase tickets for the cocktail reception and dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 9, and the brunch at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 10, in the Backer Dining Hall. Dr. Larres and other Churchill experts will answer questions about Churchill, the Cold War and the legacy of the "Iron Curtain" speech.
During the weekend, visitors will also be able to enjoy the Museum exhibit, "The Prime Minister, the President, and the General," commemorating the 70th anniversary of the "Iron Curtain" speech and the role of Major General Harry H. Vaughn in inviting Churchill to Westminster College.
Information on how to purchase tickets for the Churchill dinner or Kemper Lecture brunch is found at www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/churchillweekend.html.