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Togzhan Kassenova

@togzhankassenova.bsky.social

Almaty-born, DC-based expert on nuclear politics and financial crime prevention Author of Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb (Stanford University Press, 2022) http://www.togzhankassenova.com

56 Posts1753 Follower172 Folgt
Mary Dudziak@marydudziak.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Oh my. News of Bill Burr's death is a gut punch to all who knew him & everyone who relies on declassified US national security records. Once called the Yoda of FOIA, he always had a sparkle in his eyes. All who care about government transparency will continue to benefit from his contributions.

William Burr 1949-2025 Over the course of my half-century academic career, actually over the course of my lifetime, I never met anyone quite like Bill Burr. It’s a cliché to call him one of a kind, but in Bill’s case, it’s true. And that’s unfortunate. Not just the scholarly and public policy communities but also the world would be better off if there were more Bill Burrs. He was wicked smart; he was selfless and unassuming; his commitment to transparency and truth-seeking was boundless; his respect for evidence inspired us all; and above all he was a kind and generous human being. These attributes made Bill irreplaceable. His countless electronic briefing books accessible to all of us on the National Security Archive’s web site told the hidden story of America’s nuclear history. Once labeled “the Yoda of FOIA,” his publication of thousands of declassified documents was vital to our scholarship. So was Bill’s own scholarship. His Nixon’s Nuclear Specter was an instant classic, and his Kissinger Transcripts was a staple of my “Superpower America” course. And, of course, Bill was extremely active in SHAFR, serving on Council and Diplomatic History’s editorial board and, it seemed to me, attending every annual meeting no matter the location. One of my greatest honors was to join with David Painter to nominate Bill for the Anna Nelson Prize. The last time I saw him was when he stood up to accept it. His body was diminished, but not his mind or soul. Yet it was during my decade-plus tenure as HAC chair that I observed most unambiguously how one-of-a-kind Bill was....At almost every meeting he was the sole attendee who was not a member of the HAC or Office of the Historian. Drawing on his granular expertise, he held our feet to the fire, asking probing questions about the status of a FRUS volume or a State Department record group, always pushing for more rapid release. I wish I had archived our voluminous offline correspondence. Because of Bill Burr, I was a better HAC ch…
Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 9mo ago

George Perkovich: "A House of Dynamite shows us why everyone on earth must question the wisdom of granting a handful of leaders with nuclear buttons the power to kill everyone and every living thing on the planet—in less time than it takes to watch the film." carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

“A House of Dynamite” Shows Why No Leader Should Have a Nuclear Trigger

I’m a nuclear expert. The film’s illustration of powerlessness and choice was harrowing.

carnegieendowment.org

Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Earlier this summer, former U.S. Ambassador Richard Boucher, passed away. He'll be remembered as an astute observer of Central Asia. Back in 2021, Ambassador Boucher contributed a personal essay to the Davis Center/Eurasianet series. Pls give it a read: daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/insights/whe...

Where Is Central Asia, Anyway?

A former top U.S. diplomat reflects on the many ways ex-Soviet Central Asia can be viewed from Washington — Russian dependency, Chinese sphere of influence, new global hub with links in all directions...

daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu

Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · last yr.

Online tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10, 11 AM ET - Self-Dealing in the Trump Administration: A Conversation With Norm Eisen. carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...

Self-Dealing in the Trump Administration: A Conversation With Norm Eisen

Join Aaron David Miller as he engages in conversation with Norm Eisen, founder of Democracy Defenders Action and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, on the next Carnegi...

carnegieendowment.org

Ankit Panda@nktpnd.bsky.social · last yr.

If you're in the DC area, please join me at the @carnegieendowment.org on May 22 for an event launching my new book, 'THE NEW NUCLEAR AGE: AT THE PRECIPICE OF ARMAGEDDON' (with @coreyah.bsky.social, @atomicbell.bsky.social, and @davidehoffman.bsky.social): carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...

Has the World Arrived in a New Nuclear Age?

Russia is issuing threats of nuclear strikes, China and North Korea are growing their arsenals, and there are prospects for proliferation around the globe. Moreover, emerging technologies, including A...

carnegieendowment.org

Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · last yr.

A new entry in the Ambassadors' Series on Central Asia, published by @eurasianet.bsky.social, spearheaded by @nargiskassenova.bsky.social of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. Allan Mustard on the use of shoe leather diplomacy in Turkmenistan. eurasianet.org/memoir-recol...

Memoir: Recollecting the benefits of shoe leather diplomacy in Turkmenistan

Getting out, getting a feel for the place, and putting pins on a map.

eurasianet.org

Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · last yr.

"Sen. Cory Booker devoted all of Monday night and into Tuesday evening on the Senate floor, delivering an impassioned speech in protest of the Trump administration's policies. This effort [...] set a record for the longest speech on record given in the chamber." www.npr.org/2025/04/01/n...

Cory Booker breaks a 68-year-old Senate record with a 25-hour speech

The New Jersey Democrat spent more than 25 hours criticizing the Trump administration's policies on immigration, education, the economy and more since 7 p.m. ET Monday. He ended his marathon speech sh...

npr.org

Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · last yr.

"On a desolate former nuclear test site, three generations confront the haunting legacy of the past as they fight for survival and hope in a world on the brink of destruction." "We Live Here" by 🇰🇿 director Zhanana Kurmasheva is part of the CPH:DOX festival! cphdox.dk/film/we-live...

We Live Here - CPH:DOX

On a desolate former nuclear test site, three generations confront the haunting legacy of the past as they fight for survival and hope in a world on the brink of destruction.

cphdox.dk

Mariana Budjeryn@mbudjeryn.bsky.social · last yr.

H-Diplo roundtable of my book is finally out! Grateful to Anna-Mart van Wyck, Valeria Hesse, and Mark Kramer for their reviews, to Polina Sinovets and Iryna Maksymenko for the introduction, and to Elisabeth Roehrlich and Diane Labrosse for guiding the process through to completion.

H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable 16-29 on Budjeryn, Inheriting the Bomb

28 March 2025 | PDF: https://issforum.org/to/jrt16-29 | Website: rjissf.org | X: @HDiplo Editor: Diane Labrosse Commissioning Editor: Elisabeth Roehrlich Production Editor: Christopher Ball Pre…

issforum.org

Tereza Hendl@terezahendl.bsky.social · last yr.

Hope to catch this film somewhere! "JARA — Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan" is an independent documentary that unearths the tragic legacy of environmental destruction and human suffering caused by 40 years of Soviet nuclear testing on Qazaq land.

Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · last yr.

March 13, in person, Cambridge, MA. Thank you for this important contribution, @hellogera.bsky.social!: daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-...

Togzhan Kassenova@togzhankassenova.bsky.social · last yr.

March 13, in person, Cambridge, MA. Thank you for this important contribution, @hellogera.bsky.social!: daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-...

Film Screening: 'JARA — Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan'

This film sheds light on the stories of six women from a nuclear-affected community in Kazakhstan. It explores topics such as technology-driven and state-sponsored gender-based violence, as well as th...

daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu