Kennan Institute

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Kennan Institute" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was founded in 1974 to carry out studies of the Soviet Union (Sovietology), and subsequently of post-Soviet Russia and other post-Soviet states.^[1] The institute is widely regarded as the foremost institute for advanced Russia studies in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

The institute is named after George Kennan, an American explorer of Russia and the twice removed older cousin of Ambassador George F. Kennan.^[2] George F. Kennan is best known as the author of The Long Telegram and the X Article, and by extension the author of America's containment policy toward the Soviet Union. Ambassador Kennan, together with Wilson Center Director James Billington and historian S. Frederick Starr, initiated the establishment of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center.^[3]

In addition to its office in Washington, the Kennan Institute operates an office in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kennan's Kyiv office provides on-the-ground assistance to the Washington staff and a communication link with various Ukrainian organizations. The office also organizes publications, seminars, and conferences on major events of the day featuring Kennan Institute alumni.^{[citation needed]}