Join East-West Connections for an online conversation exploring how Americans and Russians connected during the Cold War through cultural exchange, travel, and direct human interaction.

Featuring Dr. Maria Zavialova, Curator and Head of Collections and Exhibitions at The Museum of Russian Art, originally from St. Petersburg, alongside Margo Squire, a retired U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer, this discussion brings together cultural perspective and firsthand diplomatic experience, focusing on the relationships and exchanges that took place between Americans and Russians during the Cold War.

The conversation is presented in connection with two exhibitions currently on view at The Museum of Russian Art:

• Frenemy Moments: Soviet-American Conversations in Cold War Photographs (through April 26, 2026)
• Spies and Space: Cold War Artifacts from Both Sides of the Iron Curtain (through May 10, 2026)

Citizen Diplomacy and the Cold War
Thursday, April 16, 2026
7:00 PM CST (Virtual)
Free with registration
Register to attend

Speakers

Dr. Maria Zavialova
Curator and Head of Collections and Exhibitions at The Museum of Russian Art. Originally from St. Petersburg, she holds a doctorate in Comparative Cultural Studies from the University of Minnesota. Her work spans curatorial practice, translation, and performance, including co-directing the folk group Nitka.

Margo Squire
International Affairs Consultant and retired U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer. Over a 30-year diplomatic career, she served in Munich, Moscow, Melbourne, Baku, Ankara, and Washington, D.C., including during the Perestroika and Glasnost era, and led international exchange programs in post-Soviet countries.

Presented by East-West Connections in partnership with The Museum of Russian Art, Global Minnesota, Committee on Foreign Relations Minnesota, Macalester College Russian Studies Department, Journal of Russian American Studies (JRAS)

Image credit:

The first spacewoman Valentina Tereshkova meets American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 1970
Gelatin silver print
Anonymous gift
TMORA Research Collection 
Photographer Rudolf Kucherov

On June 1, 1970, the first woman in space, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, presented the American astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, with a commemorative badge during his visit to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. This historic meeting was a symbolic moment of mutual respect between two pioneers of space exploration from rival nations during the Cold War era.