We are pleased to continue the Distinguished Lecture Series, now in its 18th season. On Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 4:00 p.m., featured speaker James Hatt will present “On Putin.”
James Hatt is an English Barrister who joined the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was seconded to Cable and Wireless plc, one of three companies privatized by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that retained a “Golden Share” controlled by the Government, which allowed for state guidance on how the Company would develop its overseas operations.
In 1989 James went into Gorbachev’s USSR and negotiated the first agreements on Soviet/European communications. He stayed throughout the Yeltsin era, working across Russia and the former Soviet world, with multiple ventures in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Siberia, and Vladivostok in far eastern Russia. His satellite joint venture in Moscow developed a pan Russia capability in conjunction with the current Minister of Defence, General Shoigu. James developed cellular interests in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
In 1990, James made his inaugural visit to St. Petersburg where he met Vladimir Putin, then advisor on international affairs to the Mayor Sobchak. Over the next 25 years, James had numerous interactions with Putin, his advisors, and associates in St. Petersburg, Moscow, London, and Zurich.
James and his wife have lived in Lenox for over 20 years.
The Distinguished Lecture Series is organized and hosted by Dr. Jeremy Yudkin. Dr. Yudkin is a resident of the Berkshires and Professor of Music and Co-Director of the Center for Beethoven Research at Boston University. Every summer he presents the Lenox Library’s pre-concert lectures for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood season.