About SURF

Our Mission

The objective of the SURF program is to increase interaction and understanding between young Russians and young Americans and support Russians who have long been civic activists, journalists, open-minded politicians, and entrepreneurs interested in promoting dialogue and gaining knowledge about the United States. We also seek to engage students at Stanford and beyond in the study of contemporary Russia at a time when knowledge and informed analysis is badly needed in devising U.S and European policy toward Russia.

Our mission includes a commitment to building bridges between young individuals devoted to the principles of democracy and good governance in both countries. We aspire to contribute to a future where relations between Russia and the United States can improve, particularly in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. By promoting collaboration and understanding among these future leaders, we aim to play a role in fostering positive change and diplomatic progress.

We intend to concentrate on spheres of interest that hold significance in both Russia and the United States. These are also areas where SURF has facilitated past projects between Russians and Americans. These include, but are not limited to: mutual U.S. and Russian interests in the Arctic, nuclear arms control, space cooperation, international security, reimagining higher education, traditional and online media, entrepreneurship in the digital economy, the use and misuse of information technology, and traditional and alternative energy production and efficiency.

Student participants in SURF choose the topics they work on based on mutual interests, so project areas vary from year to year. We have found that discussions about the state of U.S.-Russian relations have developed organically. SURF’s theory of change has always been that we can achieve productive exchanges on more challenging topics once strong relationships develop over collaboration on concrete projects focused on mutual interest.

Our experience has been that participants trust one another after building a solid foundation for the exchange of ideas as opposed to jumping into areas of potentially strong and emphatic disagreement. Strong bonds develop among participants through the process of working together on a concrete project with a written deliverable (a memo or paper on a topic of mutual interest) and then working on a presentation based on the written project to present to the entire SURF group and attending faculty at an annual conference. At the conferences themselves, we encourage honest, frank, and productive discussions among participants regarding what divides and unites Russian and American participants.

One reason I’ve strongly supported SURF is because I believe that this program is one of the last remaining tracks to relations between the two countries. What you are doing is extremely important, especially at a time when all the other tracks to action are at an all-time low.

Dr. William Perry

19th Secretary of Defense for the United States

History & Vision

Having grown immensely since its 2008 founding, the Stanford U.S.-Russia Forum is now in its 15th year. The program's alumni network of over 400 fellows has met with dozens of prominent leaders in business, academia, and government across the United States and Russia.

The Stanford U.S.-Russia Forum (SURF) was founded in the fall of 2008 by four students from Stanford University and Moscow State University: Sam Stone, Anda Gansca, David Zokhrabyan, and Mark Manulov. They wanted to maintain dialogue on U.S.-Russia cooperation despite the deterioration in relations caused by the Russo-Georgian war.

*SURF Founders with Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice*

From that beginning, SURF grew over 15 years to include an alumni network of nearly 400 Russian and North American students. SURF delegates participated in two annual conferences in Russia and at Stanford.

Unfortunately, between the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in-person travel and student exchange programs between Russia and the United States have not been possible for several years. Moving forward, we endeavor to keep the mission and goal of promoting U.S.-Russia dialogue alive in new ways, even in this particularly dark time in U.S.-Russian relations. A core group of students and faculty at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law within the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies is committed to maintaining the spirit of SURF.

Now, more than ever, there is an increased need for better mutual understanding and opportunities for person-to-person dialogue on common areas of interest. Our program anticipates a time when relations between the United States and Russia are eventually more productive and constructive. We seek, therefore, to build a foundation in the expectation that, at some point, we will return to a time when the Russian and American governments and societies can constructively collaborate.

Our revised program is based on SURF’s original mission of bringing young Russians and young Americans together to better understand one another and to work together on issues of mutual concern. We also seek to bring Russians engaged in law, civil society, politics, business, and journalism to Stanford to enhance understanding of what a post-war Russia might look like and to work together on building relationships that might bring about mutually beneficial, productive relations between the U.S. and Russia in future.