On February 26, 2021, on the occasion of the publication of a new book, the Institute for Public Affairs organized an online discussion on Slovak-Russian relations and the activities of pro-Russian actors in the Slovak Republic. The discussion was attended by the co-authors of the publication Who Plays Russian Roulette in Slovakia Grigorij Mesežnikov and Ján Bartoš and the author of numerous studies on Russia and Slovak-Russian relations Alexander Duleba, expert of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) and university teacher (Institute of Political Science, University of Prešov). 

The participants of the event focused on the current state of Slovak-Russian relations in the context of the prevailing trends in the interactions between Russia and the West. They discussed the peculiar ideas of part of Slovakia's political elite about Russia and the expectations associated with the cooperation with the Russian state (from the alleged „100,000 job places“ in the early 1990s through a wide-gauge railway across Slovakia to the current anti-Covid vaccine). They touched on historical, socio-cultural and political factors that have influenced and continue to influence considerations about relations between Slovakia and Russia, Slovaks and Russians (ideological legacy of "national awakeners", the delayed "socialist" modernization, activities of the proponents of pro-Soviet/pro-Russian politics in the 20th century and after the fall of the communist regime). 

The co-authors of the new IVO publication informed about its content and main findings. The book should appear in Slovak bookstores within a week.