Economists from Russia went to Capitol Hill to meet with two officials from the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Heidi Crebo-Rediker, Chief of International Finance and Economics working with Senator John Kerry [3] (D-MA), and Marik String, Professional Staff Member for European and Eurasian affairs to Senator Richard Lugar [4] (R-IN). Both officials shared their expertise on the formulation of public policy in the United States, as well as their insights into U.S. and Eurasian affairs.
The economists also met with William E. Craft, Jr., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade and Policy Programs in the Bureau of Economic, 
Energy and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. DAS Craftdiscussed current U.S. foreign trade and investment policy, as well as possible ramifications of Russia’s accession to the WTO.
The Yegor Gaidar Fellowship Program in Economics [5], funded by the U.S. Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and Rule of Law [6], strengthens human capacity at Russian institutions in formulating public policy for entrepreneurship, economic diversification, technological innovation, and globalization. Konstantin Borisov, Viacheslav Evseev, and Ksenia Kushkina are this year’s fellows.