World Leaders Symposium: Global Challenges in a Post-Perestroika World. The Black Sea, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, & Turkey. 17 Days.
Here is an opportunity to discover some of the region's most fascinating people and places—in the company of those who know it best. A rare chance to explore Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Turkey through the lenses of politics, history, economics, and culture.
We do so in the company of our keynote speakers, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev. Other featured speakers round out the symposium: Librarian of Congress James Hadley Billington; Coit Blacker, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Vinton G. Cerf, 
father of the Internet and V.P. of Google; journalist Marvin Kalb; John Edwin Mroz, CEO and president of the EastWest Institute; Michael Shara, museum curator and expert on the U.S.-Russia space race; and Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center and a Russian military expert.
Don't miss this quite unusual experience.
We gather in Moscow, Russia's most dynamic city and the perfect place to begin our examination of the post-Perestroika world. Our touring takes us to the Kremlin and its Armory. To the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in "Star City." To the top art treasures of Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin State Museum. Our home base? The lovely Ritz-Carlton, Moscow's best address and just steps from Red Square.
Fly next to Istanbul to embark the luxurious Silver Wind. This cruise ship has just 149 suites, 115 of them with private verandas. Also on
board: an observation lounge; a two-story show lounge; a library; an Internet center; a gym; a pool; tho whirlpools; a jogging track; a full-service spa; and a beauty salon.
Relax on board, and attend lectures, discussions, Q&As, and informal dialogue as we cruise toward our next port.
Batumi, Georgia, is peaceful now, but that wasn't the case several years ago, when the city was a battleground in the skirmish between Georgia and Russia. From Batumi, you have a choice: Take a guided tour of Gelati Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, or fly to Tbilisi, Georgia's capital and the terminal of the important BTC Pipeline, which we learn about during our visit. Near Tbilisi is Stalin's hometown, Gori, the castle complex of Ananauri, the old walled city of Signaghi, and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mtskheta, a religious hub.
Continue cruising the Black Sea to the port of Sochi, Russia, future site of the Winter Olympic Games. Once again, there is a choice to be made. Remain in Sochi to explore this popular seaside 
resort, or fly to Baku, Azerbaijan, for more about the BTC Pipeline and a look at the historic and cultural sites around town.
The historic strain between Russia and Ukraine continues to widen as Ukraine leans more toward Europe and the E.U. and less toward Russia. Visits to various cities in Ukraine illuminate a number of current and past issues in their relationship.
In Yalta, site of the conference between Churchill, F.D.R, and Stalin, we are invited to a private reception at Livadia Palace, where the three heads of state gathered at the close of World War II.
Sevastopol is the home of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, which shares a base with the Ukraine navy. We hear about this unusual arrangement during a tour. Or head for a once-secret military base that remained operational until 1993.
Next, Odessa, to climb the Potemkin Steps that became an internationally recognized icon of the local workers' uprising. Or experience Pervomaysk, once home to 2,000 nuclear warheads. We hear the story of its demise from Secretary Perry, who was directly involved in the transformation from warhead silos to sunflower fields.
Back to Istanbul, where we disembark the ship. There is much to see and do in this city that straddles the East and West. Join us for a look. Our hotel, the Ciragan Palace Kempinski, among the best hotels in town, is a delight on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait.
Return home with a newfound understanding of our world.
Have a bit more time to spare? We offer a pre-tour extension to Kiev, Chernobyl, and Moscow (25-31 August 2010) and a post-tour extension to Istanbul and Ephesus, Turkey, one of the world's top classical Roman sites (15-18 September). Speak to an R. Crusoe tour specialist for details.
To request a detailed itinerary for this journey (and others), click here.