| David will draw on his book of the same title, co-authored with Robert Avery OBE, to explore a unique period of post-Cold War military cooperation between the Royal Navy and the Russian Navy from 1988 to the breakdown of relations between Russia and the Euro-Atlantic community in 2014. Using the book, David will highlight the importance of the sea in Russian strategy; its developing naval capabilities; what was achieved in the cooperation period; what both sides learned about each other; what the Russians are like; and how we need to better understand Russia (which does not mean agreeing with it), in order to inform better policy making. The post-Cold War period demonstrated the importance of dialogue, even while we were still, to a certain extent, deterring and defending against Russia. Whether we like it or not, dialogue is something we (UK and allies) are going to have to consider, if we are ever to find some degree of coexistence with Russia going forward after this present conflict is over. |
David Fields’ Royal Navy career included a wide range of executive, management and diplomatic roles within the military and across government, including command of the frigate HMS Westminster. He qualified as a Russian interpreter in 1990 and was posted to Moscow in 1997–1999 as the Assistant Naval Attaché. During this period, he helped to develop the Memorandum of Understanding between the two navies on naval cooperation and organised several high profile visits. He returned to Russia as the Naval Attaché in 2013–2015,
