Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.

California State University, Northridge’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will host its Richard Smith Lecture Series on Thursday, Oct. 24, featuring a presentation by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.

McFaul will discuss the policies and personality of Russian President Vladimir Putin and offer his thoughts on the United States relationship with Russia. He will discuss his most recent book, “From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia,” which offers inside account of United States and Russia relations beginning from 1989 to the present.

Through 2009-2012, McFaul served in the Obama administration as a special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council at the White House. From 2012-2014, he served as a U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation.

McFaul is a professor of political science at Stanford University, director and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogil Institute for International Studies, and the Peter and Helen Bing senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is an analyst for NBC News and a contributing columnist to The Washington Post.

The lecture series is scheduled to be held from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Northridge Center Room of the University Student Union, located on the east side of the campus off Zelzah Avenue.

American-sign-language interpreters and note takers are available. However, attendees must register five working days in advanced. Parking is $8 per vehicle at the information booth located on Prairie Street and Zelzah Avenue.

To RSVP, email csbsevents@csun.edu or call (818) 677-4035.