Causing Russian government outrage after refusing an invitation for the Russian delegation to the BookExpo America 2013 in New York, Mikhail Shishkin cited Russia in an open letter as "a country where power has been seized by a corrupt, criminal regime, where the state is a pyramid of thieves..."

Shishkin will discuss contemporary Russian society and his new prize-winning novel, Maidenhair​, recently translated into English. Lecture will take place in the Texas Governors' Room 3.116.