Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This NTI Seminar featured a conversation with former top intelligence officer Rolf Mowatt-Larssen on “Putin’s War and Putin’s World.” With deep expertise on Russia and nuclear security, Mowatt-Larssen will share his insights on both the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin the leader. Where are we in the Ukraine war? How will it end? What makes Putin tick? What drives his decision making? What are his intentions and character traits?
Mowatt-Larssen was the inaugural William J. Perry Distinguished Fellow at NTI, where he supported NTI’s work on global threat reduction. He is a former senior fellow at the Belfer Center at Harvard University, having served until July 2019 as Director of the Center’s Intelligence Project. Before his tenure at Harvard, he served for more than three years as the Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Previously, Mowatt-Larssen spent 23 years as a CIA operations officer in various domestic and international posts, including Chief of the Europe Division in the Directorate of Operations, Chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Department, Counterterrorist Center, and Deputy Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support. He also served in numerous overseas assignments in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. Prior to his career in intelligence, Mowatt-Larssen served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.
This NTI Seminar featured a conversation with former top intelligence officer Rolf Mowatt-Larssen on “Putin’s War and Putin’s World.” With deep expertise on Russia and nuclear security, Mowatt-Larssen will share his insights on both the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin the leader. Where are we in the Ukraine war? How will it end? What makes Putin tick? What drives his decision making? What are his intentions and character traits?
Mowatt-Larssen was the inaugural William J. Perry Distinguished Fellow at NTI, where he supported NTI’s work on global threat reduction. He is a former senior fellow at the Belfer Center at Harvard University, having served until July 2019 as Director of the Center’s Intelligence Project. Before his tenure at Harvard, he served for more than three years as the Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Previously, Mowatt-Larssen spent 23 years as a CIA operations officer in various domestic and international posts, including Chief of the Europe Division in the Directorate of Operations, Chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Department, Counterterrorist Center, and Deputy Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support. He also served in numerous overseas assignments in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. Prior to his career in intelligence, Mowatt-Larssen served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.
