Brown University scholar SERGEI N. KHRUSCHEV, son of former Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev, speaks about the United States’ war on terrorism at the Law School’s Austin Hall last night.

The son of former Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev drew parallels between Russia’s conflict in Chechnya and the United States’ war on terrorism in a speech at Harvard Law School last night.

An audience of about 40 listened to Sergei N. Khrushchev, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, discuss his thoughts on fighting terrorists at home and abroad during a speech entitled “Russia, Putin and the War on Terror.”

“Don’t negotiate with terrorists but with people who are dissatisfied so they don’t stay dissatisfied,” he told the audience in his occasionally imperfect English.

Khrushchev emphasized that the current fight against terrorism is by no means unique to the United States and that it will be an arduous struggle.

He gave a historical perspective on fighting terrorism by using Russia as an example.

Targeting the hatred behind terrorism—and negotiating directly with the people—is an important step in fighting terrorist activity, Khrushchev said.

He noted that Russia’s conflict with Chechnya, for example, had its roots in 18th-century imperial policy.

Such deep-seated struggles, he said, prove that military action does not resolve cultural or ideological misunderstandings.

“Defeating the enemy with military strength is often not the solution that eliminates the problem of terrorism,” he said.

Khrushchev also traced current Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s rise to power during alleged terrorist attacks.

In 1999, two apartment buildings exploded in Moscow, killing 150 people.

“Putin was nobody then,” Khrushchev said.

But the national crisis that followed the attacks, which were attributed to Chechen rebels, propelled Putin to popularity when he responded with military retaliation.

Putin had the backing of only 3 percent of the population before the attacks, but after beginning military action against Chechnya his ratings shot up to 80 percent, much like President Bush’s popularity soared during the conflict in Afghanistan.

The Chechen conflict was costly for the Russians, Khrushchev reminded his audience.