Russia

Russia’s Empty Promises

By James Joyner

Mark Mardell, the BBC’s resident Euroblogger, is quite pleased with Moscow’s concessions to Nicolas Sarkozy and his EU delegation.  While hedging his bets, he writes, “If this first superficial take is as it appears then Sarkozy has done rather well and those who insisted on both unity and a firmish line at the EU summit […]

NATO and the Near Abroad: Beyond Bucharest

By Nikolas Gvosdev

Those predicting that the Russian incursion into Georgia will rejuvenate transatlantic solidarity might be overly optimistic.

Restoring Georgia’s Sovereignty in Abkhazia

 This report recommends a package of immediate measures to the Georgian and Abkhaz sides to prevent the escalation of violence. As part of a multi-year strategy, it also suggests steps that Georgians, Abkhaz, and international stakeholders can take to lay the ground for future negotiations. In addition, the report proposes a diplomatic initiative by the […]

Russia’s Medvedev Deserves Handshake, Nosehold

By Frederick Kempe

Russia’s presidential vote Sunday poses a dilemma for Western leaders and American presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama. Is it better to condemn the rigged elections or embrace the victor in hopes of encouraging a more cooperative Kremlin? Answer: Hold your nose with one hand and extend the other to Dmitry Medvedev, […]

Putin Staying Put to Lead Russian Reassertion

By Frederick Kempe

In the past year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has morphed from a noisy irritant to the West who was reaching the end of his two-term limit to a swaggering antagonist who isn’t going away. At least that’s the view of senior Bush administration officials, who increasingly see Russia as a rising strategic challenge. They fear […]

Russia’s Shrinking Population and the Russian Military’s HIV/AIDS Problem

Russia’s rapidly declining population will soon no longer be able to support the current size of the Russian military. The number of Russian males turning 18-years-old is forecasted to drop by about 50 percent in the next 10 to 15 years. This approaching population decline requires significant structural reform within the Russian military. Yet, Russia’s […]

The Future of NATO-Russian Relations: Or, How to Dance with a Bear and Not Get Mauled

By Gordon B. Hendrickson

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, NATO has enlarged its membership twice with countries formerly under Soviet influence and control, and the Alliance is now preparing to begin the process for a third expansion effort. During this time, Russia has watched the borders of NATO creep ever closer to its […]

The New Partnership: Building Russia-West Cooperation on Strategic Challenges

The challenge of transcending the Cold War relationship between Russia and the West and supplanting it with a new partnership capable of dealing cooperatively with the major international issues of the time has been a major focus of policy for the past decade and a half. This report, prepared by non-official leaders and experts from […]