Russia as a U.S.-China Battleground State
The strategic triangle from the Cold War is returning. Only this time, Russia is the prize.
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Some Good News (Seriously) About U.S. – Russian Relations
A Russian Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO) container ship in port at Vostochniy. Trying to say something upbeat about U.S.- Russian relations this week entails the same risks as going to a wake intent on offering words that will cheer up the deceased’s widow. The observation that, “At least you won’t have to put up with his snoring anymore” may be accurate enough, but in the grand scheme of things misses the point in cringe-worthy fashion. Fully cognizant of the hazards, I’ll venture the view that there actually is one bright, or at least bright-ish, spot in U.S. - Russian relations these days. It turns out that accusations, criticisms, and punitive legislation aren’t the only things the two countries have been trading with increased frequency since then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov with the famed “reset button” in Geneva in March 2009. American merchandise exports to Russia almost doubled from 2009 to 20...
Reports of Russia’s death are exaggerated
Implosion: The End of Russia and What It Means for America by Ilan Berman Since the fall of communism in 1991, Washington consistently underestimated Russia. American policy in consequence has crashed and burned repeatedly: in the Ukraine, where the American-backed "Orange Revolution" of 2004 collapsed in favor of an administration friendly to Moscow; in 2008, when America backed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's attempt to incorporate Russian-majority provinces on Georgia's borders; and in 2013, when Russia trumped American in the Middle East and took the diplomatic lead in the Syrian chemical weapons crisis. American diplomats have had their heads handed to them by Moscow yet again. If they are so poor, how come they ain't dumb? Americans play Monopoly; Russians play chess. Russia has found the fault lines in American policy and compensated for its light footprint with superior leverage. In particular, Russia has exploited the timidity of th...