What is it we see when we look across at Russia and its people and the man who has led them these past eighteen years? What do we talk about when we talk about Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin? These are our questions.
Analysis
Nikolas Gvosdev: How to Change the Dysfunctional Relationship between Russia and the West
The current intra-Atlantic divergences (both within and between the countries of the West) on policy towards Russia stem from a basic divide—between those who see Russian transgressions as a distraction from Russia’s overall integration with the West versus those who see them as intrinsic to Russian statecraft and policy. Swinging back and forth between these two binary choices does not lead to effective policy.
Gareth Porter: The Shaky Case That Russia Manipulated Social Media to Tip the 2016 Election
The idea promoted by NYT’s Shane & Mazzetti that the Russian government seriously threatened to determine the 2016 election does not hold up when the larger social media context is examined more closely, reports Gareth Porter.
FT: US-Russia tensions threaten nuclear arms curbs, says Moscow
Breakdown in relations puts treaties at risk, says Kremlin deputy foreign minister.
Joe Lauria on ‘The Plot to Subvert an Election’
Consortium News editor Joe Lauria talks to podcast host and author Scott Horton on the New York Times article “The Plot to Subvert an Election,”the paper’s 10,000 word expose on the supposed Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Alexander Moore: Is It Time to Kick Out One Leg of the Nuclear Triad?
An argument for eliminating the ICBM Fleet in favor of a more cost-effective, safe dyad.
Paul Robinson: No History, No Culture, Please [Re: New ‘report’ from IMR]
God forbid that students should learn about Russian culture and history before expressing any opinions about that country…
John J. Mearsheimer: The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities
This is an excerpt from the new book The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities by John Mearsheimer.
NY Times Op Ed: Russian Meddling Is a Symptom, Not the Disease
It is understandable that legislators and the public are concerned about other countries meddling in our elections. But foreign meddling is to our politics what a fever is to tuberculosis: a mere symptom of a deeper problem.
Smart Geopolitics: Armenia’s past and future
Pietro Shakarian, the American-Armenian scholar, talks about Russian foreign policy and Russian-Armenian relations.
Paul Robinson: The Russians Done It!
The latest news made me think that it’s probably about time for a new regular feature on this blog, recounting the latest dastardly deeds for which Russia has been deemed responsible, and titled ‘The Russians Done It.’
Stephen F. Cohen: More Cold War Extremism and Crises
Overshadowed by the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, US-Russian relations grow ever more perilous.
TAC Editorial: The Not-So-Elusive Swamp Creature
Pretending that Russian collusion is the biggest corruption scandal in Washington is laughable.
Foreign Affairs: Why Russia and China Are Strengthening Security Ties
Western conventional wisdom holds that mistrust between Russia and China is too deep to form meaningful strategic bonds. Yet this view is dangerously wrong, writes Alexander Gabuev, Senior Fellow and Chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Fred Weir and Joshua Mitnick: With new missile defense for Syria, Russia shifts its relationship with Israel
Russia has just taken a huge gamble in Syria.
Doug Bandow: America Is Determined to Fight the World
The United States sanctioned Beijing for purchasing Russian military equipment. Does the administration really believe that China will cancel the deal because of American economic pressure?
VIDEO: Robert Wright on Russia, Ukraine, China, and meddling in foreign elections
Author Robert Wright talks with Nikita Petrov on the controversial issue of foreign interference.
VIDEO: John J. Mearsheimer Says US Foreign Policy is ‘Doomed to Fail’
After the end of the Cold War, U.S. foreign policy officials prided themselves for bringing communism to an end. Decades earlier, they claimed victory over the defeat of fascism. But Professor Mearsheimer argues that this kind of foreign policy, called “liberal hegemony,” is doomed to fail, if it hasn’t already.
Paul Robinson: ‘Stop Fake’…If only!
Paul Robinson takes a look at some of Twitter’s self-styled “analysts” and comes away feeling he just visited “wacko-land.”
Patrick Lawrence: The Battle for Our Minds
There are battlefields in Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, and elsewhere, but given the state of corporate media, perhaps the most consequential battle now being fought is for our minds, says Patrick Lawrence.