A decade ago, influential Russian analysts concluded that the emergence of a multipolar world was inevitable, and that Russia could benefit from this transition by adopting a strategy that combined great power realism and “traditional” Russian values.This strategy, first elaborated in Vladimir Putin’s Valdai Speech of 2013, has since come to be known as “civilizational realism.” This essay describes how, through civilizational realism, Russia hopes to forge a new, and more ‘congenial’ world order.
Bloomberg: Congress Likely to Shelve New Russia Sanctions as Clock Runs Out
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, who would be key to advancing any legislation, said that passing a bill he’s sponsored called the Deter Act “would be sort of missing the mark” after a U.S. vote that appears to have been unmarred by Russian meddling.
Russia Reflections by Michael Abkin
The Russia we saw is not the Russia you read or hear about. Not by a long shot… I traveled to Russia in September 2018 as part of a group of about 25 self- appointed U.S. citizen diplomats. Organized by Sharon Tennison and her Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI), our mission was four-fold…
Fred Weir: US midterms make Putin’s rocky road to Trump even rockier
Americans weren’t the only ones closely watching US midterm results. Much of the world was too, including Russia. A Democratic House will complicate Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cut deals with President Trump.
AP: Training kids to kill at Ukrainian nationalist camp
The campers, some clad in combat fatigues, carefully aim their assault rifles. Their instructor offers advice: Don’t think of your target as a human being.
Nikolas Gvosdev: The Lessons of World War I Still Haunt Russia Today
In 2018, as in 1918, the Russian leadership remains concerns with the possibility of state collapse brought about either by internal factors or through the machinations of external enemies.
VOA: Russia Hosts Afghan Talks, Highlighting Growing Role
Russia hosted a group of Afghan government-linked envoys along with their Taliban rivals Friday, as the Kremlin waded into efforts to end a 17-year conflict where Western efforts have repeatedly failed.
James Carden: Why Liberal Hegemony?
Three new books make the case against a failed grand strategy.
Tom Collina: Dem-led House Can Return Sanity to Debate on Nuclear Weapons
Since the election of President Donald Trump two years ago, advocates of sane nuclear policy have been faced with a serious deficit of enlightened political leadership in key positions of power.
Paul Robinson: The liberal international order
The Holy Roman Empire, it’s often said, was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. The same might be said about the so-called ‘liberal international order’…
Marlene Laruelle: Russia’s Mediterranean call: from Kerch to Palmyra, but without Constantinople?
Orthodoxy also plays a pivotal role in Russia’s new Mediterranean entrenchment.
TNI Forum: The War in Syria Has Been a Boon for the Russian Military
Deficiencies have been revealed by the Russian military’s experience in Syria, proving the conflict to be a valuable learning experience.
Hélène Richard: Lonely Russia
The long wait in an antechamber of Russia’s upper chamber, the Federation Council, to see senator Aleksey Pushkov was a reminder of the current frosty state of relations between Russia and Europe.
The Nation: A Q&A With Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Beatrice Fihn is leading a movement to abolish nuclear weapons. The organization she heads, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), is determined to transform how we view our nuclear arsenals.
Marc Champion: Trump’s Trade War Is Making Russia and China Comrades Again
Facing U.S. sanctions and tariffs, Moscow and Beijing are finding lots of common ground.
WSJ: No Significant Foreign Interference Seen on Midterm Vote
U.S. security officials and social media firms said Tuesday they spotted a limited amount of deliberate disinformation
Gallup: Top Issues for Voters: Healthcare, Economy, Immigration
These results are from Gallup’s Midterm Election Benchmark poll, conducted Oct.15-28. The majority of registered voters describe 11 of the 12 issues tested as extremely or very important to their vote — the only exception being the investigation into Russia and the 2016 election.
Mary Dejevsky: The Cold War is over: Why can’t the west accept it?
Four decades ago, Mary Dejevsky spent a year as an exchange student in the Soviet Union. On her return this year, she found much had changed for the better and wonders why western narratives about Russia are still stuck in the past.
Fred Weir: On the Henry Jackson Society
A new report from the Henry Jackson Society — a report that is endorsed by the former head of MI6, among others, and getting massive [and uncritical] press coverage in Britain — makes the following astounding claims: Russian intelligence services have 200 case officers in Britain, managing 500 full time Russian agents. Moreover, fully half of the 150,000 Russians living in London are at least part-time informants for Russian spy services. [Read more…] about Fred Weir: On the Henry Jackson Society
The Hill: Trump administration tells Congress Moscow has triggered new sanctions
The Trump administration has informed Congress that Russia has not complied with a series of requirements necessary for Moscow to evade a second round of U.S. sanctions over the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in Britain.