Russia

United Moscow

Articles — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:31:00 -0400

In the course of the Valdai conference in Russia from September 7–14 we met with President Dmitri Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Deputy Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn. There was no significant difference between them in what they said about Russian policy and Russian views. Nor have such differences appeared outside the conference.

Of course, it is possible that they exist in private and have so far been kept under wraps by strict discipline; but it is very important to note that there is no actual evidence for this. From the point of view of shaping… more

Gracious Grozny

Articles — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:53:00 -0400

In a way, Chechnya, which we visited in the course of the Valdai Club discussions in Russia last week, can stand as a more savage version of the Putin era in Russia as a whole: namely the successful restoration of order and progress, by methods which were often extremely ugly, but which may have been the only ones available under the circumstances.

Grozny, which I last saw as an immense heap of rubble, is now a truly impressive sight, with fine modern apartment blocks and a beautiful Turkish-built mosque, modeled on the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, towering over the main square. Opposite, on the site of… more

Lunch with Putin

Articles — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:13:00 -0400

There were moments during the week I spent in Russia for the Valdai Discussion Club when I felt as if the world had begun to rotate backward. Chiefly, this was the result of having spent the previous six weeks in Pakistan, half of them based in Peshawar near the frontier with Afghanistan.

During my stay the bloody mayhem in Afghanistan continued unabated, with a French unit cut to pieces near Kabul. President Musharraf of Pakistan was forced to resign and was replaced by Asif Zardari, a man widely accused of corruption on a kleptocratic scale and hated by much of the country’s population. The Pakistani military began extensive… more

CA Event: The Next World - How Should the United States Respond to Rising Powers?

Communications — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/05/2008 - 8:00am

The rise of other global powers is a profound new reality of today’s world. As headlines remind us nearly everyday, China, India, Russia, as well as the European Union, Japan, and others are rapidly gaining strength and influence. How should the U.S. navigate this new world landscape? Does the rise of these powers represent an ideological challenge or an economic boom? Will global warming convince us we are all in the same boat? The Next World conference will explore these questions and others, focusing on key foreign policy priorities for the next administration.

Steve Coll, President and CEO of the New America Foundation and John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress opened the conference with an intimate conversation, and later joined the discussion with the best and brightest minds of a new generation of foreign policy thinkers who will help shape America’s evolving role in the world.

Three panel discussions explored whether or not the U.S. is in decline, and if it matters, and how the rise of other powers impact American influence, prosperity, and security. They also debated whether there is a global battle over ideology and strategic priorities for the U.S. in this new world.

Over lunch, Terry Tamminen, Cullman Senior Fellow for Climate Change and Director of the Climate Policy Program at the New America Foundation, gave an address on how the United States can develop a coherent climate change strategy, with an emphasis on how meaningful formal and informal agreements to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases can be negotiated with rising powers.

This conference was co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress, the New America Foundation, and The Stanley Foundation.

Flynt Leverett in the Washington Post | 'Russian Offensive Hailed in Mideast'

Communications — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:22:00 -0400

New America in the News:
And with the United States and Russia at odds, Iran also can expect more help from Russia in blocking U.S. efforts at the U.N. Security Council and other international bodies to sanction Iran over its nuclear program, said Flynt Leverett, a former Bush administration Middle East policy director and now a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington. LINK

Don't Pick a Fight You Can't Finish, Mr. Miliband

Articles — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:37:00 -0400

Before making his speech on policy towards Russia in Kiev, Ukraine, later this week David Miliband would do well to ponder some wise advice from a great predecessor. Lord Salisbury, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister in the days of the British Empire, dispensed immense global power; but that did not mean that he liked playing about with that power.

Faced with proposals for British policy that he understood to be deeply damaging to the interests of other great powers, Salisbury would look his colleagues in the eye and ask simply: “Are you really prepared to fight? If not, do not embark on this policy.”

If the events… more

William Hartung on Democracy Now | 'Tensions High as NATO Suspends Formal Contacts with Russia Over Georgia Conflict'

Communications — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:51:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Tensions are high between the United States and Russia over the ongoing conflict in Georgia. On Wednesday, soon after NATO foreign ministers decided to cut formal ties with Russia until it withdrew all its troops from Georgia, President Bush vowed to continue to support Georgia. We speak with William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. LINK to video and audio

Wrong on Russia

Articles — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:00:00 -0400

In the wake of Russia’s military incursion into Georgia, too many current, former, and aspiring U.S. officials are caricaturing the Russian state that was shaped and is still guided by Vladimir Putin as a revisionist aggressor. For Robert Kagan, John McCain’s neoconservative foreign policy adviser, as well as for long-time Democratic foreign policy hands Richard Holbrooke and Ronald Asmus, Russia’s actions in Georgia are comparable to Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938. For Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russia’s actions are more reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

But, in reality, today’s Russia is not a resurgent imperial power. In the post-Cold War period, it was Washington, not Moscow, which… more

Rajan Menon in the Council on Foreign Relations | 'Solving the Crisis in the Caucasus'

Communications — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:20:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...As global leaders scramble to find a solution, CFR.org asked five regional experts what must be done to end the violence and create a climate where lasting peace can be nurtured...

Rajan Menon, Monroe J. Rathbone Professor of International Relations, Lehigh University; Fellow, New America Foundation:

Like it or not, the balance of forces decisively favors Russia (IHT). Feel-good ultimatums from us will merely increase Russia’s intransigence. And lofty rhetoric with implied promises to Georgia that we cannot keep will only erode our credibility, further weakening Georgia’s position. As to specific steps, we should:

Coordinate efforts with the EU to craft a strategy for ensuring that a permanent cease-fire agreement provides for a demilitarized South Ossetia. Russia won’t allow Georgian troops back into the enclave in any event, but with the alleged Georgian “threat” to its client removed, there is an opening to push for the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Work with the EU to persuade Russia and the South Ossetians to accept neutral, third-party peacekeepers in South Ossetia. Those deployed there since the early 1990s hail from these three countries. Georgia has never seen them as neutral—and certainly won’t after this war. Given the current animosity between Washington and Moscow, the U.S. (short on troops in any event) should let EU or UN forces handle peacekeeping... LINK to full interview

Rajan Menon on Minnesota Public Radio | 'What Does a Peace Agreement Mean for Georgia's Future?'

Communications — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:06:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Though a cease fire agreement has been signed between Georgia and Russia, there are conflicting reports as to when hostilities actually will stop. Russian troops plan to stay in a security zone in the region.

Featured Guests:

Rajan Menon: Professor of international relations at Lehigh University and a fellow at the New America Foundation.

Jeffrey Mankoff: Adjunct fellow for Russian Eurasian Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

LINK to audio