Moscow's Foreign Policies
Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained that Russia’s foreign policy when it came to was “schizophrenic.” I would argue that it is less a case of schizophrenia, and more a reflection of the fact that Russia does not have a singular foreign policy, but multiple foreign policies. READ MORE
Moscow Seeks Political Allies in Moldova Ahead of Referendum and Elections
The crash of Moldova’s experiment with a parliamentary system of government, predictable though it was, could not have occurred at a worse time for the country. When this experiment had first collapsed in 2000, Moldova still had a margin for error at its disposal, sheltered as it then was from direct Russian intrusion into its domestic politics. Even so, that first collapse of the parliamentary system ushered in eight years of Communist Party rule (2001-2009). This preserved the parliamentary republic pro forma while operating as a presidential republic de facto. The communists remain the single strongest party by far in the electorate and in parliament; and their leader, former President Vladimir Voronin, remains the most popular politician (although their ratings are in long-term decline) READ MORE
Who Will Stop Russian Energy March to Europe?
Dependence of the states of Eastern and Middle Europe from Russian gas and oil is practically absolute. This calls a concern that energy dependence can transform into a political one. READ MORE
US-Russian Relations: Wooing the West
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The Russian leader has re-enacted the famous American goodwill tour of his predecessor a half century ago, but faces the same Cold War scheming. Will his attempts to befriend Europe have more success? READ MORE
For U.S. and Russia, Kyrgyz Crisis Poses Strategic Risk
The worsening ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan is hundreds of miles from U.S. and Russian bases in the central Asia country, but it poses thorny strategic dilemmas for both. READ MORE
A Russian Made Disaster in Kyrgyzstan
The violence unleashed in Kyrgyzstan is being spun as ethnic rioting. The reality is a good deal more complex, and the blame can be laid directly at Russia's door. Russia's coup against the Bakiyev government which took power in the Tulip Revolution leveraged Uzbek separatists in the Osh Province to suppress Kyrgiz nationalist supporters of Bakiyev. READ MORE
Kyrgyzstan invites Russian troops to end unrest
Kyrgyzstan on Saturday asked Russia to send troops to end ethnic violence that has killed more than 60 people and wounded about 800 in the impoverished nation that hosts U.S. and Russian military bases, the country's interim president said. READ MORE
Russia may exclude Israel from Blue Stream-2 gas pipeline project
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Israel may be excluded from the Blue Stream-2 gas pipeline project as it has uncovered its own gas deposits. READ MORE
Russia opens a new pipeline of diplomacy
Russian diplomacy has been on a roll in recent months, the revival of ties with Ukraine being the most dramatic manifestation. But a string of successes, major and minor, sung and unsung, has been notched up below that high point - in Poland, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Norway and Syria. READ MORE
