Russian strongman Vladimir Putin expressed his sympathy for the victims of the Boston bombings last week. But make no mistake: Putin sees the bombings as an opportunity to rebuild relations with the United States on his terms. His crocodile tears shouldn't delude us into chasing a second "reset" in relations with Russia. After all, the first reset was one of the Obama…
When the Russian Foreign Ministry released its updated Foreign Policy Concept in February, codifying Russia’s global strategies, Washington yawned. Yet this document reveals much about the emerging “Putin Doctrine.” It further separates Russia from Western Europe and is especially critical of the United States. It also leaves no doubt: President Barack Obama’s “reset”…
Since Vladimir Putin’s third inauguration as Russian president last May, U.S.–Russian relations have deteriorated sharply. Officials on both sides have moved past the “reset” honeymoon as disagreements over geopolitics and human rights abound. Spanning two continents and with a veto on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Russia is uniquely positioned to play a…
On January 2, the U.S. Senate unanimously condemned the "Dima Yakovlev Law," a measure hastily adopted around Christmas time, that victimizes Russian orphans—and Russian democracy. This piece of legislation bars the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens. It is namedafter Dima Yakovlev, an adopted child from Russia, who in 2008 was abandoned by his father in a…
For over half a century, Radio Liberty (RL) has been a central part of the U.S. government’s efforts to support human rights and free expression in Russia and, before it, the Soviet Union. Today, tragically, Radio Liberty—or Radio Svoboda, as the Russians know it—is in turmoil, its Moscow-based staff decimated by deep cuts, and its future uncertain. And RL’s listeners are…
If last week’s corruption scandal involving the former Russian defense minister was not embarrassing enough for Moscow, the plot now thickens. A police investigation is targeting one of the Russian high-tech modernization projects, a type of GPS called GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The threads may lead to higher-ups, and turn into another episode in…
Vladimir Putin’s vision of Russia as an “energy superpower” just got closer to reality. State-controlled, London-floated Rosneft has clinched a deal to buy out BP’s stake in Russian oil operations. Since 2003, BP has been in a joint venture with several Russian oligarchs whose companies are known as Alfa-Access-Renova. From the beginning, there was bad blood between…
As the Russian punk-rock band members “Pussy Riot” appeal their two-year sentence for a political protest in the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, a pale of repression is settling over their country. This crackdown is wrapped in legislative garb, but the iron grip of authoritarianism is unmistakable. The United States must specifically recognize that its “reset” policy of…
Testimony before The Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission), U.S. Congress September 20, 2012 Mr. Chairman, Congressmen, Secretary Melia, Ladies and Gentlemen: My name is Ariel Cohen. I am Senior Research Fellow, Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy at The Heritage Foundation. The…
Russia hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this past weekend in its Pacific port of Vladivostok. It was a clear signal that Moscow’s interest in Asia is rising as the traditional market for its energy and raw materials—the euro zone—wallows in crisis and stagnation. And After America’s much-ballyhooed “pivot to Asia,” it is now Russia’s turn. …
(Archived document, may contain errors) THE SOVIET INVAS./ON OF AFGHANISTAN INTRODUCTION On December 27, 1979, under cover cf an ongoing Soviet military buildup, heavily-armed elements of a Soviet airborne brigade were airlifted into Kabul, Afghanistan, to violently overthrow the regime of President Hafizollah Amin. Within hours after the beginning of…
Abstract: Russia’s development of the PAK FA fifth-generation stealth fighter could challenge American air supremacy, especially if Russia sells the PAK FA to its usual buyers of military equipment. In the U.S., closure of the F-22 production line has severely limited America’s ability to respond to PAK FA proliferation by building more F-22s and potentially…
I am very delighted to be here--for a number of reasons, but mostly because Heritage was one of the organizations that continued to say what was wrong with Communism and continued to criticize it even before everybody else saw the light and agreed that that was the right thing to do. So thank you very much for having me here. I'd like to begin by pointing out…
It's never fun to admit failure. But Russia's 13 percent flat tax forces me to confess a certain degree of incompetence. For 10 years, I've been working in Washington to replace our convoluted tax code with a simple and fair flat tax. But as every taxpayer can attest, my efforts have not borne fruit. Yet in Russia, President Vladimir Putin -- the former head of…
(Archived document, may contain errors) 815 March 6,1991 PREPARING AMERICA FOR TRE WAW OF RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS INTRODUCITON This may become theyear of the Russian Immigrant. During it, history's largest peacetime movement of ethnic Russians to the West is likel y to begin The de of the exodus may surpass even the emigration of 1918-1920, when in the wake of the…
Introduction Of the many foreign policy challenges the United States faces during this post-Cold War era, one in particular is gaining importance with the passage of time: how best to secure adequate access to oil and natural gas reserves in the first half of the 21st century.1 The oil and gas reserves of Eurasia's Caspian Sea region could provide the United…
Abstract: Competing aggressively with the United States for the “hearts and minds” of people around the world, many state and non-state actors are funneling significant resources into their public diplomacy strategies. The Chinese government announced in 2009 that it would spend almost $7 billion on a “global media drive” to improve its image. The Russian…
The Arctic region is becoming increasingly important for a number of geostrategic reasons. Thawing ice allows lucrative shipping lanes to open and increases the possibility of natural resource exploration. Since four of the five Arctic littoral countries, in addition to Iceland, are also members of NATO, the alliance cannot afford to ignore the Arctic. The U.S.…
Abstract: In several ways, Russia’s proposed new European Security Treaty would undermine European security—the opposite of its stated purpose—not least of all by sharply limiting NATO’s ability to act and to accept new members. Instead of adding to the existing European architecture and treaties, the U.S. and its European allies should work to advance relations with…
As the U.S. continues to engage in study after study about its future space plans, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has progressed steadily in developing its own space program. This was demonstrated again when the PRC launched a Shenzhou manned capsule and docked it with the Tiangong-1 space lab that China orbited in 2011. This marks the first step toward a greater…
Abstract: Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will put U.S. companies at a disadvantage with their global competitors unless Congress first exempts Russia from the application of the Jackson–Vanik Amendment, a tool from the 1970s designed to promote human rights that no longer advances that goal. Russia admittedly suffers from weak rule of law and…
Protection of basic human rights, including the right to own property, is an important issue for those who hold American values close to heart. In Russia, human and property rights violations are undermining the state and preventing investment and business development. The poor state of the rule of law and pervasive corruption—including the failing court and law…
Abstract: Russia is pursuing a Middle Eastern policy that is designed to reduce U.S. and Western influence in the Middle East, even at the risk of Islamist terrorism, which is a growing problem in Russia. It views the recent upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa as an American conspiracy to undermine Russia and friendly regimes in the region. Russia’s Soviet…
Vladimir Putin’s victory in Russia’s presidential election was marred with fraud, but nevertheless he appears to have a mandate from the Russian voters to rule for another six-year term. If re-elected in 2018, he may rule until 2024. Regardless of the outcome of the November U.S. elections, a clear Russia policy is necessary, and it should not be the ill-fated…
Abstract: Promoting economic freedom at home and abroad is essential to revitalizing the U.S. economy. In 2010, for the first time ever, the United States fell from the ranks of the economically free in the Index of Economic Freedom, and economic freedom in the U.S. has continued to decline. The U.S. influence can be decisive in promoting property rights and…
In a scene reminiscent of the spy thriller TV series "The Americans," Russian FSB secret police Monday night detained...…
Transparency is not one of the Obama Administration’s greatest strengths. Walter Pincus of The Washington Post...…
The fired journalists of Radio Liberty’s (RL) Moscow office are finally seeing a deep injustice reversed. Following a...…
This past Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met President Vladimir Putin of Russia in the Kremlin. Kerry...…
Cuts in President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 defense budget submission are troubling, according to Mike Rogers (R–AL),...…
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a scathing new report focused on the crackdown on Russia’s civil society....…
The North Caucasus has emerged as an ungovernable safe haven for terrorists, as the government of Russia is at the end...…
The Boston Marathon bombers have brought greater attention to Russia’s volatile North Caucasus, their ancestral home. As...…
As details emerge regarding Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s 2012 trip to Dagestan and Chechnya, which his family has insisted was...…
James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “In my almost...…
Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Distinguished Fellow