In December 2010, the Senate’s resolution of ratification to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) imposed a condition to begin a next round of arms negotiations on tactical nuclear weapons systems between the Obama Administration and Russia. It is essential that the Administration does not make concessions to… Read more
The Obama Administration launched a push for an international Code of Conduct pertaining to activities of space-faring nations, but its activities have been cloaked in secrecy. This lack of transparency caused 37 Republican Senators to request more information about the Administration’s negotiations on this issue in February 2011. According to… Read more
Abstract: Articulating our values is no act of belligerence and certainly nothing to be sorry for. It’s a duty, one we accept confidently and gratefully, and it’s a President’s duty as well. Over the past 10 years, our… Read more
After three years of the Obama Doctrine, the place of the United States in the world is less secure than when the President came into office. That trend must change. Nor can foreign policy be left on the backburner any longer with Washington only focusing on domestic issues. The White… Read more
Abstract: The policies of the United States and the European Union should encourage and support Russian civil society and Russia’s democratic modernizers. And, if Russia continues to abrogate its international commitments to basic freedoms and human rights, the… Read more
Section 1228 of the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540), sponsored by Representative Mo Brooks (R–AL), would impose an absolute ban on sharing sensitive missile defense technology with Russia, including the technology for performing hit-to-kill intercepts of attacking ballistic missiles. On the… Read more
Garry Kasparov, a leader of the Russia opposition, spoke at Heritage about why Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is immune to the Obama administration's reset strategy. In an interview at Heritage before his speech, Kasparov said Obama's approach was misguided. Read more… Read more
What is the Obama administration’s response to the Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington? To “work closely with our international partners to increase Iran’s isolation,” according to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and unite “world opinion” against Iran, according to Vice President Joseph R. Biden. … Read more
As the Chinese orbit their Tiangong-1 space lab, the spotlight is once again turned on China’s space program. To help inform the discussions, it would be helpful to address a few of the myths surrounding China’s space efforts. Myth #1:… Read more
Russia’s political-scandal season has reached a boiling point. On Thursday, September 16, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's third-richest man (estimated personal net worth: $18 billion), was ousted from the helm of The Right Cause, his own June-launched political party. By week’s end, the scandal epitomized Russia’s centrally managed, sclerotic and brittle political… Read more
(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 this Trojan Horse-type operation, Soviet… Read more
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… Read more
Abstract: In recent years, Russia has aggressively expanded its presence in the Arctic, while the United States has largely neglected this strategic area. Given the rising demand for oil and gas and the likelihood that Arctic sea-lanes will… Read more
Abstract: Eight countries hold vast territories in the Arctic: the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark (via Greenland), Finland, Sweden, and Iceland. All eight countries are positioning themselves to protect their sovereignty, defend their competing territorial claims, and develop significant natural resources. Future disputes… Read more
Abstract: For decades, Turkey and the United States cooperated in the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, and even Korea. However, Turkish and U.S. interests in the Balkans, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf have recently diverged. On its… Read more
On July 16, the presidents of Russia and China signed a Treaty for Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation in Moscow.1 This treaty is the first such agreement between these two Eurasian powers since Mao Tse-tung signed a treaty with Joseph Stalin of the U.S.S.R. in 1950, four months before the outbreak… Read more
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… Read more
Abstract: The Obama Administration is asserting that the New START arms control treaty with Russia has a “robust” verification regime, and that it is effectively verifiable. But it is certainly much less verifiable than the original START. The U.S. will know significantly less about… Read more
Ukraine is at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Its global economic integration among free, democratic, and prosperous nations should be an important American foreign policy priority. A rebirth of economic freedom in Ukraine could have a positive impact not only on Eastern Europe but also in Russia and… Read more
The Obama Administration and Congress need to recognize that its “reset” policy with Russia, which requires huge payoffs for small results, is in dire need of a reassessment. The U.S. should pursue its national interests in relations with Moscow instead of chasing a mirage. The U.S. and Russia have mutual… Read more
According to the Obama Administration, the U.S. is not competing with Russia for global influence. Unfortunately, Moscow has not received this memo. Instead, Russia attempts to extend its influence to constrain U.S. policy. Russian leaders like Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov habitually invoke a “polycentric” or multipolar model of the world,… Read more
For many years, Russian diplomats have openly proclaimed that the former Soviet republics that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are not truly sovereign states. Russian analysts have stated that Russia regards the Obama Administration’s “reset” policy as a U.S. admission that the CIS is within Russia’s sphere… Read more
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wanted to reach her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign...… Read more
President Obama is working hard to make a Russian dream of a superior nuclear weapons arsenal come true, writes...… Read more
The Obama Administration is preparing for a next round of negotiations on nuclear weapons with the Russian Federation....… Read more
It's easy to complain in the midst of a stressful holiday season. But my family has a unique remedy: We remember one...… Read more
There has been a lot of discussion recently of Iranian involvement in Latin America, especially with the recent plot...… Read more
In the latest exercise in fact-twisting, General Nikolai Makarov, Russian Chief of the General Staff, said that Russia...… Read more
As the Arctic ice cap is decreasing in size, the international race for Arctic resources is heating up. The High North...… Read more
Russia is trying to exploit U.S. vulnerability in Afghanistan by squeezing concessions on European missile defense. This...… Read more
In an unfortunate exercise of naval muscle-flexing, a flotilla of Russian warships will be sent to the anchorage and...… Read more
Last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russia would deploy short-range missiles and possibly...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy