The West and Moscow are currently basing their actions not on a game plan worked out in advance, but are only reacting to a situation that is deteriorating and becoming more and more unpredictable. They are turning into hostages of this situation and their emotions. Read Here – Moscow Times
Indeed, once the winds of war start blowing, they are impossible to tame. Even if Ukrainians and the West force Putin to retreat, this is not the end of Putin’s revanchism. He is stubborn, determined and vengeful. He may at some point back down, but he’ll be back later. Read Here – Moscow Times
Ukraine has become a battleground for western influence and Vladimir Putin’s dream of an expanded Russian sphere of influence Read Here – DNA
What is most interesting to consider, however, is whether we are witnessing the first stages of a reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Riyadh and Moscow, of course, have some apparently irreconcilable geostrategic imperatives. Russia’s close ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran and its unstinting support of Bashar al-Assad in Syria puts Moscow at […]
For all his brazen anti-Western rhetoric, Putin would like nothing more than for the elected Western leaders to join him on the Olympic stands in Sochi in four months’ time—a confirmation of his regime’s legitimacy, prestige, and status as an accepted equal on the world stage. Read Here – WorldAffairsJournal
Twenty years ago on October 4, months of political conflict climaxed when President Boris Yeltsin ordered the army to shell and storm the country’s legislature. Read Here – The Atlantic
Xi Jinping’s first foreign visit to Moscow and other signs of growing cooperation between the two countries, the bilateral relationship is a short-term calculation by Russia that while interests coincide for now it is in fact China that poses the greatest threat to Russia’s presence in the East. Read Here – The Diplomat
Today’s most important political battle in Russia is not for control of the Kremlin, but for power over its capital city. Indeed, the outcome of Moscow’s mayoral election campaign concerns every Russian – and everyone who is interested in Russia’s fate. Read Here – Project Syndicate
Despite the distraction posed by Edward Snowden’s continued presence in Moscow, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama would like to inject some positive momentum into the flagging U.S.-Russia relationship. The Kremlin, however, evinces little interest in making progress on issues that are important to the White House. If that remains President Vladimir Putin‘s approach, the Moscow summit in early September is in jeopardy, and Putin may find he does […]
Russia’s security differences with NATO countries have been encouraging Moscow to strengthen ties with Asian countries, above all China. These differences range from concerns over U.S. missile defense programs to unease about NATO’s increasingly capable conventional weapons to dissatisfaction with Moscow’s minimal influence on European security issues due to Russia’s non-membership in NATO. Read Here […]
looking beyond borders 