Why Sanctions on Russia Will Backfire
(The New York Times) (Co-authored with Bernard Sucher) The American government tends to see sanctions against Russia as a low-cost policy that will eventually force Vladimir Putin to change course in…
Расширяя границы реального, Кремль приближает реальность возможного
Блог ПОНАРС Евразия. 3 марта глава комитета Госдумы по международным делам (и ключевая фигура кремлевской пропаганды) А.К.Пушков публично заявил о возможности, как минимум, трех сценариев «цветной революции» в России: радикализация…
Почему российский медведь вышел на тропу войны: О значимости Украины для России
Прошлый год стал знаменательным для России. От великолепной организации Олимпийских игр Москва перешла к аннексии Крыма, и далее – к прямой интервенции на Востоке Украины. Внезапно дружелюбный олимпийский медведь обернулся…
The question to ask about Boris Nemtsov’s murder is not who but why?
(The Monkey cage/WP) The problem moving forward – for analysts, opposition, patriots, and citizens – is not really explaining who assassinated Boris Nemtsov. Most people already have their own theories…
Changing the Color Revolutionary Discourse in Russia
On March 3, chairman of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee (and key Kremlin propagandist) Alexey Pushkov publicly admitted there are at least three scenarios for a “color revolution” in…
Russian citizens owe it to Boris Nemtsov to keep the hope of democracy in Russia alive
(LSE Blogs) I first heard of Boris Nemtsov when I was a young Russian graduate student in America in the mid-1990s contemplating pursuing a PhD in Russian regional politics. For a…
Murder That Revealed Truth
(EDM) The photograph that hit millions of computer and smartphone screens late Friday (February 27) night, Moscow time, has instantly become a clear-focused image of what Russia has become amidst the…
Commemorating Boris Nemtsov
(UT Blog) Words kill. Discourses matter. Whoever physically triggered the gun that killed Boris Nemtsov, one of the most charismatic Russian opposition leaders in Moscow, his death on February 27th…
Why Did the Bear Become so Belligerent? The Meaning of Ukraine for Russia
Last year was a decisive one for Russia. It graciously hosted the Olympic Games only to swiftly annex Crimea and directly intervene in eastern Ukraine. In short order, the friendly…
What does Boris Nemtsov’s murder mean for Russia?
(The Monkey Cage/WP) Like many others, I was shocked and saddened by last week’s murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who I actually had the pleasure of interviewing many years ago. In…
Kremlin Could Turn the Economy Around
(The Moscow Times) A distinct note of hopelessness crept into official government statements regarding the economy in February. The problems the country is facing are obvious, but what are lacking are new proposals for solving them and new people ready…
U.S. should keep force as option for Ukraine
(CNN) With reports that violence in Ukraine isspreading beyond separatist-controlled areas, it is clear the so-called Minsk-II ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels in the Donbas is teetering.…