Carnegie Moscow Center
The Kremlin is unlikely to agree with all of the Institute for Social, Economic and Political Studies’ proposals for improving the gubernatorial election process.
Until recently, German-Russian relations were viewed as a model bilateral relationship. However, public opinion in Germany has grown increasingly critical of Vladimir Putin’s regime, and the German leadership can’t ignore this.
As Gazprom and a European Union commission go head to head over the Russian gas giant's aggressive moves in Eastern Europe, Russia may miss an opportunity to help itself.
The EU's Competition Commission recently decided to investigate whether Gazprom, the Russian gas company, had hindered competition in Eastern Europe by holding back gas deliveries.
Both the Kremlin and the Russian opposition hope to use the United States and its policies to serve their own domestic agendas.
If the Russian authorities want to gain a free hand in implementing their social and economic measures, they must first extricate themselves from the current political crisis.
Whoever wins the U.S. presidency, Washington’s Russia policy needs a reassessment and a rethink. The choice for the new administration lies between keeping Russia on the periphery of the U.S. foreign policy and treating Russia as an asset in America’s global strategy.
For Russians, Obama seems to be a better choice for the next U.S. president, but in general, the Kremlin and the Russian public are watching the U.S. election rather calmly. It is a sign that the countries are no longer enemies but are not great friends.
The United States needs to begin paying more attention to Russia as part of its Asia-Pacific strategy if it wants a more stable balance to emerge in this critical region.
Sooner or later, Russia will have to decide whether to de-hermetize or to reproduce a system of personalized power that can only push the nation toward disaster.