Carnegie Moscow Center
Public hostility toward the Kyrgyz government escalated over the past weeks, leading to the recent street protests and demonstrations that seem to have topped the government of President Bakiyev.
The United States and Russia have officially signed the new START Treaty, setting up the necessary framework to reduce the world’s nuclear weapon stockpile by almost a third.
Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama recently signed a treaty to cut both countries' nuclear arms stockpiles. Although this agreement changes little in the strategic environment between the two countries, it may give a boost to the “reset” initiative.
The new nuclear arms reduction treaty is a positive outcome of the "reset" in U.S.-Russian relations, and will be a significant contribution to global non-proliferation efforts.
The recent attacks demonstrate the Kremlin’s lack of success in defeating the North Caucasus insurgency believed to be behind the March metro bombings, as well as the impossibility of isolating the violence in the North Caucasus without turning Russia into a police state.
Both the United States and Russia face the threat of global terrorism, and they should work together and share intelligence in order to respond to terrorist threats.
In the wake of the recent Moscow suicide bombings, the Russian people may begin to draw a connection between corruption among police and security forces and the inability of those security forces to protect Russian citizens from terrorist attacks.
The United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia have called for a freeze on all Israeli settlement activity, increasing the international pressure on Israel in the hopes of reinvigorating indirect peace talks.
While U.S.-Russian strategic thinking is broadly aligned and an agreement replacing START I is expected to be signed in early April, it remains important to broaden the circle of nuclear powers engaged in the disarmament process.
In 1990, when the Russian economy was falling apart and Russia was suffering from acute food shortages, the first McDonald's opened in Moscow, offering a new experience of food service.