Carnegie Moscow Center
Post-Soviet Russia has witnessed an expansion of religious freedom and a change in the relationship between religious entities and the state. Religious movements that had all but disappeared under the Soviet regime have been experiencing a revival.
The key to success in the security field is not a combination of individual players like the G20, but rather sustainable joint leadership working together in tailor-made coalitions.
Turkey and Armenia signed historic protocols on October 10 to restore diplomatic ties and open shared borders. Although the deal must still be ratified by their respective parliaments, it marks the first step in resolving tensions stemming from the killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule in 1915.
Secretary Clinton travels to Russia to discuss nuclear disarmament, Iran, Afghanistan, and human rights. The United States has made a good beginning with the Russian leadership, but the relationship is still fragile.
Rules are the key to maintaining necessary pressure on Iran and framing a mutually-acceptable, face-saving outcome. Iran must take steps to build and maintain international confidence that all its nuclear activities are peaceful, and that none have military dimensions.
The United States and Russia need a coordinated approach to Iranian nuclear ambitions, where sanctions and opportunities become incentives pushing and pulling Iran toward a solution beneficial for both global security and Iran’s national interest.
Under Russian President Medvedev, the Kremlin’s efforts to develop and execute concrete solutions to Russia’s many challenges have been replaced by a constant stream of polemical sound bites and vague slogans.
Following a momentous summer in Iran and scheduled open talks on October 1, President Obama and President Ahmadinejad take the stage today at the United Nations.
Russia retains interests throughout the post-Soviet regions, but Moscow’s considerable influence is no longer dominant.
When Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary-general, addresses an audience at Carnegie Europe on Friday, 18th September, he will speak about the possibility of a new dialogue between two former foes – NATO and Russia. Dmitri Trenin suggests that these discussions could initially take place through the NATO-Russia Council of 2002, but in time, that they might spawn a new framework altogether.
The economic crisis has devastated the Russian economy, where GDP is expected to contract by nearly 10 percent in 2009. Despite optimism among government experts, ballooning debt and plummeting revenues threaten the recovery effort.
Scientific and technological progress will not, on their own, lead to improvements in the political realm. The economy cannot be effective if the political system is insufficiently free.
Stalin’s growing popularity in Russia is less a function of an organized state propaganda effort to promote him than it is a result of the government’s lack of interest in setting the historical record straight on Stalin. Attention is increasingly focused on the greatness of the country and its achievements under Stalin’s rule.
By pursuing its own distinct foreign policy, Russia is isolating itself from the rest of the world. A continuation of these policies will leave Russia with only weak, opportunistic ties to the global community.
Tensions over Europe’s troubled past have increased with the approach of the 70th anniversary of the start of WWII. Prime Minister Putin’s upcoming visit to Poland can help turn a new page in history.
Nuclear-weapon states should commission their defense ministries and think tanks to perform serious analysis on the practical steps of moving towards zero nuclear weapons.
The absence of security, law enforcement or effective central government has created a vacuum in Afghanistan. The Taliban are conducting a campaign to eliminate government contact with the population and compel the people to accept Taliban rule.
Despite the official end of Russia’s counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya, armed clashes and terrorist attacks continue to plague North Caucasus. Open conflict is on the verge of becoming inevitable.
The upsurge of violence in Russia's North Caucasus region is the result of the incompetence of local authorities and the Kremlin’s failure or reluctance to seriously address the issues of the region.
The hydrocarbon industries of the former Soviet Union are undergoing innovative development. In Russia, conditions both enable and inhibit the construction of a new economy focused on incentives for innovation.