By the end of the week I thought of those early-1950s horror movies, wherein the cameras linger on mobs of innocent citizens as they hold their hands up and their faces dissolve into a combination of fear and revulsion. That is what we are supposed to feel, do and look like, it seems. The Russians!
Analysis
Gordon Hahn: Chasing Putin: Russia’s Pro-Democracy Parties and the Presidential Election
Long-standing Russian President Vladimir Putin will win Russia’s presidential election by a landslide, garnering some 70 percent of the vote.
Paul Robinson: Three Doses of Drivel
Stalin oversaw the Great Terror in which some 700,000 people were executed. And somehow Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is the same.
The Lasting Effects of the Post-Chernobyl Parade (Lev Golinkin)
May 1, 1986, was a beautiful day for a parade in Kharkov, Ukraine. Red banners and optimism were the hallmarks of Soviet parades, and this one had plenty of both…The only oddity was the reviewing stands, where the city authorities stood, were mostly empty. “Sveta – get him indoors!” my grandmother shouted from our apartment balcony as soon as she saw my mom and I returning home.
Anton Troianovski: Russia’s young people are Putin’s biggest fans
“Tanks are stationed on our borders,” Rybin said. “We have good troops defending our borders, defending our Russia. If we elect a different president, can we expect this from him, or not?”
George Beebe: Here Is What Trump Should Do about the Poisoning of a Former Russian Spy
If Putin is guilty more of misrule than misdeeds in the Skripal affair, however, confronting him would risk doing more harm than good. The dangers of a World War I-type escalatory spiral would loom large, particularly if powerful interests in Moscow or other capitals want a showdown.
Look Who Funds Ukraine’s ‘Anti-Putin’ Internet TV (Kenneth Rapoza)
The best way to raise funds for a media project in Ukraine? Go full-bore anti-Russia to easily woo North American and European governments to give you money.
Peter Hitchens: The ‘patriotic’ thought police came for Corbyn. You are next.
I have been to many countries where free speech is dangerous. But I have always assumed that there was no real risk here.
Leonid Bershidsky: Putin Has a Chemical Weapons Problem
The use of a nerve agent against an ex-spy in the U.K. will haunt the Kremlin worse than previous transgressions.
Handle the Bear with care (Stephen Kinzer)
Escalating confrontation with Russia is not in America’s interest. It prevents US-Russian cooperation on urgent issues ranging from nuclear security to the fight against the Islamic State. It also pushes Russia toward China. Instead of challenging Russia in its own neighborhood, we should seek a global relationship that serves our security needs.
PODCAST: 101 Years Later, Armenian Genocide Remains Unacknowledged by Turkey (Pietro Shakarian)
Interview with Caucasus and Russia scholar Pietro A. Shakarian on The John Batchelor Show about the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the annual commemorations on April 24 at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia. Other issues discussed include Turkey’s denial, the Kurds, and Russia’s view of the situation. Shakarian and Batchelor are joined by former US Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), a member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus.
Russia vs. Japan: Asia’s Forgotten Island Fight (TNI)
Over the past few years, attention on territorial issues in Asia has largely centered on China, which has a raft of disputes with its neighbors, including Japan and many countries in Southeast Asia. A less discussed, but still strategic, rift is that between Japan and Russia over the Southern Kuril Islands…
Jeremy Corbyn: The Salisbury attack was appalling. But we must avoid a drift to conflict.
Britain needs to hold the perpetrators to account. Yet this is not a time for hasty judgments that could lead to a new cold war.
Are Poland’s Elites Itching for War with Russia? (Peter S Rieth)
“The Russian plane should have been fired upon. Not shot down, but fired upon. Too bad the Americans didn’t fire. Secretary Kerry should have announced that next time, the United States will fire on the Russians.” These are the words of Roman Kuźniar, a key foreign policy advisor to the former President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski. [Read more…] about Are Poland’s Elites Itching for War with Russia? (Peter S Rieth)
Gordon M. Hahn: Putin’s ‘Missile Speech’: Butter, Guns, and Security Discourse
Putin’s speech addressed the external threat from the West by showcasing Russia’s ‘oboronka’ or defense industry, presenting a series of new weapons systems; some of which seem to already being deployed, some still in the testing and procurement phases.
Robert Legvold: Rex Tillerson is Fired. Whither US Foreign Policy?
On Tuesday, March 13, US President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and nominated CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his successor. Valdai Club expert Robert Legvold explains the reasons behind this decision and shares his view of its consequences for the US foreign policy.
George Beebe: Why We Need to Pay Attention to Russia’s Elections
The election will help Russia’s elites gauge how much power Putin really has.
Daniel Lazare: The National Endowment for (Meddling in) Democracy
The quasi-government group follows one rule: the U.S. has an unqualified right to do unto others what others may not do unto the U.S
Chatham House Rules (Paul Robinson)
The Royal Institute of International Affairs (aka Chatham House) published a report by Ukrainian analyst Orysia Lutsevych entitled ‘Agents of the Russian World: Proxy Groups in the Contested Neighbourhood’ which warns against the dangers posed by a “network of 60 Russian centres of Science and Culture’ around the world.” Robinson wryly notes, “I was at a meeting at one of these recently. I thought I was there to discuss academic exchanges…”
Lyle Goldstein: Why Trump Should Meet Kim in Vladivostok
The Russian Far East’s main city, Vladivostok, is just one hundred miles from the North Korean border.