The unexpected release of journalist Ivan Golunov, who was arrested on false drug charges, could be a sign of change to come.
Leonid Bershidsky: Putin and Xi Are Going Soft on Protest. Why?
BBRGJune 20, 2019
The differences between the Chinese and Russian situations are obvious: In Hong Kong, the protests and the concession have been much bigger. But the similarity of the authoritarian regimes’ retreating when they didn’t really have to – both have ample capacity for repression, and they could have stood their ground – is more intriguing.
Fred Weir: Russian internet giant Yandex takes rare stand against state snooping
CSMJune 20, 2019
The primacy of Russia’s security state is beginning to crimp the global growth of the country’s information technology sector. That could foretell hard choices for the government over what it will prioritize.
Stephen F. Cohen: Washington’s Dr. Strangeloves
the nation / john batchelor showJune 19, 2019
Is plunging Russia into darkness really a good idea?
R. Jeffrey Smith: Scary Fast
Center for Public IntegrityJune 19, 2019
How hypersonic missiles — which travel at more than 15 times the speed of sound — are touching off a new global arms race that threatens to change the nature of warfare.
Paul Robinson: Book Review: The Lands In Between
irrussianalityJune 19, 2019
The Lands in Between begins with a quotation from what was possibly the worst book about Russia published in 2018 – Timothy Snyder’s The Road to Unfreedom. Snyder and Orenstein are clearly birds of a feather.
Stephen Walt: When Zombie Neoconservatives Attack
FP.comJune 18, 2019
Why most Americans are right about foreign policy, and David Brooks is wrong.
Asia Times: Iran at the center of the Eurasian riddle
Asia TimesJune 18, 2019
President Rouhani blasts US leader Donald Trump as ‘a serious threat to regional and world stability’, offers preferential treatment to SCO companies that invest in his country
Jon Basil Utley: How our attempts to get tough on Russia and Iran are hurting trade
TACJune 18, 2019
The long term consequences of our trade sanctions are not yet clear. One possibility will be the break up of the world into two main trading blocs as China, Russia and Europe work to set up a trading system not dependent upon the dollar.
Peter Harris: Where is Trump the Realist?
TNIJune 18, 2019
Those who advocate for a more circumscribed foreign policy have every reason to feel cheated.