Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Russia and the Former Soviet Union

Russia in Review

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:32:54 -0500

May 24, 2013

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for May 16-24, 2013.

How to Make the 'Red Line' Mean Something

Chuck Freilich — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:49:12 -0500

"A failure to respond to Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons would not only encourage him in the belief that he can perhaps get away with an even bigger use next time; it would also undermine U.S. strategic credibility well beyond the Syria case. This begs the obvious question: At what point does the 'red line' really become one?"

Is the Vision Thing Important?

Joseph S. Nye — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:55:25 -0500

"...[P]residents matter, but not exactly in the ways that leadership experts predict. Their expectation that transformational leaders make all the difference and incremental or transactional leaders are simply routine managers greatly oversimplifies the role of leadership."

Obama Can Still Build 2nd Term Legacy

Joseph S. Nye — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:41:23 -0500

"Obama's first term was marked by the passage of health care legislation — unpopular with some, but a historic accomplishment that Democratic presidents have sought since the days of Harry Truman. The Democrats' loss of the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections has constrained Obama's ability to advance other transformational efforts on the domestic front, though some believe that, out of self-interest, the Republican Party may still allow bipartisan reform of immigration law during Obama's second term."

Russia in Review

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:55:44 -0500

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for May 10-16, 2013.

A Seat at the Arctic Table

Juliette Kayyem — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:44:25 -0500

"...[T]he Arctic Council agreed to let nations that, at last look at the map, are not located anywhere near the Arctic, join as observers. It may seem a diplomatic nicety, but it is the recognition that the Arctic Council nations no longer have a monopoly on the region. China, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Singapore are on a hunt for more energy and have their eyes on the waning polar ice caps."

Belfer Center Newsletter Summer 2013

Sharon Wilke — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:20:44 -0500

The Summer 2013 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights the Belfer Center’s expanding work on complex cybersecurity issues and Middle East challenges, offers reflections on the role of the U.S. in Iraq, and spotlights work being done by the Center and its affiliates on environment and energy issues.

Elbe Group Facilitates U.S.-Russia Communication, Security

Kevin Ryan — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:02:01 -0500

As U.S. and Soviet forces converged in Germany in the final days of WWII, both armies met at the River Elbe near Torgau. That meeting of comrades, united in the face of common threats, is the inspiration for the Belfer Center’s “Elbe Group,” whose purpose is to maintain an open and continuous channel of communication on sensitive issues of U.S.-Russian relations. In late March, the Elbe Group met in Jerusalem for its eighth meeting since its founding in 2010.

Russia in Review

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:59:56 -0500

May 10, 2013

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for May 3-10, 2013.

Russia in Review

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:50:22 -0500

May 3, 2013

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for April 20 - May 3, 2013

Are Chechen Immigrants a 'Threat'?

Simon Saradzhyan — Thu, 02 May 2013 09:09:38 -0500

“There are still many questions left unanswered as America seeks to understand how the Tsarnaev brothers could have inflicted harm on the innocent people of the country that has granted them shelter, food and education.But there is one question that should not be asked at all, and that is whether the horrendous attacks in Boston should prompt the United States and other countries to consider immigrants a security threat just because they belong to a certain ethnic group.”

Boston Bombing Puts Spotlight on Security Services' Failure to Cooperate

Simon Saradzhyan — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:23:49 -0500

"Was the bombing of the Boston marathon the result of an intelligence failure? There seems to be no clear answer to that question yet. But it does seem to me that had there been a greater degree of trust between the US and Russian secret services, they would have been more willing to share information and act on each other’s warnings, preventing Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from allegedly bombing the Boston marathon's finish line on April 15."

Russia, US may face a shared threat

Simon Saradzhyan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:16:20 -0500

As evidence emerges, more is becoming known about Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the brothers suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon attacks, writes Simon Saradzhyan. "They were reportedly devout Muslims who were born into a family of ethnic Chechens, lived in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, and studied in Russia’s North Caucasus, before coming to the United States as children. Over time, the older brother, Tamerlan, became a more radical figure. Whatever his motivation, he was following a similar path to that of some insurgents in the North Caucasus, who once focused on achieving secular independence for their homeland, but went on to become intertwined in international jihadist networks that share a belief that their number one enemy is America."

Russia in Review

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:42:23 -0500

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for April 12-20, 2013.

Russia in Review

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:14:48 -0500

April 12, 2013

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for April 5-12, 2013.

Incompatibility Hinders BRICS Bloc

Joseph S. Nye — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:56:21 -0500

"...[W]hile the BRICS may be helpful in coordinating certain diplomatic tactics, the term lumps together highly disparate countries. Not only is South Africa miniscule compared with the others, but China's economy is larger than those of all of the other members combined. Likewise, India, Brazil and South Africa are democracies, and occasionally meet in an alternative forum that they call IBSA (the India, Brazil, South Africa Dialogue Forum)."

The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: January-March 2013

Simon Saradzhyan — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:17:16 -0500

The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter is a forum for discussing nuclear terrorism and actions to contribute to improved joint US-Russian assessment of the threat of nuclear terrorism. Available in both English and Russian.

Russia in Review

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:42:05 -0500

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for March 29 - April 5, 2013.

Why Nuclear Powers Should Start Walking Toward Global Zero

Simon Saradzhyan — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:09:45 -0500

"On April 5, 2009 President Barack Obama gave a speech that was supposed to set the agenda for his presidency in international security. “I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons,” he proclaimed in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Prague. Four years later, however, this drive to achieve “Global Zero” seems to have waned to a point when even another round of modest reductions in US and Russian arsenals appears difficult to achieve."

U.S.-Russia Arms Control: Prospects and Challenges

Amb. Steven Pifer — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:46:26 -0500

This seminar examined the prospects for further nuclear arms reductions between the United States and Russia, including the possibility that negotiations might be expanded to weapons not limited by the New START Treaty. The seminar covered U.S. and Russian differences over missile defense and how those might be resolved to allow a cooperative NATO-Russia missile defense arrangement for Europe.

Russia in Review

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:14:15 -0500

March 29, 2013

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for March 22-29, 2013.

Russia Needs to Develop Eastern Provinces as China Rises

Simon Saradzhyan — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:25:35 -0500

"For better or worse, China is still several decades of development away from claiming the mantle of the world’s most powerful nation, according to Asia’s wisest living statesman, Lee Kwan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore.

The Kremlin should use this 'grace period' to allocate resources and introduce incentives to spur economic and demographic growth east of the Urals so that this region doesn’t become what Russian political scientists describe as 'a raw materials appendage' to China," advises Simon Saradzhyan of Harvard's Belfer Center.

'Star Wars' Today: What would Reagan do?

Graham Allison — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:50:09 -0500

"President Reagan stunned fellow citizens and the world 30 years ago this month with a dramatic announcement that the United States would develop and deploy a system capable of intercepting and destroying strategic ballistic missiles." For Reagan, Graham Allison writes, "this was an essential steppingstone to his even grander vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. [To] persuade America's Cold War adversary to eliminate its superpower nuclear arsenal as well, Reagan proposed to share this SDI technology with Moscow."

Russia in Review

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:18:27 -0500

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for March 15-22, 2013.

Kandahar and hope

Michèle Flournoy and Michael O'Hanlon — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 08:24:53 -0500

March 21, 2013

Kandahar. Ancient crossroads of Central Asia. Home province of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and the site from which Osama bin Laden began to prepare the Sept. 11 attacks. Epicenter of the fight pitting Afghan and NATO forces against the Taliban over the past dozen years. Region where patronage networks led by the likes of the late Ahmed Wali Karzai, together with centuries-old tribal rivalries, have greatly complicated our counterinsurgency campaign and efforts to help Afghans establish good, or at least better, governance.

Russia in Review

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:16:05 -0500

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for March 8-15, 2013.

Russia in Review

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:12:10 -0600

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for March 1-8, 2013.

Russia in Review

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:12:15 -0600

March 1, 2013

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for February 22 - March 1, 2013.

Russia in Review

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:17:11 -0600

February 22, 2013

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for February 15-22, 2013.

Wooing Russia — and its Influence

David Ignatius — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:38:10 -0600

"The administration is exploring ways to engage Russia as President Obama begins his second term. At the top of the list are the biggest U.S. headaches — Syria, Iran and North Korea. The White House thinks that, after a period of frosty relations, Putin is also looking to rebuild a cooperative relationship," writes David Ignatius of the Washington Post.