Swaying the Opinions of the Russian Diaspora - Heritage.org
For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian diaspora is no longer viewed as necessarily anti-Communist or hostile to the Kremlin. Moscow now actively seeks to curry favor with its emigrants and make them its emissaries. Using its embassies, government websites, and a network of establishments that promote Russian language and culture, its efforts to use public diplomacy to bring the Russian diaspora back into the Russian world are growing. Intelligence experts indicate, however, that since the days of the USSR, such efforts have been closely linked to Russia’s intelligence activities, including talent-spotting, recruitment, and operations of human intelligence (HUMINT) assets.
Russia is also monitoring and manipulating its domestic social media. The government leadership understands that social networking is one of the freest modes of exchange between Russians and the outside world, and it does not want to lose control of the message that Russia is a great power.
Organizations that track global Internet freedom have documented growing intimidation from Moscow of those who are critical of the Kremlin online.[51]
Without a strategy to counteract this increasingly aggressive campaign to win hearts and minds, the United States will continue to find its own messages poorly received by Russians and its interests undermined.
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"Таким образом, перед сегодняшней госбезопасностью поставлена ясная цель: обуздать оппозицию и защитить власть от любого давления, даже косвенного. Арсенал средств традиционный — перекупить алчных, запугать боязливых, изолировать упрямых."
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Mike Nova's starred items
Mike Nova's starred items
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Грани.Ру: СКР и ФСБ провели обыски у вице-спикера заксобрания Карелии
grani.ru
Управление СКР по Северо-Западному федеральному округу при содействии УФСБ по Карелии провело обыски у первого вице-спикера регионального заксобрания Девлетхана Алиханова и у первого вице-мэра Петрозаводска Евгения Журавлева. Они подозреваются в махинациях с муниципальным имуществом. За злоупотребле...
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Я уже публиковал эту фотографию. Это я после возвращения из сталинских лагерей. Первый срок (8 лет Особлага) я получил за то, что мы, группа студентов, критиковали марксистскую идеологию. Второй срок (10 лет) я получил за участие в групповом побеге с разоружением конвоя на Тайшетской пересылке. Последние 4 года я отбывал на Колыме в Берлаге, откуда в конце 1954 меня привезли в Москву на переследствие, реабилитировали по первому делу, амнистировали по второму. Это фото сделано летом 1955 напротив Малого театра. Когда я опубликовал эту фотографию несколько месяцев назад, я забыл спросить у читателей Фесбука, заметили ли они, сколько ненависти в глазах у этого парня. Все мы, политзэки сталинских лагерей вышли на волю с такими глазами. Я утверждаю, что ненависть может быть положительным чувством, если это ненависть, например, к нацистскому или коммунистическому режиму. С этим чувством я прожил все годы советской власти, заработав еще два срока за участие в диссидентском движении. С этим чувством к власти ГБ в России я живу и сейчас. Советую и другим не бояться этого чувства.
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Павел Астахов поменял показания // В Техасе не спешат делать выводы о причинах смерти Максима Кузьмина
Власти США удивлены заявлениями российских официальных лиц, обвинивших приемных родителей Максима Кузьмина в убийстве ребенка. В полиции штата Техас утверждают, что никому не передавали материалы расследования, и не знают, чем вызваны сообщения о жестоком обращении с мальчиком. Не спешить с выводами посоветовал российским властям и госдепартамент США. Тем временем новую версию событий поспешил...
via Russia and The West's Facebook Wall by Russia and The West on 2/20/13
От жестокого убийства к халатности: Астахов резко сменил версию трагедии с Максимом Кузьминым
newsru.com
Детский омбудсмен, неоднократно заявлявший, что причиной смерти стали побои со стороны матери, представил новую версию: "она его оставила одного на этой детской площадке и оставляла дома". Американский судмедэксперт недоумевает: у русских рентгеновское зрение, они видят документы, которые пока нико...
via Russia and The West's Facebook Wall by Russia and The West on 2/20/13
Mike Nova comments: "And if you do not like some journalist or a blogger, do you send assassins to them, Mr. Lukasheko? I would not be surprised at all." | Gays In Belarus Face Reprisals For Activism | Лукашенко назначил нового главу разведки - …
Mike Nova comments: "And if you do not like some journalist or a blogger, do you send assassins to them, Mr. Lukasheko? I would not be surprised at all." | Gays In Belarus Face Reprisals For Activism | Лукашенко назначил нового главу разведки - Telegraf.by
Mike Nova comments: "And if you do not like some journalist or a blogger, do you send assassins to them, Mr. Lukasheko? I would not be surprised at all." | Gays In Belarus Face Reprisals For Activism | Лукашенко назначил нового главу разведки - Telegraf.by
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Павел Астахов поменял показания // В Техасе не спешат делать выводы о причинах смерти Максима Кузьмина
Власти США удивлены заявлениями российских официальных лиц, обвинивших приемных родителей Максима Кузьмина в убийстве ребенка. В полиции штата Техас утверждают, что никому не передавали материалы расследования, и не знают, чем вызваны сообщения о жестоком обращении с мальчиком. Не спешить с выводами посоветовал российским властям и госдепартамент США. Тем временем новую версию событий поспешил...
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How I Meteored Your Motherland
www.thedailyshow.com
Russians have seen so much crazy s**t that they've become unfazeable.
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Взрыв метеорита в небе над Челябинском (Чебаркульский метеорит). Полный фото-отчет с комментариями.
marateaman.livejournal.com
Утро. Начало. Утро было морозное (около -17 С), безветренное и безоблачное. А поскольку накануне был очень теплый день (температура была около нуля) - деревья были …
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http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-14/opinions/37098351_1_new-cold-war-professor-emeritus-support-for-nato-membership
How Obama can avert another Cold War
articles.washingtonpost.com
Stephen F. Cohen is professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and professor emeritus of politics at Princeton University. His books include “Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives:...
How Obama can avert another Cold War
articles.washingtonpost.com
Stephen F. Cohen is professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and professor emeritus of politics at Princeton University. His books include “Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives:...
Mike Nova's starred items
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Грани.Ру: Прокуратура: Есть доказательства, что Кучма заказал Гонгадзе
grani.ru
У Генпрокуратуры Украины достаточно доказательств того, что убийство Гонгадзе заказал Кучма, заявил первый замглавы ведомства Ренат Кузьмин. "Мы сейчас занимаемся расследованием и сбором доказательств", - сказал он. В 2011 году Кучму обвинили в причастности к убийству Гонгадзе, однако позж...
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"Я говорю о политике как о деятельности по понятиям." - Влиятельный единоросс Владимир Пехтин сложил с себя депутатские полномочия. Через несколько часов его примеру последовал коллега по партии, миллиардер Анатолий Ломакин.
Russia and The West …
"Я говорю о политике как о деятельности по понятиям." - Влиятельный единоросс Владимир Пехтин сложил с себя депутатские полномочия. Через несколько часов его примеру последовал коллега по партии, миллиардер Анатолий Ломакин.
Russia and The West …
"Я говорю о политике как о деятельности по понятиям." - Влиятельный единоросс Владимир Пехтин сложил с себя депутатские полномочия. Через несколько часов его примеру последовал коллега по партии, миллиардер Анатолий Ломакин.
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2.20.13
Mike Nova's starred items
Russia Meteor Fragments Found Near Chelyabinsk Suggest Space Rock Of ... - Huffington Post
via Russia - Google News on 2/19/13
Russia Meteor Fragments Found Near Chelyabinsk Suggest Space Rock Of ...
Huffington …
2.20.13
Mike Nova's starred items
Russia Meteor Fragments Found Near Chelyabinsk Suggest Space Rock Of ... - Huffington Post
via Russia - Google News on 2/19/13
Russia Meteor Fragments Found Near Chelyabinsk Suggest Space Rock Of ...
Huffington …
2.20.13
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http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2013/02/20_a_4974745.shtml
На кого блог пошлёт
www.gazeta.ru
Влиятельный единоросс Владимир Пехтин сложил с себя депутатские полномочия. Через несколько часов его примеру последовал коллега по партии, миллиардер Анатолий Ломакин. Это сложение мандатов вызвало в Госдуме шквал конспирологических теорий, и даже единороссы, шушукаясь в кулуарах, на несколько часо...
На кого блог пошлёт
www.gazeta.ru
Влиятельный единоросс Владимир Пехтин сложил с себя депутатские полномочия. Через несколько часов его примеру последовал коллега по партии, миллиардер Анатолий Ломакин. Это сложение мандатов вызвало в Госдуме шквал конспирологических теорий, и даже единороссы, шушукаясь в кулуарах, на несколько часо...
via Russia and The West's Facebook Wall by Russia and The West on 2/20/13
http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2013/02/20_a_4974745.shtml
На кого блог пошлёт
www.gazeta.ru
Влиятельный единоросс Владимир Пехтин сложил с себя депутатские полномочия. Через несколько часов его примеру последовал коллега по партии, миллиардер Анатолий Ломакин. Это сложение мандатов вызвало в Госдуме шквал конспирологических теорий, и даже единороссы, шушукаясь в кулуарах, на несколько часо...
На кого блог пошлёт
www.gazeta.ru
Влиятельный единоросс Владимир Пехтин сложил с себя депутатские полномочия. Через несколько часов его примеру последовал коллега по партии, миллиардер Анатолий Ломакин. Это сложение мандатов вызвало в Госдуме шквал конспирологических теорий, и даже единороссы, шушукаясь в кулуарах, на несколько часо...
2.13.13 - Gay Puerto Rico News Review:
Mike Nova comments: Gay Rights are the inseparable and very important part of Human Rights in general. In our times the degree of their advancement and the successes of World Gay Liberation Movement are directly and inextricably linked with the degree of advancement of general Human Rights and personal liberties and freedoms in various cultures and countries.
via PUERTO RICO NEWS on 2/15/13
2.13.13 - Gay Puerto Rico News Review
Mike Nova:
Gay Rights Are Human Rights. Gay Rights are the inseparable and very important part of Human Rights in general. In our times the degree of their advancement and the successes of World Gay Liberation Movement are directly and inextricably linked with the degree of advancement of general Human Rights and personal liberties and freedoms in various cultures and countries. The state of Gay Rights became one of the litmus tests of modern democracies and a test of the degree of general level of xenophobia and totalitarianism in any society, the Nazi Germany and the USSR being two of the best examples. If the state of and the attitudes towards Gay Rights in any society are healthy (balanced, rational, unbiased and as fair and equalitarian as possible, etc.) this society itself is healthy.
The Colossus of Rhodes has always been a highly charged homoerotic symbol ... he stands rigid and tall as the mountains ... his head in the clouds as he spreads his legs for ships to pass between his legs like toy boats in a bathtub ...
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Talos, the guard of Crete
Talos, the bronze minoan giant who protected Crete from its enemies, crashes the ship of the Argonauts in an old movie of 1963 by Ray Harryhausen. Read about...
Talos, the guard of Crete
Published on Aug 21, 2012
Mike Nova: commented:
Superman, Hero, god, Robot, Doll... A myth, collective memory, a pic, an icon... Power and Strength, Domination (asexualised, neutered of its deep homosexual core, subsumed, sublimated, idealised). God as a (sometimes tragic) male hero and as a social ideal of Patriarchal Society.
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via RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД by Mike Nova on 2/20/13
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Grani.Ru
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via Russia - Google News on 2/20/13
 The Voice of Russia |
Heritage.org
Since Vladimir Putin's third inauguration as Russian president last May, U.S.–Russian relations have deteriorated sharply. Officials on both sides have moved past the “reset” honeymoon as disagreements over geopolitics and human rights abound. Spanning ... America's New Cold War against Russia and ChinaCenter for Research on Globalization Russia, China vow to further bilateral relationsEastDay.com Disputed Jewish texts to stay in Russia, Putin saysReuters New York Times (blog) -The Voice of Russia -RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty all 65 news articles » |
About the Author
Ariel Cohen, Ph.D.Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Issue Brief #3854
U.S. Policy on Russia for Obama’s Second Term
February 20, 2013
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Since Vladimir Putin’s third inauguration as Russian president last May, U.S.–Russian relations have deteriorated sharply. Officials on both sides have moved past the “reset” honeymoon as disagreements over geopolitics and human rights abound.
Spanning two continents and with a veto on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Russia is uniquely positioned to play a prominent role in U.S. foreign policy. However, the United States needs a new course of action for the next four years to prevent Russia from negatively affecting U.S. interests across the globe.
Anti-Americanism
The current Russian ruling elite has not overcome the anti-Americanism imbued in their Soviet upbringing. State-controlled media and government officials openly perpetuate it. Russian politicians have sought a ban on American English “foreign words” in the media, have forbidden Russian nongovernmental organizations from taking U.S. donations, and banned Americans from adopting Russian orphans.[1] Anti-Americanism is part of a concerted effort to secure the regime against dissent, counter Western influence, and undermine already brittle U.S.–Russian relations.
Strategic Disagreements
Differences over Syria and Iran continue to prevent strategic action on two of the world’s most pressing issues. Russia has not wavered in its support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime, vetoing any meaningful sanctions at the UNSC. While Russian officials do not support an Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons, their selective commitment to the principle of noninterference in internal affairs of state causes resistance to potent sanctions and opposition to the potential use of force. High-level talks have not solved these issues, and as each one moves to a breaking point, Russia only hardens its resolve.
Russian Diplomatic Assertiveness
Russia’s anti-Americanism and its geopolitical ambitions have combined to create a combative foreign policy. Russian measures over the past year include:
- Launching a slander campaign against U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul on state TV;
- Cancelling the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which aids in the dismantling of weapons of mass destruction in former Soviet space;
- Expelling the United States Agency for International Development;
- Forbidding U.S. funding of “political” nongovernmental organizations;
- Criminalizing dissent;
- Banning Radio Liberty and the Voice of America from AM/FM broadcasting;
- Passing the DimaYakovlev law, which prohibits Americans from adopting Russian orphans;
- Banning $500 million a year in U.S. beef and pork imports; and
- Cancelling an agreement on law enforcement and drug control.
Moscow seeks to break U.S. influence in Russia, no matter the harm to relations or even its own children.
Russian Interests
Russia’s recent actions suggest a strategic break from the West and establishment of a Russian “pole” in a multipolar world order in which Russia does not cooperate with the West and justifies domestic crackdown and political stagnation.
As the chairman of the Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Alexei Pushkov, said, “We are saying farewell to our dependence on ‘Power No. 1.’”[2] Referring to the Sergei Magnitsky Act, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We will consistently and firmly rebut attempts to interfere in our internal affairs and lecture us,”[3] conveniently forgetting that the Soviet Union was a signatory to the 1975 Helsinki Accords on human rights.
Russia has also opposed any U.S. influence along its periphery, even when it serves common interests, such as the Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan. Putin has promoted the Eurasian Union, a Russian-dominated organization that aims to control former Soviet states economically. Like Russian and Soviet rulers before him, Putin is establishing a zone of buffer states to protect his centralized, authoritarian regime against the rising China and radical Islam while pushing Russia and its neighbors away from the West.
At the same time, Russia neglects its own strategic interests in which the U.S. could provide important assistance, such as improving health care and higher education, cooperating in science and technology, and developing the rule of law.
U.S. Interests
The Obama Administration believes it can convince Russia to cooperate rationally, ignoring all the evidence to the contrary. It argues that both countries share a mutual interest to stem Islamist terrorism and that Russia has helped the U.S. in Afghanistan by facilitating the Northern Distribution Network for NATO troops.[4] It takes at face value Russian statements that it wants to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons; meanwhile, Moscow prevents stricter sanctions and calls any potential military strike a costly mistake.
The White House also ignores Moscow’s rapprochement with Beijing and Russian military modernization, which includes building new weapons systems that are clearly aimed at the U.S.
The U.S. Policy Conundrum
The Obama Administration unsuccessfully attempted to keep Russia as a partner within the West’s orbit. It signed an ill-advised New START arms reduction agreement and would like to conclude further bilateral arms reduction treaties, ignoring the massive Russian tactical nuclear arsenal of up to 8,000 devices.
Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the lifting of the Jackson–Vanik Amendment produced no progress in the bilateral relationship.
The U.S. reduced its profile in the former Soviet states, expecting in vain that Moscow would feel less threatened and increase cooperation. As Putin pushes for a Eurasian Union, Western ties in former Soviet states may be narrowing. The Kremlin decided that the U.S. is weak and in retreat and decided to push back on Syria.
The U.S. also attempted to encourage Russia to become more open and free, but the Kremlin perceives this as an attempt to implement an “Arab Spring” scenario through insidious American tools such as Twitter and Facebook. It accused the State Department of sponsoring the recent mass protests in Russia.
What the U.S. Should Do
The change of the Obama national security team is a good opportunity to reassess ties with Russia and build a relationship that is realistic and serves U.S. national interests well. Specifically, the Obama Administration should:
- Deploy a missile defense system in Europe and avoid deep defense budget cuts. The U.S. cannot afford to leave itself or its allies unprotected from emerging ballistic missile threats or ignore the modernizing Russian military. Despite the pending reductions in force, the U.S. should maintain its space, air, and naval superiority in the European and Eurasian theaters.
- Enforce Russian compliance with WTO rules regarding the unfounded ban of U.S. beef and pork imports. No WTO precedent supports Russia’s excessive standards for U.S. meat imports.[5] The U.S. does, however, have scientific support for its position from the World Health Organization and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.[6]
- Re-engage in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. The U.S. should expand political–military relations and economic ties with key countries such as Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. To balance off Russia (and China), the U.S. should expand broad political, military, economic, and civil society cooperation.
- Make human rights and democracy a central pillar of U.S.–Russian relations.
The U.S. should call on the European Union to pass a measure similar to the Magnitsky Act, because corrupt Russian officials spend more time and hide more assets in Europe than in the U.S. Such an effort can be combined with U.S. international broadcasting reform and a renewed public diplomacy effort aimed at Russia and Eurasia. The U.S. should also call for the release of political prisoners, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former CEO of Yukos.
Between the Urals and a Hard Place
The U.S. and Russia have convergent interests on key international issues, and cooperation would be beneficial to both. However, continuing Russian anti-Western foreign policy may result in increasing isolation. Russia may also eventually seek China’s patronage.
Moscow needs to recognize that the U.S. is not a threat. It should stop conducting itself like an antagonist and return to a partnership with the U.S., which characterized the last quarter of a century.
—Ariel Cohen, PhD, is Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation.
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[1]Moscow Times, “Zhirinovsky Wants to Ban English Words,” January 23, 2013, http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/zhirinovsky-wants-to-ban-english-words/474386.html (accessed February 19, 2013).
[2]Thomas Grove, “Russia Scraps Law Enforcement Deal with U.S. in New Blow to Ties,” Reuters, January 30, 2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/30/us-russia-usa-lawenforcement-idUSBRE90T0MG20130130 (accessed February 19, 2013).
[3]Russian Federation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Opening Remarks by S. V. Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, at the Press-Conference Devoted to the Results of Activities of Russian Diplomacy During 2012, Held in Moscow, 23 January,” January 23, 2013, http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/0/240B78C5F181088344257B040030FE8F (accessed February 19, 2013).
[4]Andrew C. Kuchins and Thomas Sanderson, “Central Asia’s Northern Exposure,” The New York Times, August 4, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/opinion/05iht-edkuchins.html (accessed February 19, 2013).
[5]World Trade Organization, “Indonesia’s Port Closure Causes Concern Among Fruit and Vegetable Exporters,” March 29, 2012, http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news12_e/sps_28mar12_e.htm (accessed February 19, 2013).
[6]Ibid.
Issue Brief #3836
Senate Confirmation Hearings for Hagel and Kerry Views on Russia
By Ariel Cohen, Ph.D.January 18, 2013
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All three will confront a truculent Russia. However, their past statements and support of the Administration’s failed “reset” approach to Moscow suggest that their perceptions of the Kremlin’s policies are unrealistic.
The Senate needs to ascertain whether the attitudes of these candidates toward Russia make them fit to serve and lay down baselines by which it can judge the future performance of their departments and agencies.
Russia’s Anti-American Foreign Policy
Since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, Moscow has been escalating its anti-American rhetoric and actions. It is sliding toward a confrontation with Washington abroad and a crackdown at home. [1]
The Kremlin has failed to come to understandings about Syria, effectively flying diplomatic “cover” for the Bashar al-Assad regime. Russia wants to keep its naval bases and arms sales to Syria and fears that radical Sunni Islamists may replace Assad.
Moscow also opposes further U.N., U.S., and EU sanctions against the Iranian military nuclear program, instead using Iran to threaten U.S. allies in the Middle East, increasing regional instability. [2]
The Kremlin is working hard to create a sphere of influence along its periphery and wants to become a “pole” in a multi-polar world that confronts Washington. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration has kept a low profile vis-à-vis the former Soviet Union, effectively acquiescing to Russian moves to re-establish a sphere of influence there.
The Kremlin is modernizing its military to the tune of over $700 billion over the next 10 years. It is upgrading its nuclear arsenal—including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles—launching a new series of nuclear submarines, and reviving rail-based ICBM deployment, a direct throwback to its Cold War posture.
Russia is turning the U.S. ballistic missile defense program into a bone of contention, demanding effective limitations on missile defense features and U.S. technology sharing aimed at neutralizing the U.S. program.
Moscow has expelled the United States Agency for International Development, fearing its support of the Russian domestic opposition. It terminated the historic Nunn–Lugar agreement on arms control, making strategic weapons, nuclear materials storage, and nuclear technology transfers less transparent.
The Kremlin’s crackdown on domestic opposition is on a scale not seen since the 1970s. Russia banned American financing of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), forbidding them to even employ Americans any longer. Foreign-funded “political” NGOs now need to register as “foreign agents.” The state has expanded the legal definition of treason, launched criminal investigations against opposition leaders, arrested demonstrators, and subjected the Internet to more government controls—not to mention the tragic plight of the Russian children who can no longer be adopted by Americans.
The Russian law enforcement and the court system are corrupt—and collapsing, which makes doing business in Russia doubly problematic, despite its having joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). The courts are not truly independent. The Kremlin has expanded “telephone justice” (a Soviet practice) by which judges receive verbal instructions from the top on how to decide cases involving prominent opponents of the government, such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed founder of the Yukos oil company, who has been recognized by Amnesty International as a political prisoner. Moscow attempts to tie the Russian domestic opposition to the “external enemy”—i.e., the U.S.
Putin publicly has stated that “‘reset’ was not our term,” effectively disavowing the Obama policy. Assistant Secretary of State Phil Gordon also recently rejected “reset” as a descriptive term at a press conference in the Netherlands. [3]
Track Records of the Candidates
An examination of the track record of each candidate raises questions about their ability to develop and implement adequate policies toward a resurgent Russia.
Senator Hagel, in a 2008 article published by the Harvard International Review, claimed, “The US government should [also] seek to work in concert with Russian officials and propose a new initiative to help resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program.” [4]
Together with former Senator Gary Hart (D–CO), Hagel co-chaired the Commission on U.S. Policy Toward Russia at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, which in 2009 produced a report, “The Right Direction for U.S. Policy Toward Russia.” [5]
Many recommendations of the Hagel–Hart commission—such as lifting the Jackson–Vanick amendment, bringing Russia into the WTO, boosting cooperation with Russia on supplying the NATO contingent in Afghanistan, terminating the Poland/Czech Republic missile defense deployment, and signing the New START arms control treaty—have been implemented by the Obama Administration, but the overall relationship is abysmal and getting worse.
Senator Kerry has been one of the greatest supporters of President Obama’s “reset” policy with Russia. He led the way on the New START ratification, supported Russian WTO membership, and even tried to delay the vote on the Sergey Magnitsky Act in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry is also a vocal critic of missile defense.
Establishing Policy Baselines
The Senate should use the confirmation process as an opportunity to evaluate each nominee on U.S.–Russian policy and draw conclusions accordingly.
The Senate should seek clear guarantees from Senator Kerry that he will:
- Continue working with U.S. European and Middle Eastern allies to convince Russia to support an end game in Syria that would prevent the Sunni Islamists from taking over while removing the Assad family from power.
- Convince Moscow to support additional sanctions on Iran to stop its nuclear program.
- Support Euro–Atlantic integration, the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement; a U.S.–Georgia free trade agreement, and eventually NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia (which is the declared NATO policy) so long as the majority of the populations and elites in these countries support this path.
- Ensure that Georgia does not revert to the Russian orbit under the Georgian Dream government and that human rights and the rule of law are fully observed, including toward political opponents.
- Develop further ties with the strategically located, oil-rich and pro-Western republic of Azerbaijan. Support annulment of Section 907 of United States Freedom Support Act, as 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territory remains occupied by Armenia.
- Develop a system of sustainable support for the Russian democratic opposition and oppose Russia’s violations of human rights by holding Moscow up to its commitments to the Helsinki Accords’ third basket covering human rights. Expand the Magnitsky Act list to include gross and systematic rights violators beyond the Magnitsky case itself.
- Recognize that Moscow still views the U.S. as a strategic adversary, including in the nuclear arms sphere, and that it has no right to impose its diktat over vital aspects of American defenses, including missile defenses; and
- Assure that military and dual-use technologies sold to Russia and the former Soviet countries will not end up in the hands of Tehran.
- Keep Russia and Eurasia a priority for CIA collection and operations, especially as U.S./NATO troops leave Afghanistan;
- Provide resources to secure speakers of Russian and other regional languages for CIA employment; and
- Monitor Russian weapons, military, and dual-use technology supplies to Iran, North Korea, and other proliferators.
The new Obama team will define American foreign policy for the next four years. This is an era of unprecedented challenges, as the international arena is wrought with dangers, and the U.S. military and State Department budgets are likely to be cut. The candidates should see Russia for what it is—without illusions and wishful thinking. The Senate should vote wisely on these nominations, as the security and prosperity of America are at stake.
—Ariel Cohen, PhD, is Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation.
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[1]See Ariel Cohen, “How the U.S. Should Deal with Putin’s Russia,” Heritage Foundation Issue Brief No. 3530, March 7, 2012, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/03/how-the-us-should-deal-with-putins-russia.
[2]See Ariel Cohen, “Russia’s Iran Policy: A Curveball for Obama,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 2359, January 15, 2010, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/01/russias-iran-policy-a-curveball-for-obama.
[3]IIP Digital, “State’s Gordon at Media Round Table in the Netherlands,” January 10, 2013, http://translations.state.gov/st/english/texttrans/2013/01/20130110140807.html#axzz2I4DI9YL2 (accessed January 15, 2013).
[4]Chuck Hagel, “At a Dangerous Crossroads: A Global Approach to Iranian Nuclear Ambitions,” Harvard International Review, Vol. 30, No.1 (Spring 2008), http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Harvard-International-Review/179742209.html (accessed January 15, 2013).
[5]News release, “Report from the Commission on U.S. Policy Toward Russia—The Right Direction for U.S. Policy Toward Russia,” Harvard University, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, March 16, 2009, http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/18909/report_from_the_commission_on_us_policy_toward_russia_the_right_direction_for_us_policy_toward_russia.html (accessed January 15, 2013).
LEADERSHIP: Russia Goes Back To The Future - Strategy Page - Thursday, February 21, 2013
Russia Goes Back To The Future
February 21, 2013: The sudden change in leadership in the Russian Defense Ministry last November was not supposed to reverse a decade of military reforms, but that appears to be what is happening. Senior members of the Defense Ministry are now advocating returning to the use of divisions (the army is now based on brigades, a system pioneered in the West) and a large reserve force. The reason for this was the possibility of a large war in the east. The only major foe out there is China, but China was not mentioned. Nevertheless, China is the major potential threat to Russia. The Chinese Army is three times larger and has fifteen tank and mechanized infantry divisions it could place on the Russian border. China is also reorganizing its ground forces into one based on brigades rather than divisions. Still, China has three times as many brigades. Officially Russia has ceased to consider Chinese ground forces a threat as Russian nuclear weapons are supposed to be what would stop a Chinese ground assault. Traditionalists in the Defense Ministry are pointing out that nuclear war would destroy both nations and that the current situation allows China to quickly grab the Russian Far East (which China has long claimed) and then call for a peace conference. This is the sort of tactic China has used in the past and the Chinese are big fans of their imperial past.
Meanwhile, Russian reformers are on the defensive. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, there have been growing efforts to drag the army out of the 19th century. There has been resistance to change, especially when it involved ancient and often uniquely Russian practices. All this new stuff from the West was seen as, well, un-Russian.
There are many recent changes that rattle the traditionalists. For example, the reformers got troops liberated from the prison-like restrictions they have long endured. For generations Russian conscripts were confined to their barracks when not on duty. This was not pleasant, as the barracks were often decrepit and uncomfortable. The barracks themselves are now being upgraded because they long lacked flush toilets, showers, central heating, and many other amenities Western troops take for granted. In these old barracks troops were allowed to bathe once a week in a bathhouse (actual or improvised for the occasion). One of the latest reforms will install showers in all barracks, along with wi-fi (in some) and new furnishings. New barracks have flush toilets and central heating. During the Cold War Russian troops stationed in East Germany lived in modern barracks, and that was one reason why duty in Germany was considered a choice assignment.
Another new reform that received a lot of opposition from traditionalists had to do with socks. The reformers want to replace the traditional rugged (and crudely made) slip on boots and foot wrappings with Western style combat boots that use laces, come in many different sizes, and are meant to be used with socks. The problem with the foot wrappings (“portyanki”) was that if you did not wrap your feet just so, slipping the foot into the “tarpaulin” boots would leave your flesh exposed to the rough inside surface of these boots. This could lead to debilitating blisters. The old-fashioned boots were widely disliked by most of the troops forced to use them. The number of older officers who still favored this 19th century footwear are fading away. By the end of the year portyanki and the old boots that only come in two sizes will be gone unless the growing power of the traditionalists can block this.
Military reform has never come easily to Russia and usually occurred when a particularly strong and harsh ruler was in charge. In modern times Russia has undergone four periods of major military reform. The first was in the early 18th century, under Czar Peter the Great. The next was under Field Marshall Milyutin in the late 19th century. In the 1930s, over a dozen daring reformers made the military ready for modern warfare. However, most of these men were executed by paranoid dictator, Josef Stalin, just before World War II. For over 60 years there was not much real reform, until 2008 when Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov sought to recast the Russian military into a force similar to those found in the West. This meant fewer officers and conscripts, more NCOs and volunteers, plus new equipment, weapons, training methods, and tactics. Serdyukov was recently replaced and it was thought that his reforms would be halted. That has appears to be happening. One of Serdyukov’s most unpopular (within the military) moves was to shrink the size of the officer corps. Despite the fact that most of the officers being let go were not really needed, this elicited a lot of protests from active duty and retired officers.
The mass officer firings continued anyway. Shrinking the officer corps proved bad for officer morale, as could be expected. Moreover, most of the good officers had left after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the Russian military saw its budget slashed by 80 percent. Building an NCO corps was difficult because the 1930s reforms had gotten rid of it (because officers, all members of the Communist Party, were considered more politically reliable than NCOs). The big problem is the collapse of the Soviet era military industries. With orders from the Russian military disappearing in the 1990s, many of these firms disappeared or switched to civilian products. Those that survived did so with export orders. The defense industries lost their best people, who left for better paying jobs overseas or in new non-defense firms in Russia.
Then there's the corruption, which expanded in the military in the 1990s, as the size of the force shrunk over 70 percent. Officers and troops sold off a lot of unneeded military equipment and officers stole money they had control over. This caused all sorts of problems, from lack of maintenance for equipment and barracks to shortages of fuel (to stay warm during the severe Russian Winter) and food (causing hunger and even some starvation deaths among lower ranking troops). For most of the last decade military prosecutors have been busy sending corrupt officers to jail. But that has not eliminated the problem. Low troop morale also remains a problem. Thus it should be no surprise that the government has given priority to keeping nuclear weapons, and the missiles that deliver them, in good shape. As for the rest of the armed forces, change is coming very slowly but it keeps coming. The ancient Russian army traditions are gradually being peeled away and the Russian army is slowing evolving into a 21th century force.
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Станислав Белковский: Владимир Жириновский – гей
Известный политолог устроил аутинг одному из самых заметных и влиятельных политиков России
21.02.2013
Станислав Белковский: Владимир Жириновский – гей
Известный политолог устроил аутинг одному из самых
заметных и влиятельных политиков России
Станислав Белковский
Оппозиционный политолог,
глава Института Национальной Стратегии Станислав Белковский заявил о том, что
лидер ЛДПР Владимир Жириновский является скрытым геем. Тем самым, политолог
хотело проиллюстрировать тот факт, что многие депутаты Госдумы являются тайными
гомосексуалами и именно поэтому поддерживают гомофобный запрет гей-пропаганды,
дабы их не разоблачили самих.
Об этом Белковский сказал в эфире радио
«Эхо Москвы 16 февраля. «Владимир Жириновский – известный мастер прикола. К тому
же как гей он, наверное, очень сильно фрустрирован гомофобским законом», -
сказал Белковский.
По его словам, «латентные геи очень любят заниматься
гомофобией, так сказать, люди, которые употребляют наркотики, любят бороться с
ними».
При этом сам закон о запрете пропаганды гомосексуальности
Белковский называет «фиктивным». «Потому что как можно отделить море от рек, как
говорил Эзоп», - сказал он. – «Понимаете, ну, ведь, пропаганда гомосексуализма
идет по всем каналам центрального телевидения государственного каждый день
ежеминутно».
«Например, Борис Моисеев выступает. Заслуженный артист РФ,
член партии власти «Единая Россия». Вот, он выступает. Это пропаганда
гомосексуализма? На мой взгляд, да. Но, видимо, власть так не считает. Поэтому
все эти ограничительные меры – это чистая декорация, в них ничего нет, это
чистый пиар», - полагает политолог.
Напомним, что после того, как
законопроект о запрете гей-пропаганды, фактически уничтожающий свободу выражения
для ЛГБТ в России, был принят в первом чтении почти всей Госдумой в полном
составе, в интернете появились призывы опубликовать имена тайных геев в
российском парламенте, которые проголосовали за гомофобный закон.
Примечательно, что Владимир Жириновский и почти вся фракция ЛДПР не
участвовали в голосовании по этому закону, так как, по их мнению, само
обсуждение этой темы будет «пропагандой» гомосексуальности.
Ранее
Станислав Белковский утверждал, что в российской власти: и в парламенте, и в
правительстве, и в администрации президента - есть много геев. В частности, он
называл имя первого заместителя главы администрации президента Вячеслава
Володина.
Николай Баев
___________________________________
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