Understanding History Puts Modern Russia in Context
BOOK REVIEW: Containing History: How Cold War History Explains US-Russia Relations By Stephen P. Friot / University of Oklahoma Press Reviewed by Jean-Thomas Nicole The […] More
Posts Tagged ‘Moscow’
‘Who’s The Fairest Vlad of All’: Expert Perspective on the Russian President’s Next Move
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — “Mirror, mirror on the wall—who’s the fairest one of all?” is the famous misquote from the movie Snow White. Speaking at a […] More
The Value of a Well-Placed Spy in Moscow
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — I hope CIA has an agent like Dmitry Polyakov operating in Moscow right now. A Major General in Soviet Military Intelligence (the […] More
Taking Stock of Russians Among Us
BOOK REVIEW: Russians Among Us: Sleeper Cells, Ghost Stories and the Hunt for Putin’s Spies by Gordon Corera “The Cipher Brief has become the most […] More
The Staggering Scale of the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis
Bottom Line Up Front At the end of 2019, more than 16% of Venezuela’s population have fled the country, an astonishing 4.7 million people. […] More
The National Security Threat of Peddling Russian Disinformation
Bottom Line Up Front Senior U.S. officials have inexplicably parroted statements echoing the Kremlin’s talking points that Russia was a victim of a Ukrainian […] More
Ankara Gravitates Closer To Moscow
Bottom Line Up Front On the heels of its suspension from the U.S. F-35 fighter jet program, Turkey is now reportedly considering joint development […] More
Russia Sides with Iran
Bottom Line Up Front Upcoming Russian-Iranian naval drills put Moscow clearly on the side of Tehran in the crisis unfolding between the United States […] More
Who Exactly Was the Spy in Moscow Station?
BOOK REVIEW: THE SPY IN MOSCOW STATION By Eric Haseltine Reviewed by Paul Kolbe, Former Member CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service While reading The Spy […] More
Russia Takes on a More Prominent Role in Afghan Peace Talks
Bottom Line Up Front Last week, members of the Afghan Taliban along with Afghan politicians and power brokers met in Moscow to discuss the […] More
Turkey at the Crossroads
Bottom Line Up Front Turkey’s ruling AKP party is asking for a full recount in the mayoral election in Istanbul, making accusations of ‘wide-spread […] More
Shifting Geopolitical Tides in Syria
With the so-called Islamic State losing its remaining territory, the focus has pivoted to geopolitical competition between the major powers involved in Syria. Assad […] More
Energy and Aid as Leverage in Venezuela
Bottom Line Up Front The U.S. has enacted sanctions against Venezuela’s national oil company as well as against embattled President Nicolas Maduro’s inner circle. […] More
The Daunting Prospects of a Growing Sino-Russian Entente
Bottom Line Up Front On January 28, intelligence officials warned of a Sino-Russian entente, with China and Russia more closely aligned than at any […] More
Is Peace with the Taliban Possible?
Bottom Line Up Front After nearly two decades at war in Afghanistan, the United States seems to be seriously pursuing a negotiated peace agreement […] More
Russia Flexes Influence in Serbia
Bottom Line Up Front On January 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin received a warm welcome during an official state visit to Serbia. Serbia is […] More
Protests in Sudan: Is Change Finally on the Horizon?
Bottom Line Up Front After two weeks of protests in Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir has ordered an ‘investigation’ to determine what led to the […] More