Does the U.S. Really Need Russia This Much?
WEEKEND EXTRA — What did U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo really get out of last week’s talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and […] More
Russia
Protection for the Election
Bottom Line Up Front After the well-documented Russian disinformation and influence campaign in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, some elements of the U.S. government […] More
Six Degrees of Russia
Tuesday’s meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov covered a wide range of issues, including arms control, the […] More
The U.S.- Russian Venn Diagram
Tuesday’s meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi, Russia, was the result of a recent phone […] More
Extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
OPINION — There was a flurry of arms control talk after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Trump administration is “at the very […] More
Russia’s Global Ambitions: A Member Briefing with Steven Hall
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week in Russia. The […] More
Countering a Resurgent Russia
Recent Russian activities around the world are signaling a resurgent Russia, one that wants to shake up a world order that has existed for seven […] More
What are the Russians Doing in Venezuela?
There are multiple international dynamics at play in Venezuela this week, particularly between the U.S., which is supporting the uprising of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan […] More
What Could a Russia-North Korea Summit Mean?
Thursday’s expected summit between DPRK Chairman Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, Russia follows on the heels of President Donald Trump’s […] More
Russia’s U.S. Election Strategy by the Numbers
OPINION — At almost every crucial moment in the Mueller report, President Donald J. Trump is recorded having expressed concerns to advisors that reports of […] More
Russia’s Second Chance in Libya
The Cipher Brief’s ‘Academic Incubator’ column features analysis and observations by current and recent students associated with national security-focused academic programs. Earlier this month, 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
Putin Flexes Russian Muscle Abroad
Bottom Line Up Front Vladimir Putin has consolidated Russian power in Moscow’s near abroad and traditional sphere of influence. The Kremlin has also made […] More
Geopolitical Implications of the Political Transition in Kazakhstan
Bottom Line Up Front: On 19 March in a surprise move, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned during a public television announcement. Nazarbayev’s resignation is […] More
The Toxic Half-Life of Strongman Rule
Bottom Line Up Front Time favors strongman regimes, as leaders alternate between stalling tactics, physical violence and belated promises of reform to attenuate protesters’ […] More
Moscow and Tehran Move to Solidify Gains in Syria
Bottom Line Up Front Even though President Trump decided to keep a residual force of U.S. troops in Syria, it will not be enough […] More
Taking Down Russian Trolls is My Kind of Cyber Attack
The debate on cyber conflict has gotten so locked into deterrence, escalation, coercion, and signaling we pundits often forget that conflict is sometimes straightforward and […] More
A Tenuous Peace Deal in the Central African Republic
Bottom Line Upfront Earlier this month, fourteen armed groups from Central African Republic agreed to a peace agreement following talks in Khartoum, Sudan. The […] More