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Russian Elections: The End of an Era?12-06-2011
United Russia, the governing party of Vladimir Putin, suffered surprising losses in parliamentary elections on Sunday, losing its 50 percent majority. It could be the beginning of a new era. Vladimir Putin and his party are suffering from a lack of political legitimacy, with the elections serving not just as a referendum on United Russia but also on Mr. Putin and his plans to run for president in March and remain Russia’s paramount political leader.
The largest demonstration since the early 1990s took place in Moscow Monday night, with about ten thousand people participating. The OMON police SWAT teams have detained many activists, including opposition leaders, who protested against election fraud and prepared to march to the Central Electoral Commission.
Without American Exceptionalism, U.S. Influence Wanes12-06-2011
Obama faced challenges on every front last week—many of them can be traced, in part, to administration policies that did more to ferment trouble abroad than advance the safety, prosperity, and freedom of Americans.
The long list of foreign policy frustrations started with a NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at a border outpost. “Islamabad responded swiftly to the incident by shutting down NATO supply lines that run through Pakistan into Afghanistan and demanding that all U.S. military personnel evacuate the Shamsi air base in Baluchistan province, which in the past facilitated the U.S. drone campaign in Pakistan’s tribal border areas,” reported Heritage regional expert Lisa Curtis. Such tragic confrontations could have been avoided if Pakistan and theUS were working together to secure their common interests, rather than increasingly adopting strategies that put the two nations at odds. In part, the president has only himself to blame by opting for a rapid withdrawal of US forces—and leaving the Pakistanis feeling they would be much better going their own way, cooperating with and accommodating the Afghan Taliban and groups like the Haqqani Network.
Russia, 20 Years Along12-02-2011
December marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union. It’s a fitting time, then, to take stock of what was achieved — and what failed — in Eurasia over the last two decades.
The Obama administration has tried to “reset” U.S. relations with Russia. But the recent threat by the Russian ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, to shut down the U.S. supply line to Afghanistan is a reminder of just how deep go the roots of anti-Americanism, and how Russia is increasingly looking away from the West.
Will Russia Bog Down in Syria?11-30-2011
In an unfortunate exercise of naval muscle-flexing, a flotilla of Russian warships will be sent to the anchorage and naval base of Tartus in Syria for a port call next spring, led by the only Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov.
According to the Russian navy representative, this exercise was planned since 2010 and has no ties to the current situation in Syria. Yet, in view of the Bashar al-Assad regime’s agony, any reasonable government would cancel the visit.
Dinner with Putin: And What About Russia’s Foreign Policy?11-23-2011
Last Friday, this author had the opportunity to dine in the company of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, his senior staff, and the attendees of the annual Valdai Club meeting at Le Cheval Blanc, a gourmet restaurant in Moscow.
Responding to the Valdai Club report that found Russia’s “managed democracy” is running out of steam, Putin retorted that Russia’s current political system has not exhausted itself yet—as he is running for president. Asked who are the next generation of politicians, he named President Dmitry Medvedev, then stalled and said more names will become known in a few months.
Putin to Coordinate Oil Production with OPEC?11-18-2011
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that his country, the world’s leading oil and gas producer, plans to work closely with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the oil cartel.
Russia has long spoken about linking up with OPEC, but at this point the extent of its participation has been sending high-level delegations to attend OPEC meetings in Vienna as observers.
Is Russia Becoming Iran’s Diplomatic Godfather?11-02-2011
Moscow has shown yet again that it is determined to protect Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Russia and China have asked Yukiya Amano, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) director general, to stall U.S.-backed plans to publicize information on Iran’s nuclear program. This information is available in a diplomatic note acquired by the Associated Press. As the leaked IAEA document suggests, Moscow and Beijing should not provide international cover to Tehran’s burgeoning nuclear program. Even the Soviets knew better than that.
Total’s Caspian Gas Discovery09-12-2011
Total, Europe’s third largest oil company, announced last Friday that they have made a major gas discovery in the Caspian Sea. The discovery, made in the Absheron block off the coast of Azerbaijan, is thought to have large pockets of gas spread over a 270-square-kilometer field and holds about 350 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 45 million metric tons of gas condensate, according to SOCAR, the state oil company of Azerbaijan.
Exxon Storming the Arctic09-07-2011
Last week, oil giant ExxonMobil announced an agreement with Russia’s state oil company, Rosneft, to explore for oil in the Arctic continental shelf in the Kara Sea. America’s largest oil company is taking the place of BP (British Petroleum), whose dealings with Rosneft earlier this year collapsed. The controversial Rosneft and Exxon will be searching the Russian Arctic waters for black gold. Development of new oil fields has become possible due to the Arctic polar ice caps’ retreat and technological progress that make geological work in the High North a reality.
U.S. Shale Gas: The Geopolitical Impact07-28-2011
A report released last week by the Baker Institute at
This new
The discovery of vast shale gas resources in North America allows for domestically produced and environmentally clean energy alternatives not just for the
Rethinking Reset: Re-Examining the Obama Administration Russia Policy07-07-2011
My name is Ariel Cohen. I am Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation.
For the past two years, the Obama Administration has touted its
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