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Today, unknown forces wearing uniforms took over the Parliament, Council of Ministers and Justice Ministry buildings in the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, a majority-Russian speaking area, which has belonged to Ukraine since 1954. There are reports of similar forces controlling the port city and the resort of Yalta. It appears that a Russia-backed operation to detach the Crimea from Ukraine has begun.
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The Heritage Foundation
February 27, 2014
The Heritage Foundation's Ariel Cohen and Peter Cook discuss the latest news on Ukrainian political strife on Bloomberg Television's "In The Loop."Bloomberg TV
February 21, 2014
The worst crisis since the wars in Yugoslavia is convulsing Eastern Europe. Ukraine is on the brink of a civil war, and Russian intervention may be possible despite the Sochi Olympics. An East-West confrontation may be imminent.
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The Heritage Foundation
February 19, 2014
Dr. Cohen was cited in a USA TODAY article on the situation in Ukraine."We need to make clear to Russia that any kind of meddling in Ukraine internal affairs is totally unacceptable," said Cohen of the Heritage Foundation. "Ukraine is a sovereign country, despite what some in Russia may think."
By Olga Rudenko Special
USA TODAY
February 19, 2014
Next month, the Winter Olympics in Sochi will bring many of Russia’s systemic problems in focus. It won’t be a pretty picture. The terrorist threat, rampant corruption, a problematic human-rights record, and rising xenophobia and nationalism will all be on display.How the Russian leadership deals with these ills during the Olympics will define the nation’s international image for years to come.
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The National Interest
January 23, 2014
Russia scholar Ariel Cohen of the conservative Heritage Foundation described a visit to Russia in 2004 that was supposed to include a meeting with Putin. Instead, it took a tragic turn as he and his other participants were “glued to the television” watching the deadly hostage standoff at a school in Beslan.
By Philip Ewing
POLITICO
January 22, 2014
In a remark highlighted on Russia's G8 presidency website, Ariel Cohen, a political analyst at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said that combating terrorism is likely to be high on Russia's list of priorities for the G8 in the next 12 months.
The Moscow Times
January 11, 2014
Two bomb attacks, carried out by suicide bombers at a railway station and a bus in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), 500 miles southeast of Moscow, shattered the pre-holiday spirit as Russians prepared to celebrate the New Year. Up to 45 people, including children, were killed, and over 100 were injured, many of them severely; the death count is sure to climb.
by Cassandra Luccacioni and Ariel Cohen, PhD
The Heritage Foundation
January 6, 2014
What people are saying about the terrorist attacks in Volgograd before Winter Olympics
usatoday.com
January 2, 2014
Interviewed by the author about Russia’s policy toward the countries of the former Soviet Union.
By Guy Taylor
The Washington Times
December 12, 2013
The brutal dispersal of demonstrators in Ukraine last week led to dozens wounded—and a public protest movement which now surpasses the Orange Revolution of 2004. Demonstrators want Ukraine in Europe—and President Victor Yanukovich out of power. Ariel Cohen, Heritage’s Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies, gives some perspective on where this is coming from.
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The Heritage Foundation
December 2, 2013
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking economic and political alliances to counterbalance the influence of the U.S., the European Union, China, and transnational Islamism. Putin is determined to strengthen Moscow’s hegemony in the “near abroad”—the post-Soviet space. One of the instruments he has created to achieve that strategic objective is the Russia-dominated Eurasian Union.
By James M. Roberts, Ariel Cohen, Ph.D. and Jonathan Blaisdell
The Heritage Foundation
November 27, 2013
Increasing global power demand—coupled with high natural gas prices in Asia and Europe for electricity generation, and the alarmist climate change narrative—make the right energy generation balance a national priority for developed and developing countries. France and Russia—the current market leaders in nuclear-power-plant construction—are taking full advantage of this market demand.
By Ariel Cohen
The National Interest
November 19, 2013
Testimony before Europe and Eurasia Subcommittee, Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate
Today, there may be a chance to break this ancient dynamic by signing the Association Agreement (AA) and DCFTA between the Eastern Partnership members and the EU. The U.S. has national interests in the region, as it supports integration of the EuP members into the greater Euro- Atlantic area.
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
On October 25, it will be ten years since a Russian SWAT team arrested oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky in a Siberian airport. It was a watershed moment for Russia, defining the Putin era as one in which the Russian oligarchs were subjugated to the Kremlin.Prior to Khodorkovsky’s arrest, the Kremlin had limited itself to deposing media oligarchs.
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The National Interest
October 25, 2013
Recently, several of Russia’s “younger siblings,” such as Ukraine and Moldova, finally got a chance to partially break from the Russian bear hug and opt for a closer integration with the West.They are members of the Eastern Partnership with the European Union, a close cooperation program with the EU, and are planning to sign an Association Agreement and a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement.
By Ivan Benovic and Ariel Cohen
The Heritage Foundation
October 24, 2013
The Kremlin’s control over the North Caucasus region has come under scrutiny as a massive counterterrorism operation in the area got underway.The latest counterterrorism operation took place in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and in some parts of Dagestan, Russian media reported Sunday. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that 49 militants were killed.
By Ariel Cohen
The Heritage Foundation
October 23, 2012
Russia is pressuring Ukraine to join Belarus and Kazakhstan in a Eurasian Customs Union led by Moscow. Acquiescing to Russia’s wishes would anchor Ukraine in a Moscow-dominated economic zone and impose higher tariffs on Ukrainian trade with the European Union. Russia also wants Ukraine to join the Joint Economic Space, the Eurasian Union, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The Heritage Foundation
October 21, 2013
Next week at the quiet Swiss lakeside resort of Glion, officials from the UN, Russia, US and the UK will gather, ostensibly to prepare for December’s Non-Proliferation Treaty conference in Helsinki.The December meeting was originally slated for 2010. The purpose: to assemble the permanent members of the UN Security Council—aka, the world’s nuclear club—to work out a plan for making the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
By Ariel Coheni
24 NEWS
October 17, 2013
Dr. Ariel Cohen was a guest on Vladimir Solovyov’s weekly news commentary programme “Sunday Evening” on NTV.He spoke about the 2013 Valdai Forum.NTV (Russian TV station)
September 22, 2013
President Obama has accepted an exit strategy from the Syria crisis proposed by Vladimir Putin. Obama surmised that if the plan works, it might lead to a breakthrough. In his Tuesday speech to the nation last week, Obama indefinitely postponed a crucial Congressional vote on whether to strike the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. No wonder: Obama most probably would have lost that vote.
By Ariel Cohen
The National Interest
September 17, 2013
Since the end of the Cold War, Sino–Russian relations have expanded and deepened, resulting in arms deals and increasing economic ties. Russia has the potential to become a major energy supplier to the growing Chinese economy, which is demanding ever-increasing amounts of energy.
By Dean Cheng and Ariel Cohen, Ph.D.
The Heritage Foundation
September 12, 2013
Vladimir Putin’s op-ed in The New York Times is an attempt to talk to the American people over the heads of its elected representatives. For a Russian foreign policy practitioner, it is also an act of information warfare. After all, Russia views the United States as a strategic competitor, if not an outright foe, in the battle of geopolitical influence in the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere.
By Ariel Cohen
The Heritage Foundation
September 12, 2013
Dr. Cohen commenting on the growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia.
August 7, 2013
CTV News Channel, Canada
