Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: Russia

A Bit of Heart Amidst the Darkness

A Bit of Heart Amidst the Darkness

Admittedly, it’s not all doom and gloom coming out of Russia. I mean, look on the bright side. Chief Federal Prosecutor Aleksandr I. Bastrykin is really sorry for driving an opposition journalist into the woods, threatening to kill him, and joking that he himself would lead the investigation into the death.  Bastrykin even offered the man (now […]

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Lie Back and Think of England: Review of Luke Harding’s ‘Expelled’

Lie Back and Think of England: Review of Luke Harding’s ‘Expelled’

What’s going on with Russia? Yesterday, the country celebrated independence (from itself), the opposition marchers defied the new draconian laws without any reply from the police, football fans roughed up Warsaw before a draw with Poland, maybe some attack helicopters were sold to Assad. Stocks are up. Several Western observers have attempted to make some […]

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Cybersecurity and U.S. Foreign Policy: Five Questions with Professor Ronald Deibert

Cybersecurity and U.S. Foreign Policy: Five Questions with Professor Ronald Deibert

Ronald Deibert is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies and the Citizen Lab and the University of Toronto.  He is a cofounder and a principal investigator of the OpenNet Initiative and Information Warfare Monitor.  He is author of the Great Decisions 2012 article Cybersecurity: the new frontier.  He […]

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Freedom Isn’t Free: Putin Passes $10,000 Protest Fine

Freedom Isn’t Free: Putin Passes $10,000 Protest Fine

So, no surprises then during the first months of Putin’s return to the presidency: Signing a new law that would raise fines for anti-government protesters from 5000 to 300,000 roubles, or $9000, which is about the average annual salary. The amended law specifically targets the middle class people making up the bulk of the protesters. […]

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The Bear Comes Back Over the Mountain

The Bear Comes Back Over the Mountain

Russia looks to do its part for Afghanistan, and itself While trigger-happy drones do their part to smooth a coming US drawdown in Afghanistan, pundits and diplomats alike nervously pace the green rooms of news and late-night talk shows. What will a counter-insurgency look like without a stabilizing super power? Whether one bets on red […]

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Kyrgyzstan: Uncertain Future of Manas Transit Center

Kyrgyzstan: Uncertain Future of Manas Transit Center

As NATO is looking for logistic ways to implement the concluded strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan, which extends its participation in the region beyond pullout timeline of 2014, Kyrgyzstan regains leverage over Russia and the United States, considering it hosts military bases for both countries. However, this time Kyrgyz new authorities are facing some restrictions […]

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Baghdad Set to Host Next Round of Talks on Iran

Baghdad Set to Host Next Round of Talks on Iran

Today, Iran and the 5+1 group of permanent UN Security Council members (plus Germany) will sit down in Baghdad to discuss the terms of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Danaiifar, explained that merely hosting the talks demonstrated a historic chapter in the history of Iraq. But what does the event actually mean […]

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No longer world’s biggest oil producer, Russia focuses on offshore development

No longer world’s biggest oil producer, Russia focuses on offshore development

According to data from the Joint Organization Data Initiative, Saudi Arabia has surpassed Russia as the world’s largest oil producer, a position which the latter country held for six years. The Middle Eastern kingdom’s oil production rose to a 31-year high last year, while Russia’s dropped. As Matthew Hulbert writes in his analysis for Forbes, […]

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Russia’s opposition looks to bring protesting back to its roots

Russia’s opposition looks to bring protesting back to its roots

  It’s an interesting time to be in Russia. As democracy goes, the country seems to be going backwards and forwards at the same time. The holding of free and fair elections is widely considered one of the hallmarks of a stable democracy. Here Russia seems to be struggling. In March Vladimir Putin won a […]

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Africa needs its own BRICS aka KENSA

Africa needs its own BRICS aka KENSA

The recent BRICS summit at the end of March 2012 led to a substantial amount of controversy surrounding South Africa’s membership. Various political analysts were seen on television and in newspapers all answering a similar question to this one: Given its economic, military and population numbers, is South Africa really worthy to be part of […]

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BRICS: The Next Big Global Health Funders?

BRICS: The Next Big Global Health Funders?

A report released last month discussed the rising profile of BRICS countries–Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa–in health and development assistance and called upon the group to further their cooperation for better global health in the developing world.  “Shifting Paradigm: How the BRICS are Shaping Global Health and Development” (PDF), written by the NGO […]

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Arctic chiefs of defense agree to closer search and rescue cooperation

Arctic chiefs of defense agree to closer search and rescue cooperation

On Thursday and Friday, the chiefs of defense from all eight Arctic states met at a Canadian military base in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador to discuss forging closer ties up north.  This was the first time that generals from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S. convened. The meeting will now […]

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Energy Security in Europe: A Need for Diversification in the Natural Gas Sector

Energy Security in Europe: A Need for Diversification in the Natural Gas Sector

As the geopolitics and technology of natural gas continue to change rapidly—with such developments as shale gas production and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) transport—the European community would do well to consider the strategic value of supply diversification. Crises in 2006 and 2009, both the result of intentional supply decreases from Russia, highlight the risks of overdependence on any one source for this vital commodity. But overreliance on Russia is not the only possible source of distress for the European market: from environmental concerns to instability in other potential supplier nations, every natural gas supply comes with its own set of challenges and risks. For this reason, an “all sources” strategy for natural gas production (one that spreads the risk and minimizes the impact of a reduction in any one source of supply) should characterize the European approach in years to come.

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The Russian Wilderness

The Russian Wilderness

President Obama’s recent open-mic gaffe while speaking with Russian President Medvedev prompted Republican Presidential contender Mitt Romney to declare, “It is always Russia, typically with China alongside, and so in terms of a geopolitical foe, a nation that’s on the Security Council, that has the heft of the Security Council, and is of course a […]

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Lithuania, Russia Tense Over Natural Gas Law

Lithuania, Russia Tense Over Natural Gas Law

Two decades ago, the Baltic States became politically independent from Moscow. Their energy independence has yet to occur. In Lithuania, Russia’s Gazprom remains the sole supplier of natural gas to the nation of 3.2 million, Obviously, this gives Russia quite a bit of leverage in Lithuania post-independence – February in Vilnius is much more pleasant […]

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