This is a legacy website featuring a collection of work by the Carnegie Endowment’s global network of scholars on topics including Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia, and the post-Soviet states. This site is a product of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace based in Washington, D.C. For more recent work by Carnegie scholars in this field, please visit Carnegie Politika.
Xi Jinping’s first foreign trip as China’s president reflects the remarkable progress made in the Chinese-Russian relationship. But potential pitfalls remain.
A true de-Stalinization process in Russia will require no less than a reinvention of Russian nationhood based on a rejection of the traditional concept of the state, an end to the political and historical immunity of the secret police, and the emergence of a concept of "we, the people."
Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader responsible for the deaths of millions, still commands worryingly high levels of admiration in some post-Soviet countries.
Poland’s decision to indirectly criticize Russia on human rights issues as part of the EU and not as a single state is a strategic decision. This allows Warsaw to voice its concerns while still maintaining its position in the EU and reaping the benefits of productive relations with Moscow.
The Russian government should transition to a comprehensive and overarching strategy in South Asia.
For the first time, Moscow has said openly that it will limit the West and its influence not only in Russian territory but also in the post-Soviet countries.
While the United States has made mistakes, the current state of Russian-American relations stems mostly from the Kremlin’s creation of imitation democracy and its attempts to exploit the West and anti-Americanism for political survival.
Despite the support by some political parties in Europe, human rights organizations have been unable to prevent high-profile events taking place in autocratic countries.
In Moscow’s view, there is little chance that the European Union will emerge from the crisis as a strategic player. Yet Europe continues to have huge influence on Russia.
A new Russian-Western approach to Syria is necessary to stop the bloodshed and help create a transitional authority in Damascus that can foster national reconciliation.