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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
February 5, 2010
It has now been a year since the U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden announced a reset in United States-Russia relations, and six months since President Barack Obama’s visit to Moscow. It is time to take stock of whether the much touted reset is working, or whether it is in danger of being gradually set back. Have both sides seized all the opportunities to transform the relationship, or is there more that could be done? Who are the stakeholders in both countries interested in having the relationship progress continuously?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
January 29, 2010
On January 17 Ukrainian voters delivered a stunning verdict to the five years of the Orange Revolution of 2004 and Victor Yushchenko’s failed presidency by giving a commanding lead in the first round of the presidential election to Viktor Yanukovich, leader of the Party of Regions, and Yushchenko’s opponent in 2004. What does the Ukrainian presidential election tell us about the legacy of the Orange Revolution? How will it affect the economic situation and Ukraine’s financial position? Will Russia have to bail out Ukraine? And if so, what would it get in return? Who will be a more pro-Russian leader of Ukraine – Yanukovich or Tymoshenko?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
January 22, 2010
It has recently been suggested that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin acts as the biggest spoiler of President Dmitry Medvedev’s foreign policy initiatives (see David Kramer, “Putin is Medvedev’s Biggest Spoiler”, Moscow Times, January 13, 2010). Indeed, as David Kramer points out, the case could be made that Putin, for reasons better known to him, regularly interferes at key junctures to upset or altogether derail Medvedev’s key foreign policy initiatives. Is this assessment fair? Would this be an indication of Putin’s continued strong interest in seeking another presidential term in 2012? Where does the buck stop in Moscow on international issues?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
January 15, 2010
Two thousand and ten will be a pivotal year for Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency: it ushers in the final lap of his first term in office, when the first tangible results of his presidential agenda need to be put on public display. He can rightly point to some advances. But will he stay on long enough to complete his mission? What will happen to his modernization agenda if he and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin “decide between themselves” that he will not be president in 2012? What will his priority moves be in 2010?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
January 8, 2010
Resetting U.S.-Russian relations with a new tone of cooperation and trust under the personal stewardship of Presidents Obama and Medvedev has been billed by many Russian commentators as the most significant foreign policy event of 2009. But there is one issue - Iran’s nuclear program and how to deal with it - that continues to elude consensus between Russia and the United States. Has there been enough trust accumulated between Russian and American leaders to allow for a cooperative approach on Iran? Will Iran be able to exploit the differences between Russia and the United States to continue its clandestine nuclear program? Is the “reset” in jeopardy?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
December 31, 2009
This is the last Experts’ Panel of the year. It is already our tradition to try to assess the most important results of the year for Russia’s economic policy, its democratic development, and its position in world affairs. What has Russia accomplished in 2009? How does it fare, compared to other countries, in terms of battling the global economic crisis? Has the country become more open and democratic in 2009? And did President Dmitry Medvedev show in 2009 that he has a realistic plan for Russia?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
December 25, 2009
Yegor Gaidar, the father of Russia’s market reforms, died last week of heart failure at the age of 53. He was, by any measure, one of the most controversial figures in Russian history. For supporters, he saved the country from civil war and put Russia on the path to democracy. For detractors, he destroyed the Soviet system and unleashed an era of unimaginable economic hardship for ordinary people. So what will be Yegor Gaidar’s resting place in Russia’s history? How will he be remembered by future generations of Russians? What was his real contribution to building a modern Russian state? And was he a modern-day Pyotr Stolypin?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
December 18, 2009
The United States and Russia are likely to sign a new strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty perhaps as early as next week, to replace the 18-year-old START I treaty, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1991. But while the talks have been delayed by disagreements between the two countries, they are also said to have caused a rift in the Russian leadership. When will the new START treaty be signed? Is Russian President Dmitry Medvedev making risky bets in rushing into an agreement with U.S. President Barack Obama without thorough support from the Russian military and, most importantly, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin himself? And is Obama’s call for a nuclear-free world taken seriously by other nuclear powers?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
December 11, 2009
Last week, the Kremlin published its draft of the European Security Treaty, first proposed in June 2008 as President Dmitry Medvedev’s first major foreign policy initiative. Moscow has been criticized for offering few specifics of this proposal, and thus failed to move its European partners toward a meaningful discussion of its initiative. It has now taken this step by putting forward a draft treaty, consisting of 14 articles. But is it even possible to imagine such a treaty? Would it improve the efficiency of the existing conflict resolution mechanisms in Europe?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
December 4, 2009
At its latest congress in St. Petersburg, the United Russia Party proclaimed “Russian conservatism” as its official guiding ideology, while President Dmitry Medvedev urged the party to “modernize” in order to remain relevant to the president’s modernization agenda. Will United Russia’s pledge of conservatism serve as a platform for Russia’s modernization? Is this newly found ideology a “conservatism of the innovative kind”? Will United Russia be able to serve as Medvedev’s agent of change? Or has the president already hinted that he harbors no such hope?
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