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Nicaragua: Putin’s New Client State
On June 11, 2022, the Nicaraguan Government under President Daniel Ortega authorized Russian military forces to enter the country for the...
chiefofstaff1
Nov 14, 20225 min read


Russia and the New Disinformation Regime
As Putin carries out a military campaign against Ukraine, he’s also driving one of disinformation. Russia has called for the...
chiefofstaff1
May 30, 20224 min read


Putin’s War: Mixed Motives
Eyes glued to the screen, the world watches in horror as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags into April. As people speculate how the...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 27, 20225 min read


Sanctions May Not Be the Solution The West Thinks They Are
Less than two weeks into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia became the target of 2,778 new sanctions—including the previous sanctions...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 25, 20225 min read


Putin’s Pipeline: The Dangers of Nord Stream 2
Nord Stream 2 may well be the most controversial construction project in the world. The 1,200 kilometer pipeline, extending from...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 8, 20204 min read


An Orthodox Approach to Soft Power
This month, Serbia’s government approved a Russian plan to construct a vast network of pipeline stretching from the Bulgarian border...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 17, 20194 min read


Sputnik Sputtering
International recognition—or perhaps wariness—of Russia’s demonstrated technological skills is prevalent. However, Russia’s advanced...
chiefofstaff1
Jan 6, 20195 min read


How the West was Won: Putin’s Bosnian Shadow Game
This past December, Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrated the 22nd anniversary of the Dayton Accords, the U.S.-led peace treaty that...
chiefofstaff1
Mar 2, 20184 min read


The Old Champions of a New Art: Russia, Revolution, and Art, a Hundred Years Later.
Exactly a century ago, in 1917, myriad forces in Russia conspired to topple the Czar, overthrowing an autocratic system of government...
chiefofstaff1
May 10, 20176 min read


Scenes from the Edge: Protest and Performative Identity in Contemporary Russia
A journalist investigates a government official and loses his job. He returns to find police have raided his home. Later, they beat him....
chiefofstaff1
Apr 11, 20174 min read


Aleppo, al-Assad, and Alliances: Putin’s Newest Propaganda Scheme
During the Cold War, global politics were characterized by the notion of bipolarity: The United States and the Soviet Union were...
chiefofstaff1
Nov 28, 20166 min read


A Pope, a Patriarch, and Distinctly Political Implications
On February 12, in the VIP room of the Havana airport, Pope Francis of the Catholic Church and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian...
chiefofstaff1
Apr 8, 20165 min read


If At First You Don’t Succeed: The Department of Defense’s Failed Syrian Rebel Training Program
Amidst the overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies...
chiefofstaff1
Oct 26, 20156 min read


America’s Putin Problem: Why We Should Look for Cooperation in Syria
With a KGB history, a penchant for repressing criticism at home, and a growing tendency for military aggression abroad, Russia’s...
chiefofstaff1
Oct 25, 20157 min read


Macho (Wo)men in Politics
The United States has a long history of publicizing so-called “macho” men. Over the years, the prototypical macho American man has seen...
chiefofstaff1
Oct 21, 20155 min read


When The Swedish Fish
There is something rotten in the seas of Sweden. An unidentified swimming object was confirmed mid-November, nearly a month after Swedish...
chiefofstaff1
Dec 3, 20147 min read


The Struggle Over Bulgaria
Russian incursions into Ukraine have many people saying that the realpolitik of the Cold War has returned to the global stage. After a...
chiefofstaff1
Nov 9, 20144 min read


Bleak Outlook For Russia’s Middle Class
The primary image of Russian political leadership, in the current political climate, is that of a sultry Russian President Vladimir...
chiefofstaff1
Oct 5, 20144 min read


Why Breweries, Big Coal and Putin May Keep Fracking Out of Germany
Following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, Germany ambitiously vowed to shut down all its nuclear capacity in favor of renewable energy...
chiefofstaff1
Aug 4, 20144 min read


Blurred Lines Abound Between Russian Church and State
Your average Russian is becoming more religious, and it matters. The Russian Orthodox Church is not only touting an increasingly devoted...
chiefofstaff1
May 2, 20145 min read
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