Russia

Writings on Russian politics, relations with Ukraine, and the West.

Biden, the Politicization of Ukraine Aid, and Declining Support

The Biden Team have done well to champion aid to Ukraine, but the efforts to wield the issue as a weapon against Donald Trump and his supporters at home have contributed to declining public support for aid.

November 17, 2022
March 9, 2023
Written by 
Daniel Berman

Putin's Nuclear Threats

Putin's nuclear threats should be taken for what they are. Expressions of frustration, not an indicator of immanent action.

October 17, 2022
March 9, 2023
Written by 
Daniel Berman

How Biden’s Sanctions on Russian Energy Are Playing Right into Putin’s Hands

(Originally published on AMAC https://amac.us/how-bidens-sanctions-on-russian-energy-are-playing-right-into-putins-hands/)

July 11, 2022
September 21, 2022
Written by 
Daniel Berman

The Only Solution to the War in Ukraine Is on the Battlefield

(Originally published by AMAC https://amac.us/the-only-solution-to-the-war-in-ukraine-is-on-the-battlefield/)

May 1, 2022
September 21, 2022
Written by 
Daniel Berman

What is Vladimir Putin Really Up To?

For all the panic about a prospective Russian invasion of Ukraine, little time has been invested in trying to determine what Putin might hope to achieve.

January 21, 2022
September 21, 2022
Written by 
Daniel Berman

The Biggest Nation-Building Failure of the Last 30 Years Isn’t Afghanistan—It’s Russia

With the benefit of three decades, the greatest failure of US foreign policy was not failing to nation build in Afghanistan or Iraq, but the refusal to invest even minimal capital in making Russia's transition a success

September 21, 2021
May 2, 2022
Written by 
Daniel Berman

Hitting Trump on Russia cannot disguise the fact that Clinton does not have a Russia policy.

The attempt to turn the leak of emails from the Democratic National Committee into a debate over whether Trump is "soft" on Russia or Putin is exactly the sort of inflexible thinking that has ruined US policy in Syria.

July 30, 2016
February 17, 2019
Written by 
Daniel Berman

Despite Cease-Fire Failures, American Weapons are not a Solution

Whatever policy is the right one to adopt regarding the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, the assumption that arming the Ukrainian military is either a simple task, or an alternative to direct interevention is absurd.

February 22, 2015
November 9, 2022
Written by 
Daniel Berman

Putin's Verdun: While the Crimea Burns, Russia Prepares a Trap for the West in Estonia

Putin's strategic objectives likely have less to do with territorial ambitions in regions that are economically worthless, and more to do with endeavoring to discredit NATO as a viable protector of neghboring states.

March 19, 2014
July 5, 2016
Written by 
Daniel Berman

Ukraine, the European Union, Economic Cycles and Political Weakness

The dynamics of the European response to Russian actions in the Ukraine are being driven by economic factors which leave EU leaders vulnerable domestically in the event of any policies which impose ecnomic costs

March 7, 2014
July 13, 2016
Written by 
Daniel Berman

Ukraine Thoughts Part 2: When You Play the Game of Princes You Win or You Die

Authoritarian states struggle to manage successions. Absent the ability to submit them to the electorate, they are fought informally at all levels of the state, and even the most loyal heir given time will become a theat

March 6, 2014
February 29, 2024
Written by 
Daniel Berman

Ukraine Thoughts Part 1: On the Side of the Angels, Vladimir Putin's view of America and the World

In the eyes of Vladimir Putin, Russia has spent two decades on a policy of appeasement towards the United States, only to be met with duplicity and betrayal. Combined with a personal aversion to Obama it explains much.

March 2, 2014
December 24, 2022
Written by 
Daniel Berman