Russia

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• 1/22/2023
  

  Do Sanctions on Russia Portend a Return to the Interwar Order of Trade Blocs?

  by Carl J. Strikwerda

  The economic response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised the specter of a new Cold War. But a better—and scarier—analogy might be the drastic contraction of global trade and the rise of colonial and imperial trade blocs between the World Wars. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  1/17/2023
  

  Training Ukrainian Troops in the US Part of a Long History of Military Advising as Foreign Policy

  by Syrus Jin

  Training foreign military officers in the US has, since the 1950s, aimed at more than military success. It's been a vehicle for developing foreign political leadership and expanding US influence. 

• 
• 1/15/2023
  

  Resisting Nationalism in Education

  by Jacob Goodwin

  "Countering the pull toward nationalistic authoritarianism requires intellectual openness and curiosity.  This is a challenge in the time of recovery from the global pandemic, environmental catastrophe and jagged economic turbulence."

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• SOURCE: Noema
  1/10/2023
  

  Why the Kremlin Made "Z" its Symbol of the Ukraine Invasion

  by Alexander Etkind

  Can Russia's aggression against Ukraine be explained by its leaders fetishizing the small differences in national life, and the divergent fortunes of the post-Soviet generation, in the two countries? Are those gaps so small that only an invented symbol could express them? 

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• SOURCE: New Statesman
  12/20/2022
  

  Ukrainesplaining, or, Why the West Underestimated Ukraine

  by Olesya Khromeychuk

  The credibility of Ukraine's claims and commitment to national self-determination have always been dismissed and diminished by the influence of Russian perspectives, even among academic observers. A woman historian finds the phenomenon familiar. 

• 
• 11/6/2022
  

  Russian Soldiers' Calls Home Echo Moral Injury Testimony of Vietnam Vets

  by Elise Lemire

  Translations of intercepted calls from Russian soliders in Ukraine reveal guilt, shame, anger, and loss of faith in national institutions and leadership that echo the testimony of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Will these veterans help launch resistance to Russian militarism? 

• 
• 10/30/2022
  

  Between January 6 and Ukraine, Macho Men Threaten Democracy

  by Walter G. Moss

  "It would be simplistic to blame the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Putin’s misguided machismo, but it certainly is a factor."

• 
• SOURCE: National Interest
  10/26/2022
  

  Perspective: Using a Nuclear Weapon Would be Disastrous for Russia

  by Steve Cimbala and Lawrence J. Korb

  Russia has retained much of the Soviet-era's top-down command structure, which removes decisionmakers from both the real-world context and consequences of big decisions. This presents a danger that those leaders will misundersand the catastrophic result of a nuclear bomb. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/26/2022
  

  Putin Loyalists Steal Remains of Potemkin from Kherson

  The theft reflects contemporary Russian nationalists' view of Potemkin as the intellectual progenitor of a Greater Russia. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  10/24/2022
  

  Tim Snyder: Why Putin Wants the Republicans in Power

  Although the Republicans are split, it seems clear that Putin is working to boost the isolationist elements of the MAGA movement at a moment when Ukrainian forces are close to defeating Russia's invasion with international and American support. 

• 
• SOURCE: Salon
  10/8/2022
  

  Putin Could Fall, but it Might Not Help the West Much

  by Jim Sleeper

  Those speculating on the possible precarity of Putin's regime should be wary of the illiberal and authoritarian tendencies rising in the West. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/11/2022
  

  Bombing Kyiv Into Submission? History Says "Unlikely"

  The utility of bombing civilian centers has been overrated, and the strength of the backlash such bombing creates underestimated, by military strategists. 

• 
• 10/9/2022
  

  What the Cuban Missile Crisis Teaches Us about Ending the Ukraine War

  by Walter G. Moss

  Many people have invoked JFK's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a reminder of the need for toughness in international confrontation. The equally vital but less popular lesson is that creative leadership is just as important. 

• 
• 8/28/2022
  

  Who and What to Believe about Ukraine?

  by Walter G. Moss

  Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war test our ability as citizens to be aware of our biases in search of information and understanding. 

• 
• SOURCE: New/Lines
  8/5/2022
  

  What the Nazi-Soviet Fight in Ukraine Tells Us About the War Today

  by Pascal Trees

  A family archive of letters from a German soldier fighting the Red Army in Ukraine reveals the complexities of ethnic and national identity that are in dispute by Russian and Ukrainian partisans today. 

• 
• 8/7/2022
  

  Why Should War Criminals Operate with Impunity?

  by Lawrence Wittner

  When major military powers like Russia, China and the United States withhold participation in the International Criminal Court, it allows war criminals to do as they please. Leading a more stable international order means joining fully with the ICC. 

• 
• SOURCE: Substack
  7/30/2022
  

  Putin's Rule is Weakening. Then What?

  by Timothy Snyder

  A shift in rhetoric from prominent Russian politicians has revealed fissures in their relationships to Putin, suggesting that they are positioning themselves to benefit from a difficult war in Ukraine and a possible political upheaval.

• 
• SOURCE: Newsweek
  7/23/2022
  

  Tim Snyder: Russians Openly Contemplating Post-Putin Era

  Domestic politicians warning of the danger Russia faces from the stalled Ukraine war are partly trying to rally nationalistic fervor and partly positioning themselves for a possible struggle for power in the event that Putin loses control. 

• 
• 7/8/2022
  

  The Wagner Group is Just the Latest Example of Privatized War

  by Lawrence Wittner

  Hiring soldiers of fortune to wage war has long been profitable to mercenaries and politically advantageous to rulers. Its modern resurgence with the American Blackwater organization and the Russian Wagner Group show the need for stronger cooperative security to prevent human rights abuse.

• 
• SOURCE: Foreign Policy
  7/1/2022
  

  Is the Ukraine War the Start of a New Period of History?

  by David A. Bell

  The idea that the Russian invasion will be seen as a turning point by future scholars is tempting given the immediate seriousness of events. But two years ago, people were saying the same thing about the COVID pandemic.