Russian Roulette

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down Rebecca Hersman, Director of the Project on Nuclear Issues (or PONI), and Senior Adviser, International Security Program at CSIS, and Dmitry Stefanovich, Research Fellow at the Center for International Security, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS) in Moscow.

They discuss the reasons why the Biden and Putin administrations are extending the last remaining U.S.-Russian arms control agreement, the New START treaty; the treaty’s importance; and the prospects for addressing new weapon systems and capabilities in a future agreement. The New START Treaty is also discussed as a pillar of a future, global and multilateral arms control and nuclear nonproliferation negotiating framework.

You can find Rebecca’s bio here: https://www.csis.org/people/rebecca-hersman and follow her on Twitter: @rebeccahersman

Dmitry’s bio: https://www.imemo.ru/en/about/persons/department/full?id=2228 and Twitter handle: @KomissarWhipla

Stay safe and healthy.

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather provides a brief overview of a new CSIS report, “Russia’s Climate Gamble: The Pursuit and Contradictions of its Arctic Ambitions,” which examines the implications of climate impacts for Russia’s economy, internal political dynamics, and security posture. Heather then sits down with Felix H. Tschudi, the Chairman and owner of the Tschudi Group, a Norwegian-based global shipping and logistics company with a long history in the Arctic. They discuss Russia’s ambitious plans for transforming the Northern Sea Route (NSR) into a major global shipping corridor, the impact of climate change and environmental activism on the NSR’s viability, and the prospects of China’s Transpolar route.

Check out the Center for High North Logistics to track developments in the High North and along the Northern Sea Route as well as the Marines Exchange of Alaska to track shipping traffic and emerging maritime issues in the Bering Sea as well as Alaska. For further information on the Bering Strait as a maritime passage, check out this CSIS report “Maritime Futures: The Arctic and the Bering Strait Region.”

To learn more about how climate change will reshape Russian politics, economics, and society, explore the recent work by Russian voices on climate change, civil society, and center-region dynamics here. To learn more about military and security issues related to the Arctic, follow CSIS’s Arctic Military Activity tracker for latest Russia and NATO’s military activities in the region.

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In this last Russian Roulette episode of the year, Heather sits down with Ambassador John J. Sullivan, the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation and former Deputy Secretary of State. They discuss the highlights (the power of hockey diplomacy) and low points (the imprisonment of Paul Whelan) of his tenure as Ambassador, why there wasn’t a New START extension this year, as well as the impact of the changes to the Russian constitution, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and the foreign agent law on American interests. Finally, they also discuss the internal political dynamics in Russia in the lead up to next year’s Duma elections.

Ambassador Sullivan’s bio can be found here: https://ru.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/our-ambassador/

We gladly say farewell to 2020 and wish our listeners healthy and happy holidays. We have many exciting projects and conversations planned for 2021, so please keep an eye out for our announcements by subscribing to our mailing lists and following us on @CSISRussia and @CSISEurope.

Thank you again for listening. Happy New Year! С наступающим 2021 годом!

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with Mykola Bielieskov, Ph.D. student at the National Institute for Strategic Studies (NISS), Ukraine, and Natia Seskuria, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

We discuss the effectiveness and shortcomings of Russia’s hard and soft power influence tools in Georgia and Ukraine, including its “borderization” policy in Georgia, its “passportization” in Donbas, and the role of the Orthodox Church. Finally, we finish the conversation with recommendations regarding how the West can resist the challenges presented by Russia’s occupation of Georgia and Ukraine’s territories.

Both Natia and Mykola participated in CSIS “Understanding the Russian Military Today” executive education program in June and this episode is inspired by their papers written as part of their independent research. In his paper, Mykola dissects Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine’s borders this spring, while in her paper, Natia focuses on Russia’s “hybrid aggression” and influence tools in Georgia. Definitely check out their papers!

Read Natia’s bio here and follow her on Twitter @nseskuria

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This program was funded by the Russia Strategic Initiative U.S. European Command, Stuttgart Germany. Opinions, arguments, viewpoints, and conclusions expressed in this work do not represent those of RSI, U.S. EUCOM, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Max and Maria with Ben Cahill and Eddie Fishman about the current state of Russia's energy industry, and the prospects for the country's lucrative hydrocarbon exports. They also assessed the impacts of Western sanctions on the industry to date and ways those sanctions could potentially be tightened going forward. This conversation was recorded on October 7, 2024.

Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare by Edward Fishman is available for pre-order now (Penguin Random House).