Toward an Understanding of Russia

This publication was intended to help understand Russia better by bringing together the perspectives of American analysts with those of scholars who were much closer to Russia due to geography and history. Therefore, was invited 12 analysts from Central and Eastern Europe to share their views on issues ranging from Russia’s structure of power and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy goals to Russia’s energy policy. This book makes opportunity to learn from the differences between these perspectives.
If Russia veers toward instability or a more severe dictatorship under President Vladimir Putin, the threat to its neighbors could be severe. Such a scenario would also present serious challenges for European integration and derail the process of rapprochement with the United States. To understand Russias unsteady evolution, the Council on Foreign Relations organized an innovative international conference with analysts from the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. The proceedings of that conference, gathered in this volume, provide a unique regional perspective on Russias domestic politics, economic development, energy policies, and internal security, as well as Moscows foreign policies toward its European and Central Asian neighbors, the European Union, NATO, and the United States. Contributors include Lszl Csaba (Poland), Aleksander Duleba (Slovak Republic), Marko Mihkelson (Estonia), Hryhoriy Nemyria (Ukraine), Katarzyna Peczyska-Necz (Poland), Marcin Andrzej Piotrowski (Poland), Leonid Polyakov (Ukraine), Lszl Pti (Hungary) Krzysztof Strachota (Poland), Jurgis Vilemas (Lithuania), and Vladimir Votapek (Czech Republic). Janusz Bugaski is director of the Eastern European Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He also runs the South-Central Europe area studies program at the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State.