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Crimea Crisis Reader: Thinking Critically about the Crisis
The following articles have been chosen for discussing the political, diplomatic, military, social, and economic causes and potential effects of the current crisis on the…
International Relations
Resolving the Crimean Crisis: What will Russia have on the table?
The current crisis in Crimea has escalated quickly and was unexpected by most in the West. The Russians and Germans have just agreed to begin…
12 Things You Should Know about the Agreement in Ukraine
An agreement was brokered by EU leaders between Ukraine’s ruling party and the opposition. That agreement, however, was broken the day after it was signed…
Introduction to Conflict in the Post-Soviet Space
As the Soviet Union crumbled, it left behind ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse successor states. As these states tried to form domestic policies and governing…
Russian MiniLessons: Civil War in Syria
The <strong>сирийский</strong> <strong>кризис</strong> (Syrian crisis) is a conflict between <strong>п</strong><strong>овстанцы</strong> (rebels) who are seeking to <strong>свергнуть</strong> <strong>правительство</strong> (oust the government) and <strong>проправительственные</strong> <strong>силы</strong> (pro-government forces)….
Russian MiniLessons: Political Asylum and Related Russian Vocabulary
The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal…
The Dima Yakovlev Law: Ethical Implications of the Russian Adoption Ban
When Sergei Magnitsky passed away in Moscow’s Butyrka prison in 2009, human rights activists worldwide cried foul. Magnitsky was a prominent lawyer who uncovered and investigated…
International Relations at the Lenin Library
The following piece is taken from The Russia Reader edited by Bruce Grant and Adele Barker (Duke University Press, 2010). The book is part of…
Five Russia-Related Issues to Watch this Semester
The SRAS Newsletter has been on vacation for much of the summer. However, we’ve continued to follow the major issues surrounding Russia. To bring our…
A Sovereign Surge, Not a Soviet Resurgence: The Mutualism of Eurasian Reintegration
With the creation of the Eurasian Economic Community’s customs union (“Customs Union”) in 2010, total trade among Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan skyrocketed.[1] Emboldened by such…
Russian MiniLessons: Землетрясения и российской помощи – Earthquakes and Russian Foreign Aid
The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal…
The Soviet Union in Angola: Soviet and African Perspectives on the Failed Socialist Transformation
Africa’s drive for independence came to a head by the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War. It was seen by the Soviet Union…
The Chinese in Russia’s Far East: A Clash of Civilizations in Vladivostok
As an American of Chinese descent, I’ve always had an interest in China. In 2008, I lived in Beijing, China studying Mandarin Chinese and business….
Russians on Ice: A Brief Overview of Soviet and Russian Hockey
While Russia’s political history has been tumultuous and unpredictable, one thing has remained an unfaltering constant: Russians are good at hockey. While Brezhnev dealt with…
Russia in Space
Humanity’s space age had its beginnings in the Cold War rivalries between the US and the USSR. Both countries attempted to advance their own sciences…
Russian MiniLessons: Ссориться по-русски – Fighting in Russian
The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal…
Russian MiniLessons: Южная Осетия – South Ossetia
The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal…
US Elections Come to Moscow
The 2008 US elections promise to bring historic results. Not only will the next president be the first sitting senator elected since John F. Kennedy…
Politics in the Former Soviet Union: A Personal View from an American born of Russian Immigrants
On December 3, 2007 I awoke with a hangover, even though I had not imbibed the night before. The evening of December 2 was my…
Catholic and Protestant: Two Religious Periodicals and US-Soviet Relations, 1930-1950
From the time of the October Revolution in 1917, the United States had a tense relationship with the Soviet Union. The United States was, after…