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USA TODAY
February 19, 2014
By Olga Rudenko
The standoff between Ukrainians who want European-style democracy and a government that is aligned with Russia erupted Tuesday in an explosion of violence that left 25 dead and could reignite an East-West confrontation thought long buried.
The Heritage Foundation
February 19, 2014
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The worst crisis since the wars in Yugoslavia is convulsing Eastern Europe. Ukraine is on the brink of a civil war, and Russian intervention may be possible despite the Sochi Olympics. An East-West confrontation may be imminent.
The National Interest
January 23, 2014
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
Next month, the Winter Olympics in Sochi will bring many of Russia’s systemic problems in focus. It won’t be a pretty picture. The terrorist threat, rampant corruption, a problematic human-rights record, and rising xenophobia and nationalism will all be on display.
POLITICO
January 22, 2014
By Philip Ewing
Official Washington says it’s confident Russia can handle security at the Winter Olympics next month — but better to be safe than sorry.
The Heritage Foundation
January 6, 2014
by Cassandra Luccacioni and Ariel Cohen
Two bomb attacks, carried out by suicide bombers at a railway station and a bus in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), 500 miles southeast of Moscow, shattered the pre-holiday spirit as Russians prepared to celebrate the New Year. Up to 45 people, including children, were killed, and over 100 were injured, many of them severely; the death count is sure to climb.
USA TODAY
January 2, 2014
What people are saying about the terrorist attacks in Volgograd before Winter Olympics.
FoxNews.com
December 31, 2013
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
As Russians prepared to celebrate the New Year, two horrendous explosions shook the city of Volgograd. Monday’s terrorist attacks — both carried out by suicide bombers — killed more than 30 people and injured more than 60 others.
The Heritage Foundation
December 2, 2013
By Dr. Ariel Cohen
The brutal dispersal of demonstrators in Ukraine last week led to dozens wounded—and a public protest movement which now surpasses the Orange Revolution of 2004. Demonstrators want Ukraine in Europe—and President Victor Yanukovich out of power. Ariel Cohen, Heritage’s Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies, gives some perspective on where this is coming from.
The Heritage Foundation
November 27, 2013
By James M. Roberts, Ariel Cohen, Ph.D. and Jonathan Blaisdel
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking economic and political alliances to counterbalance the influence of the U.S., the European Union, China, and transnational Islamism. Putin is determined to strengthen Moscow’s hegemony in the “near abroad”—the post-Soviet space. One of the instruments he has created to achieve that strategic objective is the Russia-dominated Eurasian Union (EAU). In 2011 Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus signed an agreement creating the EAU with the goal of making it fully operational by 2015. Putin has been pressuring Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as well as other Eastern European and Eurasian states, to join.
Published on Feb 25, 2013 ARIEL COHEN – Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., is a well-known Washington-based foreign, economic and security policy expert. His particular expertise lies in the areas of Russia’s economic and financial policy; U.S.-Russian relations; Caspian pipeline security; ethnic conflict; and relationships between Russia and the New Independent States (NIS). He also has expertise