MenuThe 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.
Category Archives: Russia & Eurasia
WORRY BUILDS OVER RUSSIA OLYMPIC SECURITY
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.
G8 PRESIDENCY TO BE MARKED BY TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY, PUTIN SAYS
The Moscow Times
January 11, 2014
In an address published on the Kremlin’s website as Russia assumed the presidency on New Year’s Day, Putin preached cooperation, dialogue and shared responsibility in achieving the group’s goals and advocated “a spirit of partnership based on trust” among its members- the U.S., UK, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Canada, European Union and Russia.
SOCHI: SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM AT THE 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS
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.
RUSSIA BOMBINGS PUT PRESSURE ON PUTIN, SOCHI: OPINIONLINE
USA TODAY
January 2, 2014
What people are saying about the terrorist attacks in Volgograd before Winter Olympics.
What Russian terrorists hope to accomplish ahead of Sochi 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.
Q&A on the Crisis in Ukraine
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 Eurasian Union: Undermining Economic Freedom and Prosperity in the South Caucasus
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.
Ariel Cohen: Islamic Terrorism in Russia
Published on May 9, 2013 Dr. Ariel Cohen, Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, The Heritage Foundation [Click here for transcript: http://bit.ly/14zdyVE] Topic: Islamic Terrorism in Russia: Implications for U.S. National Security Recorded at Center for Security Policy’s National Security Group Lunch on Capitol Hill
Ariel Cohen on Azerbaijan
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