When I had first heard that CGA was offering a GFI to Moscow I was more than elated, primarily because I spent my undergraduate career studying Cold-War foreign policy and I could not pass up the experience to see the Kremlin! As the trip drew closer, the more I read and researched the more worried…
In 2018, the FIFA World Cup will be headed to Russia. The Russians beat a bid from the English, as well as joint-bids by Spain and Portugal and the Netherlands and Belgium. Naturally, many people are upset about FIFA’s choice. Many find Russia to be too morally and politically unfit to host and would see…
The state of the media and free speech in Russia today is both unique and history repeating. The world should be very concerned. While many decry the Crimean land grab and focus intently on the Eastern Ukraine political unrest and turmoil, they should be looking at the long-term effects of media manipulation taking place both…
How does an energy deal decades in the making go from the back burner to signed, sealed, delivered in a few weeks? Simple – find motivated buyers and sellers. In this case, Russia and China have found common cause for compromise after years of negotiations, motivated by the perception of meddling from the United States…
The U.S. and Russia have had a long history of conducting space missions together, from the launch of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, to the unifying of their space programs to improve their military and security relationship during the first Bush administration. Presently the U.S. and Russia have an agreed commitment to a space…
The Bahamas. The Gambia. The Ukraine. According to the CIA World Factbook, the first two countries listed here are the only two countries whose names officially begin with a definite article. “The United States” rolls easier off one’s tongue than “The Gambia”… and it goes without saying that “The Ukraine” rolls just as easily as “The…
It has been over a year since the events that took place during the Boston Marathon, and there seems to be this growing animosity towards the Russia Federation for its actions throughout the investigation. Many continue to blame the Russian Federation for its failure to disclose pertinent information to the FBI on the Tsarnaev brothers;…
When it comes to Edward Snowden, two camps exist. Those who believe that he is a whistle-blower looking out for the best interests of American citizens and perhaps a little naïve, and those who believe that he is a Russian spy. Three basic criteria exist in order to be considered a whistle-blower: materials must be…
This past March, Chatham House published a paper on a topic that illustrates the difficulties that foreign investors have when doing business in Russia (beyond the threat of sanctions) and representative of the cannibalistic nature of the business world. The topic? Reiderstvo, or corporate raiding, in Russia. “Corporate raiding” in the Western or American conception…
In looking at the current crisis in the Ukraine, it is impossible not to see the connection to gas and oil. Gazprom, Russia’s national gas company, is not only the Russian oligarch du jour, but seems to benefit whenever any smaller company dares to speak ill of the ‘Putin machine’. An illustrative case of Gazprom’s…
The vast disparity in oil and gas resource endowments across the globe means that one country’s interest—be it economic or resource-based—will necessarily be mutually dependent on other nations. If you’re a resource owner, you need buyers; if you’re relatively less endowed, you’ll need willing sellers. Nowhere is this dynamic more apparent than in Russia-Europe natural…
U.S. senators are calling for sanctions against Iran for making a deal with Russia for a barter scheme involving oil-for-goods worth $20 billion, which will undermine the impact of U.S. sanctions on both countries. Currently, both Iran and Russia suffer under U.S. sanctions; Iran for its nuclear program, and Russia for its aggression toward Ukraine.…
