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Articles by Peter Rutland

opinion Peter Rutland

Russia Has Upper Hand on Energy Sanctions

The West has promised a tough sanctions package against Moscow if it invades Ukraine. But when it comes to energy, Russia holds most of the cards.
opinion Vitaly Gorokhov and Peter Rutland

Is Russia Cementing an Olympic Win?

Tokyo 2020 shows that a “rally around the flag” effect is possible even if the flag is banned.
opinion Peter Rutland

History in the Making: The Agreement That Ended the Soviet Union

For Americans, Dec. 7 is “a day that will live in infamy,” as Franklin D. Roosevelt described the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For Russians, another...
opinion Peter Rutland

Did Russia Get a Raw Deal at Eurovision? (Op-Ed)

After the surprise victory of Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm on May 14, a chorus of complaints could be heard from Moscow.
opinion Peter Rutland

EU Has Held Its Nerve in Ukraine

Jose Manuel Barroso, who stepped down as head of the European Commission in October 2014, gave a spirited defense of the European Union's actions during...
opinion Peter Rutland

Gorbachev's Democracy Died With Boris Nemtsov

The murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was a reminder — if anyone needed it — that the transition to democracy in Russia has failed.
opinion Peter Rutland

No Arab Spring in Russia, Yet

A lively debate has been under way for several years about the impact of the Internet on political life around the world.
opinion Peter Rutland

Grozny Attack Is Another Headache for Putin

The terrorist attack in Grozny on Dec. 4, the day of President Vladimir Putin's state of the nation address, was a brutal reminder that the problem...
opinion Peter Rutland

How Much Longer Can Putin's System Last?

Putin has unequivocally signaled that Russia does not see itself as part of Europe.
opinion Peter Rutland

Putin Holds All the Cards in Ukraine

It is increasingly obvious that Russia is winning in the battle for influence over Ukraine. What is not obvious, however, is what happens next and President...
opinion Peter Rutland

By Glorifying WWI, Putin Ignores Its Tragedy

On Friday, Aug. 1, President Vladimir Putin took time off from making history, to reflect on history.
opinion Peter Rutland

The U.S. And EU Don't Have a Ukraine Strategy

The destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 is without doubt the most serious challenge to peace in Europe since the fall of the Soviet Union...
opinion Peter Rutland

Abkhazia's Crisis Not Over Yet

Last week saw the toppling of the president of Abkhazia in mass protests reminiscent of those in Kiev's Maidan Square. But while the new government...
opinion Peter Rutland

A Paradigm Shift in Russia's Foreign Policy

Putin has embraced nationalism, not state interests, as the overarching rationale for his foreign policy decisions.
opinion Peter Rutland

Getting Russia Wrong

The mainstream media prefer featuring Russian specialists who portray Russia in primitive, good-versus-evil terms.
opinion Peter Rutland

A Putinkin Opening Ceremony in Sochi

The spectacular opening ceremony at the Sochi Olympics confounded Western critics who were expecting a bombastic display of Soviet nostalgia and muscular...
opinion Peter Rutland

Putin's Political Predicament

To offset the drop in his ratings, Putin has embraced an aggressive, anti-Western "values agenda," such as the "gay propaganda" law.
opinion Peter Rutland

Vuitton's Faux Pas on Red Square

As Moscow is home to 78 billionaires and more than 100,000 millionaires, placing the huge Louis Vuitton trunk on Red Square seemed fitting.
opinion Peter Rutland

Snowden Tests Putin's Machiavellianism

U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to cancel the September summit only deepens the mystery surrounding President Vladimir Putin's handling of the...
opinion Peter Rutland

The Kremlin's Repressive Tolerance of Navalny

Russia's "managed democracy" allows opponents to play a walk-on role but only when they have no chance of winning.
opinion Peter Rutland

Obama's Russian Policy With Rice

With Susan Rice's appointment as national security adviser, U.S.-Russian relations, already at an all-time low, are unlikely to warm up anytime soon...
opinion Peter Rutland

Fight Over School Textbooks

It is an ugly sight to see politicians getting involved in telling teachers what to teach and hurling accusations of disloyalty at them.
opinion Peter Rutland

Another Blow to Russia's Bid to Boost Soft Power

The re-election of Barack Obama raised hopes that U.S.-Russian relations could be launched on a fresh course. The nightmare scenario of a Mitt Romney...
opinion Peter Rutland

Puzzled by 2012 Peace Prize

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union has brought both praise and puzzlement. The International Crisis Group lauded the EU as...
opinion Peter Rutland

What Links Pussy Riot With Dostoevsky

Pussy Riot's political and social appeal to a higher truth is rooted in the country's 19th-century revolutionary tradition.
opinion Peter Rutland

The New Boss in Yekaterinburg

On May 29, Yevgeny Kuivashev became governor of the Sverdlovsk region after the regional parliament approved his appointment. Yekaterinburg, the provincial...
opinion Peter Rutland

Why Syria Veto Makes Sense

On Friday, representatives of more than 70 nations gathered in Tunis to discuss international action to stop the killings in Syria. But Russia was...
opinion Peter Rutland

Putin's Nationality Dilemma

In Prague, tourists line up to visit the "New-Old" synagogue, which was new when it was built, in 1270. On Jan. 23, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin...
opinion Peter Rutland

A Cold War Could Turn Hot in Korean Peninsula

Much of the commentary about North Korea after the death of Kim Jong Il has sidestepped the question of reunification. While the nations of Germany...
opinion Peter Rutland

The Dynamic Side of the Leonid Brezhnev Era

With Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's impending return to the presidency, there is increasing talk of a Communist-type restoration. But what do we really...
opinion Peter Rutland

Stalin Caused the Soviet Collapse

Twenty years after the August 1991 coup that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is worth revisiting the puzzle of the Soviet Union's abrupt...
opinion Peter Rutland

War Clouds Gathering Again in the Caucasus

Three years after the Russia-Georgia armed conflict, war clouds are again gathering in the Caucasus. Already deadlocked for years, the peace negotiations...
opinion Peter Rutland

There Goes the Eastern Neighborhood

W ith the Group of Eight leaders pledging $20 billion in aid last week to support countries making the transition from dictatorship in the Arab...
opinion Peter Rutland

The Great Glonass Game

The introduction of Glonass gives the Kremlin a pretext to intervene in the lucrative telecom market, one of the unsung success stories of post-communist...