Ambassador McFaul's or Mike's, as friends and colleagues call him, first steps on arrival in Moscow were marked by a mammoth scandal in the media, internet, Duma and elsewhere. However, it is my strong suspicion that Mike felt victim to some intrigues in the higher places in Washington. 
An interview with U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul Once he arrived, new U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul met with organizers of mass protests in Moscow last month. The meeting made him a target of vicious attacks from state-controlled TV networks and pro-Kremlin youth movements. 
Barack Obama's rise in politics was so rapid, and his background so unusual, that he was immediately subjected to malicious myths - from the bogus story that he was raised Muslim to the lie that he wasn't born in the United States. Of course, some of the raps on Obama are valid interpretations of his performance. It's not a myth that he was long distracted from job creation, that his foreclosure policies have failed or that he was outfoxed by Republicans for much of 2011. But as Obama prepares to defend his record Tuesday in the State of the Union address, let's dispense with some genuine misconceptions about his presidency. 
Writing in National Review, Daniel Vajdic of the American Enterprise Institute mounts a confused and almost incoherent attack on the Obama administration's Russia policy. Having read Vajdic's piece several times, I am genuinely unsure of what his actual substantive criticism is. He seems not to be presenting a structured critique of either the formulation or execution of the administration's policy. Rather, he lays a number of inconvenient and undesirable Russian policies at the feet of 'the reset' despite the fact that many of the policies in question actually predate the Obama administration (or even dear Barack's election to the US senate). 
As an American with more than average interest and experience in Russia, it is a mystery to me why, unlike virtually every other country on earth, U.S. policy has tended to be so dependent on the personal relationship between the respective leaders.
There is a Russian saying, lyod tronulsya, which means the winter ice on the river has cracked and begun to move, that things have begun to change deeply and significantly. This is what's happening in today's Russia. After what was viewed by many voters as widespread fraud in parliamentary elections earlier this month, Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime appears vulnerable in the face of growing protests. The question now is, how will he respond? 
Let us try to leave emotions aside and look at the hard facts. There was some cheating and rule violations during the recent Duma elections, and therefore the people's anger over this was well justified. However, the final results did correspond to the most reliable polls within the margin of error, both on the eve of the elections and at the exit polls. Actually, some of these polls predicted an even higher share of votes for United Russia. The people's activism in and after the election is a welcome sign of Russia's maturing democracy, and if the opposition continues to play by the rules and within the framework of the law, there is a good chance that in the not-so-distant future Russia will make substantial headway in this direction. 
From an apparently impromptu remark on Monday, the United States has elevated the Russian parliamentary election held on December 5 to a core issue of US-Russia ties. The dramatic escalation of rhetoric scatters the continued pretences over the Barack Obama administration's "reset" of relations.
In a swift move, Beijing has also stepped forward to express understanding for Moscow. The faultlines will impact on the regional and international situation on a host of issues in the coming period. 
Although global trade talks are going nowhere, the ministerial meeting of World Trade Organization members in Geneva next week will accomplish at least one item of major importance: admitting Russia to the club. Whether U.S. companies can reap the benefits of a more open Russian market will depend on the repeal of a U.S. law that has become an awkward relic of the Cold War. 
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of NATO: From my first day in office as NATO secretary general, I have made clear that NATO-Russia cooperation remains of strategic importance. We share common security interests and face common challenges. And since our NATO-Russia summit meeting in Lisbon a year ago, we have come a long way in tackling new threats with new thinking. |
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10:37 AM, February 3 UN diplomats fail to agree on Syria, leaving talks in limbo
10:32 AM, February 3 At Moscow Rally, Fighting the Cold and the Kremlin
10:19 AM, February 3 U.S. Ends Ban on Aid to Uzbekistan
02:49 PM, February 2 Putin Concedes He May Not Win in 1st Round
02:38 PM, February 2 Russia Joins OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, Bans Bribes Abroad
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