Rarely has the challenge of Russians and Americans mutual understanding been more important, or more complicated, than it is today. This is a moment of considerable frustration between Moscow and Washington. Russians think that Americans simply don't understand how difficult the last 15 years have been for Russian society; that Americans are a little too quick to lecture and preach; and that Americans have been saying for 15 years that they welcomed the revival of Russia as a Great Power, but deep down are uncomfortable with that revival and seek to constrain it. Americans have not been shy about expressing concerns about the over-centralization of power in Russia, and how that power is sometimes used in relations with some of Russia's neighbors.

The danger in all this is not, in my view, that we are on the verge of a new Cold War, for which there is neither an ideological basis nor any enduring conflict of fundamental interests. The real danger is that we will lose sight of how much Americans and Russians matter to one another, and how much our relationship matters to the rest of the world. Adapting U.S.-Russian relations to a new set of realities, to the world of 2007, is the central challenge for our two governments. There's another dimension to that effort, which has more to do with the broader connections between peoples and societies: exchange programs. Our challenge is to make them more of a two-way street, tap into the resources and creativity of the private sector and civil society, and keep a sense of perspective about our common interests and shared strengths.

One of the true legends of American journalism, Edward R. Murrow, once said that "the really critical link in the international communications chain is the last three feet, which is best bridged by personal contact -- one person talking to another." That was the philosophy which animated the formal U.S.-Soviet exchange programs which were launched fifty years ago, at the height of the Cold War.After the end of the Cold War a whole new set of exchange programs was put in place to help replace the mutual suspicion of Soviet-American relations with a new sense of mutual respect, and to connect a new generation of Russians and Americans to one another. I would be the last person to argue that every piece of advice that the United States offered to Russia in the 1990s was sensible or wise, but one of the smartest investments we made during that period was in innovative exchange programs, like the FLEX program for high school students and the Muskie program for graduate students.

Today there are 60,000 alumni of American exchange programs across Russia, and when I meet with them on my frequent travels outside Moscow, I never cease to be impressed by the ways in which their experiences in the United States have contributed not only to better understanding between our societies, but to the capacity of these young alumni to contribute to Russia's own modernization and growth. These programs are still administered today by the State Department, USAID and under the framework of the Open World exchanges led by Dr. Jim Billington of the Library of Congress.

The question now is how to adapt these programs to a changing relationship. Russia today, for all the formidable problems it must still overcome, has a trillion dollar economy, the tenth largest in the world, bigger now than India's or Brazil's or Mexico's. It is no longer diplomatically dependent, and is insistent, not surprisingly, that is interests and its voice not be taken for granted. Meanwhile, a middle class is beginning to emerge in this country, and a new generation is becoming more accustomed every day to individual choices and property rights that their parents could only dream of. It is hard to predict how that will translate into political and economic institutions, but it's hard not to see the growth of a constituency that over coming decades will assert a more and more powerful self-interest in the rule of law, economic modernization and broader participation in decisions about how taxes are spent and policies are shaped. There is nothing neat or automatic about that process, and huge challenges like corruption stand in the way, but it's hard not to see the value of continued, systematic exchanges between our two societies as Russia continues a complicated transition that is only 15 years old, and that will continue for at least another generation.

There are several ways in which our exchange relationship is likely to be adapted in the years ahead. The first is to make it more of a two-way street. A year ago, we took a significant step in that direction when the United States and Russia signed an historic memorandum of understanding on educational cooperation, in which we agreed for the first time to jointly finance university partnerships and other exchanges. We also plan to continue joint funding of the U.S.-Russia Volunteer Initiative, through which young volunteers work on public health. And the U.S. government will continue to look for ways to expand our most successful programs, like the Fulbright program. We have created a new program this year for postgraduate study and research in the U.S. This will commemorate the bicentennial of our relationship with Russia. We're also looking for new ways to apply American experience to Russian priorities ranging from improvement of its health and educational systems, to promotion of affordable housing and mortgage markets or the development of a Russian national library, in which the experience of the Library of Congress may be useful.

A second shift is likely to be increased reliance on private sector programs, particularly given the dramatic growth of the Russian economy and the expansion of American business in Russia. The Alpha Bank, for example, has already launched a very impressive internship program in Russia for young American entrepreneurs and professionals.

ALCOA has set up its own scholarship program for Russian students. Joint private sponsorship has been critical to other wonderful examples of cultural interaction, such as the Guggenheim Museum's exhibition of 300 years of American art, in collaboration with the Pushkin Museum, which is scheduled to open later this summer in Moscow. A third area of emphasis as our relationship evolves is likely to be more of a focus on ways in which our own bilateral exchanges can contribute to progress on wider international challenges, or in other parts of the world. A good example is the ongoing program in which Russian and American experts work together to enhance laboratory capacity in East Africa in the struggle against HIV-AIDS. Sports is a perfect illustration of people-to-people contacts between our societies. I've been an American diplomat for 25 years, and it has stripped me of most of my illusions. But I remain an optimist about Russia; I think that people-to-people programs and exchanges will contribute enormously to better understanding between us, and to keeping us focused on what we have to gain by working together.