Word cloud showing five alleged IRA accounts’ most-discussed topics topics on Reddit. This graph was generated using a frequency analysis of selected comments and submission from Reddit. This piece was authored by an anonymous SSP student Background The Russian Federation’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election has been the subject of much media fanfare, … Continue reading Analyzing Five Alleged IRA Reddit Accounts
Category: Russia
Russia’s Latin America Foreign Policy Supports its Incursions in Ukraine
Russian troops enter Perevalne base, a Ukrainian military installation located in Crimea, during the Crimean Crisis of 2014. Photo Credit: Anton Holoborodko Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its sponsorship of an ongoing separatist insurgency in Eastern Ukraine was largely met with widespread international condemnation. The United States and European Union levied sanctions against … Continue reading Russia’s Latin America Foreign Policy Supports its Incursions in Ukraine
Beware of Nagorno-Karabakh
Photo credit: Tim Ryan Williams/Vox The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh recently flared up after decades of relative stability. A Russia-negotiated ceasefire that came into effect on November 11 will hopefully stop the violence. Whether or not the peace holds going forward, it is not in the interest of the United … Continue reading Beware of Nagorno-Karabakh
Security Assistance to Ukraine is Only Enhancing Kyiv’s Hard Power
An advisor with U.S. Task Force Juvign greets Ukrainian counterparts at the Combat Training Center in Yavoriv, Ukraine. Photo Creidt: Wisconsin Dept of Military Affairs, U.S. Army. Prior to September 2019, the relationship between the United States and Ukraine received scant attention in the media and among the American public. Beyond Washington’s foreign policy circles, … Continue reading Security Assistance to Ukraine is Only Enhancing Kyiv’s Hard Power
Russia’s People Problem
Russia's aging population presents important challenges for the country. Photo Credit: Needpix. Russia is no stranger to the challenges of the so-called “demographic crisis,” with declining birth rates and low life expectancy receiving significant attention in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although the country managed to reverse this population loss in … Continue reading Russia’s People Problem
Prospects for Russo-Turkish Cooperation: Doomed with Time?
US, Turkish, Russian Defense Chiefs Meet in Antalya, Turkey. Photo Credit: Department of Defense. By: James Millar, Columnist Threats of economic sanctions, cancellation of a long-term F-35 partnership, and increasingly hostile rhetoric currently buffet Ankara. Partially to blame are President Erdogan’s recent $2.5 billion-dollar hardware and training package of S-400 anti-aircraft weapons systems and NATO … Continue reading Prospects for Russo-Turkish Cooperation: Doomed with Time?
In Historic Trilateral Summit, the U.S., Russia, and Israel Focus on Mutual Interests
Official photograph of US, Russian, and Israeli officials. Photo Credit: Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90. National Security Advisor John Bolton met with his Russian and Israeli counterparts, Nikolai Patrushev and Meir Ben-Shabbat, on June 24, 2019. An Israeli defense source on Al-Monitor described the historic trilateral summit as “a crazy event…fifty-two years after Jerusalem’s liberation, we are bringing … Continue reading In Historic Trilateral Summit, the U.S., Russia, and Israel Focus on Mutual Interests
The Russian Edge in Electronic Warfare
A Russian serviceman prepares to launch a drone during a military exercise. Photo Credit: RIA Novosti. By: Madison Creery, Columnist The U.S. has spent nearly two decades dedicated to counterterrorism operations where it enjoyed significant qualitative and quantitative advantages over adversaries. In these conflicts, the U.S. was able to quickly gain local air, sea, and … Continue reading The Russian Edge in Electronic Warfare
Protecting the Polls from Russian Trolls: Why America Must Hack Back
Voters at the Topeka Civic Theater in Kansas last year during the midterm elections. The United States Cyber Command took a Russian troll farm off line on Election Day to block any potential interference. Photo Credit: Barrett Emke for The New York Times By Stan Sundel, Associate Editor for Terrorism and Counterterrorism Earlier this year, the Washington … Continue reading Protecting the Polls from Russian Trolls: Why America Must Hack Back
Beijing-Moscow Relations Will Cool As the Arctic Heats Up
President Putin and President Xi. Photo Credit: AP By: Ezra Shapiro, Columnist In recent years, Russia and China’s growing collaboration on energy and shipping projects in the Arctic has caused some consternation among U.S policymakers. Despite the countries’ current cooperation, Moscow and Beijing’s long-term ambitions are fundamentally at odds with each other. Russia places a … Continue reading Beijing-Moscow Relations Will Cool As the Arctic Heats Up