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Our new RD report 'Global Warming' answers all the hard questions about Russia and global climate change.

RD got in touch with Russian and foreign economists to discuss the problem of investment climate in Russia in the times of high risks and unpredictability.
More here: http://www.russia-direct.org/video/rd...

Russia Direct reached out to the dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics, Sergey Karaganov, and talked to him about the current state of relations between the West and Russia. In addition, Karaganov discusses the reasons that have contributed to today’s deteriorating relations.
Read here the full interview: http://www.russia-direct.org/qa/us-ru...

Itai Sened of Tel Aviv University explains the differences in Russian and U.S. Middle East policies and offers his perspective on how Israel views Russian involvement in the region.
Read the full interview with Prof. Sened here: http://www.russia-direct.org/qa/why-i...

Ahead of the 2016 parliamentary elections in Russia, Vladimir Putin signed a bill on "undesirable" foreign organizations into law on May 23. From now on, prosecutors have power to declare foreign or international organizations “undesirable” if they threaten Russia's constitutional order, security or defense. Here is what this means and who might be the first targets.

Former Brithish Ambassador to Russia (2004-2008) Antony Brenton describes current disagreements between Russia and the West highlighting that more close cooperation is very possible.

Amidst the ongoing confrontation with the West, Russia Direct interviewed three foreign policy experts to understand what should Russia to do to see eye-to-eye with the West.

More here: http://www.russia-direct.org/video/rd...

RD interviewed Russia's prominent political experts to figure out what are the odds of the current economic crisis driving people to the streets and turning into a political one?

Russia Direct Exclusive: As a follow up to our RD September Monthly Memo, “The Rise and Fall of US-Russia Counter-Terrorism Cooperation,” Dr. Nadezhda K. Arbatova, of Russian Academy of Sciences, answers reader questions about ISIS and U.S. and Russian efforts to counter this threat.

Photos by: Reuters, Twitter.com/w_elkher
Maps by: Debka, Al Arabiya News

On April 27, Russia Direct conducted a panel discussion that brought together academics, experts and students to discuss the future of Russian Studies in the U.S. during a time of deep crisis in U.S.-Russia relations.

Join us for a Google Hangouts discussion on Wednesday, November 19, at 9 a.m. EST and find out the major outcomes of G20 Summit in Brisbane and its role for Russia.

The webcast will cover the following questions:
- to what extent the G20 is effective in addressing new threats to world economic growth today?
- what the current role of the G20 is given recent developments in the international arena?
- What is Russia’s future role in the G20?
- To what extent do we need such an institution today?
- How effective is the group today?

Russia Direct and US-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England invite you to participate in a roundtable discussion “Russia Expertise in American Foreign Policy: The Role of Russian Studies,” aimed at examining the current state of Washington’s analysis on Russia and its changing role in the world.

Our 4 panelists include:
- Sheila M. Puffer, University Distinguished Professor and Professor of International Business and Strategy at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University. She is also a fellow at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University;
- Nicolai N. Petro, Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island specializing in Russia and its neighboring states. He has previously served in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow;
- Elizabeth Wood, Professor of Russian & Soviet History, Co-Director, MISTI-Russia Program, Coordinator of Russian Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
- Daniel Satinsky, President of the Board of Directors of the US-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England. He has been engaged in technology-related Russian business projects, market entry for both Russian and U.S. companies for more than 25 years.

The discussion will be moderated by Russia Direct Editor-in-Chief Ekaterina Zabrovskaya.

Our panelists will attempt to answer the following questions:
- Is there a lack of interest in scholarly expertise on Russia in American foreign policy?
- Or is there a general decline in Russian expertise in the U.S.?
- What challenges do think tanks and universities have to deal with today while preparing top experts and producing practical expertise? Does that expertise get heard by the government?
- Is there an ideological divide among Russia experts and, if so, what are the consequences?
- Should Russian Studies in the U.S. be interdisciplinary or narrow and more specific?

Against the backdrop of increasing global instability – especially the deteriorating relationship between Russia and the West – there has been growing debate about the ability of modern multilateral institutions such as the G20 to solve complex geopolitical issues that impact global economic growth.

In response to these developments, Russia Direct hosted a webcast ­– “Why the G20 still matters for Russia” – that discussed the outcomes of the Nov. 15–16 G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia.

The webcast covers the following questions:

- To what extent is the G20 effective in addressing new threats to world economic growth today?
- What is the current role of the G20 given recent developments in the international arena?
- What is Russia’s future role in the G20?
- To what extent do we need such an institution today?
- How effective is the group today?

Moderated by Ekaterina Zabrovskaya, the Editor-in-Chief of Russia Direct, the webcast will include the following participants:

- Josef Janning, Senior Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in the Berlin Office. In 2013-2014, he was a Mercator Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to that he served as Director of Studies at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels;

- David Shorr, Program Officer with the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation. He spent many years at the Stanley Foundation. He has written extensively about the G20 and was a charter member of the Think20 consultation process;

- Oleg Preksin, B20 Sherpa during Russia’s G20 2013 presidency. He is Professor of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Vice President of the Association of Russian Banks (ARB);

- Nikolay Murashkin, Researcher at the Cambridge Central Asia Forum and a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of St. Catharine's College at the University of Cambridge.

This Saturday, Russia is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Victory Day parades will be held in 150 cities across Russia with the main one to take place in Moscow’s Red Square.

At the recent Fort Ross Dialogue event at Stanford University, a number of top thought leaders, diplomats and academics shared their thoughts on the importance of bilateral exchanges between the U.S. and Russia.

In response to a question submitted by a Russia Direct subscriber, a Russian foreign policy expert comments on the implications of a Russia-China coalition for America.

Viktor Sumsky, Director of the ASEAN center at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), discusses the implications of a hypothetical China-Russia coalition that might be created in response to the U.S. reluctance to cooperate with either China or Russia.

Read more at Russia Direct:

Join Russia Direct for a Google Hangouts discussion on Friday, Jan. 30, at 9 a.m. EST as we discuss the major outcomes of the Syrian peace talks and the role of Moscow in Syrian crisis.

On Jan. 30, join a special Russia Direct webcast on the outcomes of the Jan. 26–29 Syria peace talks in Moscow. Participants will also discuss the changes that happened over the past year in Syria. Do not miss a chance to listen to a discussion of some of the world’s leading experts on the Middle East and Syria.

What questions will we answer?

• What are the results of the peace negotiations in Moscow?
• Is there a shift in mediation leadership from Geneva to Moscow?
• Can Russia play a constructive role in mediating international crises?
• What are the prospects of settling down the Syrian issue and Islamic State influence there?

You can tune in by going to the Russia Direct Google+ Channel on Friday, Jan. 30, at 5:00 p.m. Moscow time (9:00 a.m. EST).

Have questions regarding the conflict in Syria, or the role of Russia and the West in it?

Submit them to editor@russia-direct.org before the discussion for a chance to have your question answered! Also, you can ask your questions via Twitter using the hashtag #RDwebcast.

Victoria I. Zhuravleva, Professor of American History and International Relations at the Russian State University for the Humanities, talks to Russia Direct about the image of Russia created by American cartoonists.

In a video interview she explains in what way the image of modern Russia has evolved in the American press since the late 19th to early 20th century. In addition, she shows some visual examples of how American political cartoonists have characterized Russia throughout history.

The video contains materials from Boulder Camera (cartoon by Jeff Sherffius /Creators News Service), Library of Congress (cartoon by Jerry Costello), St. Louis Post-Dispatch (cartoon by Robert J. Matson).

Video by Pavel Gazdyuk.

Read the full interview at Russia Direct - http://russia-direct.org/content/how-...

Kremlin bans 89 European officials from entering Russia.

A new scandal is erupting over the Russia’s blacklist of European Union politicians and military officials. The blacklist includes 89 EU citizens whose position on Russia is hostile and bars them from entering Russia. The move is believed to be taken by Kremlin in response to a fierce criticism from some EU countries and to their anti-Russia sanctions over Crimea and Ukraine.


Most of the blacklisted politicians are from Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Estonia and Germany. Countries that have taken a softer stance towards Moscow, such as Italy, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, were absent from the list.


Kremlin’s move sparks an angry reaction from the EU. The EU says the travel bans are arbitrary and unjustified.


Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the European Union on Monday for allowing the publication of the blacklist which was handed over to the EU confidentially. Simultaneously, Foreign Minister Srgey Lavrov dismissed as absurd Western criticism that Russia's move was unjustified.


Russian officials say the visa bans had been imposed step by step since the middle of last year in response to hostile policy against Russia.

They also underline that Moscow will reciprocate accordingly if the United States or European Union decide to expand their blacklists of Russian citizens.