On April 12, the United States government, complying with the Magnitsky Act, has published a list of Russian officials who are ineligible to receive a US visa or own US assets because of their complicity in human rights violations. While the initial list was more than modest, IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza notes that its publication has set a number of important precedents—and that the list is by no means final.
Russia’s new foreign policy doctrine proclaims a responsible and “multivectoral” course of action in international affairs. However, according to Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the Kremlin’s actions often contrast with its rhetoric.
US Senator Mary Landrieu, co-chair of the Congressional Adoption Coalition and a nationally recognized advocate for adoption, spoke about the Dima Yakovlev Law with IMR Advisor Olga Khvostunova. The following are the senator’s words.
On January 1, 2013, the Dima Yakovlev Law came into force in Russia, prohibiting US citizens from adopting Russian children. This legislation was backed by a massive propaganda campaign aimed at discrediting American adoptive families and the United States at large. IMR analyst Olga Khvostunova tried to get to the bottom of the problem and see how Americans really treat their adopted Russian children.
The decision to cancel Phase 4 of the planned US missile defense system in Europe, recently announced by the Pentagon, is good news for the Kremlin. Yet, according to Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Moscow may use it not to soften its stance, but to seek further concessions from the Obama administration.
On March 4th, policymakers, analysts, and human rights activists from Russia, the United States, and the European Union, gathered in Washington to discuss the prospects of the West’s relationship with Moscow. The forum entitled “New Approach or Business As Usual?” was co-hosted by the Institute of Modern Russia, the Foreign Policy Initiative, and Freedom House.
I expect Mr. Lozansky and Nezavisimaya Gazeta to issue a public retraction of the false information contained in “Russian Landing Party in Washington.”
As Washington and Moscow move to a post-“reset” relationship, experts on Russia have joined a discussion panel at the Heritage Foundation to talk about the ways forward in bilateral contacts. Stephen Blank, Ariel Cohen, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Katrina Lantos Swett agreed that, in the context of Vladimir Putin’s crackdown, human rights must be high on the agenda for US-Russia relations.
With the unraveling of its “reset” with Moscow, the Obama administration is seeking new ways to engage the Russian leadership, relying on the time-tested issue of arms control. According to Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the Kremlin will demand a high price for bilateral reengagement.
As U.S. President Barack Obama begins his second term, IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza ponders whether there will now be a rethinking of the White House policy on Russia – or whether the administration will continue its “reset” with Vladimir Putin.
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