I was back on the Blog Talk Radio show Midrats this week, talking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s strategy, what might happen next, and consequences for Russia’s domestic politics. The recording is now available on the show’s website. The show description is as follows: Episode 621: Russian Military SITREP with Dr. Dmitry Gorenburg For over 11-years, once a year or so today’s guest has joined us on Midrats to discuss the latest military and national security developments with Russia. With the war waging in Ukraine and in the process of transitioning to a new phase, there coul ..read more

Here are the abstracts from the latest issue of our Russian Media Analysis newsletter. You can also download the full text PDF version. 1. INVASION OF UKRAINE: NATO STRATEGY Russian analysts are still focusing on the issue of NATO membership for Ukraine. Many point out that the ongoing war, while leading to a de facto defense arrangement between the “collective West” and Ukraine, has also hindered it from formally joining the alliance. Many authors believe that this is a benefit to Russia, although it has come at the cost of NATO unity and an amplification of arms supplies to Uk ..read more

Here are the abstracts from the latest issue of our Russian Media Analysis newsletter. You can also download the full text PDF version. 1. Invasion of Ukraine: Putin’s speech In a February 24 speech, carried in full by Krasnaya Zvezda, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin gave remarks that sought to provide background and justification to Russian actions in Ukraine. As his past speeches, this one offered an extensive overview of his grievances against the United States and the West and what he perceives as disregard for Russian interests in the post-Cold War order. 2. Invasion ..read more

I’m going to be participating in the following panel tomorrow. Great lineup, encourage those interested to sign up ..read more

Yesterday, together with Pavel Baev I participated in a Marshall Center panel on the regional fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. My colleague Graeme Herd put together the following summary of the discussion… This is a summary of the discussion at the latest workshop of the current series of online Russia Seminar Series (RSS) webinars held on March 8, 2022 by the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (GCMC) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The summary reflects the overall tenor of the discussion, and no specific element necessarily should be presumed to b ..read more

I was on the Defense One Radio Podcast on Friday, together with some other guests, talking about the larger context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. You can listen or read the transcript here. Here’s a sample: Watson: I’m wondering, what is your read on this next generation of power brokers in Russia, and their interest in Putin’s kind of, you know, revanchist tendencies here? Gorenburg: It’s, you know, it’s really hard to tell what, how things, you know, what any of these next generation people really think. And, you know, one movie that I think is well worth watching, not just f ..read more

Here are the abstracts from the latest issue of our Russian Media Analysis newsletter. You can also download the full text PDF version. This newsletter covers developments up to February 21, 2022. Russian media discussions of Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics on February 21, 2022, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, will be covered in the following issue. 1. HIGHLIGHTS OF PUTIN SPEECH The key points of Vladimir Putin’s speech on February 21 include the following: Ukraine is preparing for a conflict with Western military su ..read more

Here are the abstracts from the latest issue of our Russian Media Analysis newsletter. You can also download the full text PDF version. 1. The Ukraine Crisis: Views of US-Russia Negotiations Negotiations between the United States and Russia over the Ukraine-Russia crisis are widely discussed across Russian media, from a variety of angles. Most commentators are in agreement that the United States and its allies are engaging in bad-faith negotiations, given their continued military-technical support for Ukraine, although some note concern with Russian posture. The negotiations themselves ar ..read more

Here are the abstracts from the latest issue of our Russian Media Analysis newsletter. You can also download the full text PDF version. 1. Russian perceptions of the NATO threat Several articles describe Russian perceptions of NATO and the threat that it poses to Russian security. They focus on the role of the alliance as a weapon of US domination in Europe, the threat posed to Russia by NATO’s previous expansion to the east, and the possibility that it could expand further to include Sweden, Finland, or Georgia. These Western actions can be countered either by NATO and the United States provi ..read more

CNA’s Russia Studies Program is pleased to announce a new biweekly newsletter that analyzes Russian perspectives on Western military activities. The newsletter examines how US and NATO actions are perceived and described by Russian officials and experts. I’ll be posting the abstracts from each issue here. Full text of all issues will always be available on the newsletter webpage and through the CNA Russia Studies Program website. Here are the abstracts and a direct link to the full text of the most recent issue. 1. The crisis in US-Russia relations Russian media devoted extensive coverage ..read more