Crisis in Russian-American Relations: What Is to Be Done?

This event occurred on:  For 20 years following the Cold War, the relationship of the two former ideological rivals remained tepid but mutually respectable. The obvious asymmetry in wealth, military power, and ideological influence made the perspective of vigorous rivalry seem illogical from both sides. Russian society, particularly many intellectuals, was for a long time seduced by the United States and referred to it as an example for imitation. However, starting with the late 2000s, we have been witnessing a steady rise of mutual hostility, in the rhetoric of politicians and the media, and in the policy. It culminated twice, in the Crimea annexation of 2014 and the simultaneous wave of anti-U.S. propaganda on Russian TV, and today, in 2017–18, with the scandal around the Russian “election meddling,” spy poisoning and the respective media frenzy in the States. As it stands now, the heat of rhetoric reaches and often surpasses that of the Cold War. We witness two big countries with nuclear weapons, increasingly divergent cultures, and different political regimes.

The panel will explore a series of questions:

- What are the main causes of this conflict?
- What should we know about contemporary Russia that informs the current situation?

Distinguished visitors:

Viatcheslav Morozov
Professor of EU-Russia Studies, University of Tartu
Peter Rutland
Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, Wesleyan University

and from Bard College:

Olga Voronina, Artemy Magun, Sean McMeekin, and Jonathan Becker