Russian Strategic Culture, Transatlantic Security, & Coronavirus impacts on Russian Relations with Europe
Date: August 31st, 2020 at 14:30 CEST / 08:30 EST Platform: Cisco Webex Events Co-hosted by: Russia Strategic Initiative and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Link to Video Recording
- Recording will be made available soon.*
Connection Instructions
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Format
The panelists presented for 20 minutes each followed by 20 minutes of Q&A.
Agenda
1430-1450 CEST / 0830-0850 EST
Presentation on Etched in Stone: Russian Strategic Culture and the Future of Transatlantic Security
Russian strategic culture is a product of Russian geography, history, and elite worldview. Consequently, Europe is by far the most important strategic theater for Russia. Because of the new geography of the NATO-Russia standoff, the demise of the Cold War security architecture, and the emergence of new military technologies, Russia is facing an unprecedented array of security challenges, largely of its own making, reminiscent of the INF crisis of the early 1980s, only worse. It is a situation that the Kremlin cannot reconcile itself to, or that can be resolved with traditional arms control and confidence-building approaches, likely leading to more East-West tensions.
1450-1510 CEST / 0850-0910 EST
Presentation on Stuck on Auto-Pilot?: Russia's Relations With Germany, France, and the UK in the Age of Coronavirus
Widespread expectations that fallout from the pandemic would somehow force the Kremlin to come around and mend its ways have turned out to be an exercise in wishful thinking. If anything, Russia's stances on key issues in relations with Germany, France, and the UK appear to be hardening. Yet there are few indications, if any, that such tactics are actually paying off for Moscow, which suggests that Russia's approach toward core Europe may be losing its strategic focus and long-term potency.
1510-1530 CEST / 0910-0930 EST
Question & Answer Session
Panelists
Eugene Rumer
Title: Director and Senior Fellow Affiliation: Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Eugene Rumer is a senior fellow and the director of Carnegie's Russia and Eurasia Program. Prior to joining Carnegie, he was the national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council from 2010 to 2014. Earlier, he held research appointments at the National Defense University, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the RAND Corporation. He has also served on the National Security Council staff and at the State Department, taught at Georgetown University and the George Washington University, and published widely.
Andrew S. Weiss
Title: James Family Chair, Vice President for Studies Affiliation: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Andrew S. Weiss oversees research in Washington and Moscow on Russia and Eurasia. Prior to joining Carnegie, he was director of the RAND Corporation's Center for Russia and Eurasia and executive director of the RAND Business Leaders Forum. He previously served as director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council staff, as a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, and as a policy assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush.
Additional Resources
- Research Paper: Etched in Stone: Russian Strategic Culture and the Future of Transatlantic Security by Eugene Rumer
- Current Calendar
- All RSI Research