Tag: McFaul

JRL NEWSWATCH: “How to Get a Breakthrough in Ukraine: The Case Against Incrementalism” – Foreign Affairs/ Michael McFaul

Headlines, JRL NewsBlog, Military, Ukraine
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“Nearly a year after he invaded Ukraine … Putin has failed to achieve any of his major objectives. He has not unified the alleged single Slavic nation, he has not ‘denazified’ or ‘demilitarized’ Ukraine, and he has not stopped NATO expansion. Instead, the Ukrainian military kept Russian troops out of Kyiv, defended Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and launched successful counteroffensives […]

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Where U.S. Sees Democracy Promotion, Russia Sees Regime Change

Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of U.S. Embassy Moscow, with Russian Foreign Ministry Building in Distance

In the aftermath of the revelation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election … Putin rejected those claims and accused the U.S. of interfering in Russian elections instead […]

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RUSSIALINK: “History Is Not on Putin’s Side, Says Former U.S. Ambassador; Michael McFaul believes the future of Russia is ‘normal, boring and democratic.'” – Moscow Times

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell – October 18, 2019) Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul believes President Vladimir Putin is fighting against the tide of history and that Russian society will not “tolerate disenfranchisement and oppression forever.” In an interview with The Moscow Times touching on topics from Putin through sanctions to arms treaties, Barack Obama’s former […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH AUDIO: “Former U.S. Ambassador To Russia Discusses Findings Of Mueller Report”- NPR/ Michael McFaul

Audio, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“MCFAUL: … I’ve actually been dealing with Russian trolls and Russian real people on social media since I was ambassador in 2012, and I think it just underscores how sophisticated this operation was by Russia. I still fear that a lot of Americans have underestimated both their capacity to interfere in our elections and their will to do it. And […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Former ambassador: U.S. should stop trying to make friends with Russia” – Missoula Current (Montana)/ Laura Lundquist

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“… Putin, suspecting the U.S. of trying to overthrow him, targeted McFaul for … two years. Russian state media discredited McFaul using propaganda and political harassment. … Obama pulled McFaul out. … [I]s Putin, the man who controls … Russian government and media, really so popular? McFaul isn’t so sure. … Russia is the most highly surveilled country in the […]

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AUDIO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “What does the end of the Mueller investigation mean for US-Russian relations? [interview with Michael McFaul]” – PRI/ The World staff

Audio, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Mueller found no evidence of collusion between … Trump’s campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, but left unresolved the issue of whether Trump obstructed justice by undermining the investigations …. The Kremlin said … Putin was ready to improve ties …. Peskov repeated Moscow’s denial of any interference in U.S. elections and internal affairs …. But Michael McFaul […]

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Why the ‘Reset’ Didn’t Last

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Nini Arshakuni, Angelina Flood, Natasha Yefimova-Trilling – December 8, 2019 – russiamatters.org/analysis/why-reset-didnt-last) Ten years ago this week, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton followed up on Vice President Joe Biden’s proposed “reset” in relations with Moscow by giving her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, a symbolic red button marked “RESET.” While the English version of the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Sorry, but Trump is not ‘tough on Russia’; The administration has taken some tough stances toward Moscow. Why does the president disavow them?” – Washington Post/ Michael McFaul

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“… The Trump administration has a tough policy on Russia, one that I mostly support. But Trump himself does not. For the past two years, he has consistently made it clear that he does not support his own administration’s policy toward Russia. The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy states very bluntly that ‘China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and […]

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Michael McFaul: “Not a great foreign investment promotion strategy to arrest an American without explanation. Who in their right mind would invest in Russia right now if they had a choice to invest elsewhere?” – @McFaul on twitter

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

[Arrest of American in Moscow] (Michael McFaul – Twitter – @McFaul – Jan. 2, 2019) “Not a great foreign investment promotion strategy to arrest an American without explanation. Who in their right mind would invest in Russia right now if they had a choice to invest elsewhere?” [embedded live feed of tweet should load below] Not a great foreign investment […]

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Senate Testimony of Ambassador Michael McFaul;Outside Perspectives on Russian Sanctions: Current Effectiveness and Potential for Next Steps [Excerpt]

Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

Testimony of Ambassador Michael McFaul [Excerpt] Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Professor of Political Science, and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow at Stanford University U.S. Senate Committee on Banking Outside Perspectives on Russian Sanctions: Current Effectiveness and Potential for Next Steps September 6, 2018 [PDF Full text here: https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/McFaul%20Testimony%209-6-18.pdf] In the last several years, the Russian government has taken […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “To advance almost all of our core national security and economic interests, the U.S. does not need Russia. Remember that.” – Michael McFaul/twitter

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

(Michael McFaul – Twitter @McFaul – August 12, 2018) “To advance almost all of our core national security and economic interests, the US does not need Russia. Remember that.” [embedded live feed of tweet should load below; or click here for direct link: twitter.com/McFaul/status/1028111350403411968] To advance almost all of our core national security and economic interests, the US does not […]

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NEWSLINK: “Putin wanted to interrogate me. Trump called it ‘an incredible offer.’ Why? When foreign affairs are, literally, personal.” – Washington Post/Michael McFaul

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“I thought I was done worrying about Vladimir Putin. … his proxies falsely argued that I had been sent by President Barack Obama to fund the opposition and foment revolution; that I hoped Putin would end up like Serbian autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, dislodged and imprisoned; and that I was a pedophile. …. But this month, at the Helsinki summit between […]

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NEWSLINK: “The Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki was a historic event – in the worst possible way” – Washington Post/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“As I touched down in Helsinki two days ago, I had one small hope — that the ‘summit’ between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be a historic one. During my five years serving in the Obama administration, I attended many summits, meetings and talks with Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Putin. Almost all were memorable to me, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Does Vladimir Putin Speak for the Russian People?” – New York Times Book Review/Daniel Beer

History, Soviet Union, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Putin turned directly to McFaul and berated him for trying to ruin United States-Russia relations. * * * … McFaul concluded that [Putin] was ‘paranoid,’ a man of ‘fixed and flawed views’ who ‘saw us as the enemy,’ … that so long as he ruled Russia, ‘strategic partnership was impossible.’ … [But McFaul’s] relentless focus on Putin’s individual role […]

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NEWSLINK: “Former Ambassador McFaul Talks U.S.-Russia Relations and ‘Hot Peace'” – The Washington Diplomat/Aileen Torres-Bennett/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Obama thought very similar to the way I did. There was hardly any daylight, both on substantive issues and analytic framework. …”    

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NEWSLINK: “Aggression Is a Choice; A conversation with Michael McFaul on Putin, Russia, and what the president should read” – The Weekly Standard/Adam Rubenstein

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Putin is not the only decision-maker regarding Russian foreign policy. Internally, there are bureaucratic politics, interest groups, and even economic actors who lobby the Kremlin. After 15 years in the Kremlin, however, Putin has become increasingly isolated from other foreign policy advisors and more confident in his individual talents to conduct Russian foreign policy. …”  

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Michael McFaul on Putin the Intimidator” – Los Angeles World Affairs Council

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“… The first time … McFaul met … Putin … [when] he was an assistant to the mayor of St Petersburg[,] ‘He made absolutely no impression on me …’ said McFaul. ‘I would never have predicted … that he would become President of Russia.’ … when McFaul arrived in Moscow in 2012 as … U.S. ambassador …. [a]t their very […]

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NEWSLINK: “Putin Hazed Me: How I Was Stalked, Harassed and Surveilled by Kremlin Stooges; In my first year in Moscow, I witnessed the unraveling of the U.S.-Russia Reset firsthand” – Politico/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… it became clear that my family and I were being followed. I had been in Moscow as ambassador then for less than a year. As I wrote to the head of our security team on October 7, ‘My guards informed me that I was followed today while attending my son’s soccer game. And they then kept with us as […]

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NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “John B. Hurford Memorial Lecture With Michael McFaul” – Council on Foreign Relations/Michael McFaul/David Remnick

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Videos
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“Michael McFaul provides an insider’s perspective on Russia during his time as U.S. ambassador, including his analysis of Russia’s foreign policy from the end of the cold war to the presidency of Vladimir Putin and the future of U.S.-Russia relations. * * * MCFAUL: … people who just look at Russia, they think everything in Russia is sui generis and […]

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NEWSLINK: “Who Is Responsible for the New US-Russian Cold War? A discussion of the Stephen F. Cohen-Michael McFaul debate.” – The Nation/Stephen F. Cohen

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags, 200, 1807-2007

“On May 9, at a public event jointly sponsored by Columbia University’s Harriman Institute and NYU’s Jordan Center for Advanced Russian Studies, Cohen and McFaul – a Stanford University professor and previously President Obama’s top Russia adviser in the White House and then his ambassador to Moscow – debated a crucial historical but also urgent contemporary subject:’ The New US-Russian […]

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NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “Cohen vs. McFaul – Is Russia or America to blame for the New Cold War?” – Meduza/Kevin Rothrock & Embedded YouTube Video

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Videos
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags, 200, 1807-2007

“Living in New York City, retired from academia, and unencumbered by the Washington consensus on Russia, Professor Stephen Cohen does not keep a low profile. In recent years, he has been one of America’s most vocal ‘dissidents’ when it comes to the nation’s Russia policies. On Wednesday, May 9, Cohen visited the Harriman Institute at Columbia University to debate Stanford […]

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NEWSLINK: “Michael McFaul: The smear that killed the ‘reset’; Putin needed an American enemy. He picked me.” – Washington Post/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“Michael McFaul, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a Hoover fellow at Stanford University, was the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. He is the author, most recently, of ‘From Cold War to Hot Peace.’ …”  

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NEWSWATCH EVENT VIDEO: “[Stephen Cohen and Michael McFaul Debate:] THE NEW U.S.-RUSSIAN COLD WAR – WHO IS TO BLAME? [Live Streamed, Wednesday, May 9, 5-7p.m. ET, from New York City]” – Columbia University, Harriman Institute/NYU Jordan Center

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags, 200, 1807-2007

“THE NEW U.S.-RUSSIAN COLD WAR-WHO IS TO BLAME? Columbia University, Harriman Institute/NYU Jordan Center Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 5:00pm – 7:00pm Teatro, Italian Academy (2nd Floor, 1161 Amsterdam Ave) [harriman.columbia.edu/event/new-us-russian-cold-war] … Registration is SOLD OUT. … “ Live stream: harriman.columbia.edu/event/new-us-russian-cold-war It can also be accessed directly through YouTube, here: youtube.com/watch?v=jUWAsTij9yg  “Please join The Harriman Institute and New York University’s […]

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NEWSWATCH: “The big chill: the alarming decline in U.S.-Russian relations; A candid expert account suggests little will change under the current leadership” – Financial Times/Mary Sarotte

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“Soviet-era jokes are fashionable once again in Russia. … a man walks into the headquarters of … the FSB … and says, ‘My pet parrot is missing.’ An agent responds, ‘Why are you wasting my time? Complain to the police or animal control!’ Man adds hastily, ‘Sorry, I told them already. I’m informing you because, if they find my parrot, […]

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NEWSLINK: “From Cold War to Hot Peace” – Medium/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… What happened? How did we go from toasting the Reset in Prague in 2010 to lamenting its end in Moscow just two years later? Nothing fundamental had changed in our policy toward Russia. Nor had Russia done anything abroad that might trigger new animosity — that would come later. The one obvious change between these two meetings was Russia’s leadership. Medvedev […]

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EVENT: “The New U.S.-Russian Cold War – Who is to Blame?” – A debate between Stephen F. Cohen and Michael McFaul [New York City Wednesday, May 9, 2018]

Events, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags, 200, 1807-2007

Subject: Stephen F. Cohen and Michael McFaul debate the “New U.S.-Russian Cold War” REGISTER NOW: The New U.S.-Russian Cold War – Who is to Blame? a debate between Stephen F. Cohen and Michael McFaul Wednesday, May 9, 2018 5:00pm – 7:00pm Teatro, Italian Academy (2nd Floor, 1161 Amsterdam Ave) New York Please join The Harriman Institute and New York University’s […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Michael McFaul Course Syllabus: Russia and the West [Spring 2018]” – Stanford University

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“Most agree that relations between the United States and Russia today are at one of the low points in decades. … Some attribute this current clash to decisions taken by foreign policymakers in Washington and Moscow. … cit[ing] variation in Russian-American relations – sometimes relations have been ‘good,’ other times ‘bad’ – to highlight the role of more contingent factors […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Michael @McFaul: I applaud @Twitter for making this decision ….”

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

(Michael McFaul – Twitter – @McFaul – October 27, 2017) “I applaud @Twitter for making this decision. [re: ban on RT and Sputnik advertising]” [embedded live feed of tweet should load below; or click here to jump directly to tweet] I applaud @twitter for this decision: Announcement: RT and Sputnik Advertising https://t.co/QnCHBEckD8 — Michael McFaul (@McFaul) October 27, 2017

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NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “THE PUTIN FILES – Putin’s Revenge – Michael McFaul Inteview” – PBS Frontline

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Videos
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“Michael McFaul served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014). …” [Full text/transcript, video here http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview/michael-mcfaul/]  

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NEWSWATCH @McFaul: “I constantly want to remind people that RT and Sputnik are state-owned propaganda organizations. You should too.” – Michael McFaul / Twitter

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

(Michael McFaul – @McFaul – Twitter – August 21, 2017) “I constantly want to remind people that RT and Sputnik are state-owned propaganda organizations. You should too.” [embedded live feed of tweet also should load below] I constantly want to remind people that RT and Sputnik are state-owned propaganda organizations. You should too. https://t.co/BpODfcZuyY — Michael McFaul (@McFaul) August 21, 2017

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NEWSLINK: “Why deciding to ‘move forward’ with Putin is a big mistake” – Washington Post/ Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“In his readout of the first meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praised the desire of both presidents to forget about the past — and move on. Regarding Putin’s denial of interfering in our 2016 president elections, Tillerson stated, ‘I think what the two presidents, I think rightly, focused on is how do we […]

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NEWSWATCH @McFaul Tweet: “Ok team Trump, you have to go on the record and deny this if it’s not true. …”

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

(Twitter – July 8, 2017 – Michael McFaul @McFaul) Ok team Trump, you have to go on the record and deny this if it’s not true. Putin is making Trump look like a total pushover. Push back!   Julie Pace @jpaceDCHAMBURG, Germany (AP) – Putin says he thinks Trump believes his denial of Russian meddling in US vote, but better […]

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NEWSLINK: “What Trump needs to read before meeting Putin” – Washington Post/ Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

When I worked in the White House at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2012, I wrote briefers for President Barack Obama for his “bilats” with then-President Dmitry Medvedev and then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. I have written an (unsolicited) backgrounder deliberately for President Trump; short, simple and with his stated views on Russia in mind ahead of this week’s […]

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@McFaul: “This is important. Russia has a serious, sophisticated disinformation strategy. We ignore it at our peril. “

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

[Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, @McFaul at twitter.com/mcfaul, tweets about #Russia and disinformation: embedded tweet should load below; tweet also is available at twitter.com/McFaul/status/843706148733693953] This is important. Russia has a serious, sophisticated disinformation strategy. We ignore it at our peril. https://t.co/eq15A6f6HG — Michael McFaul (@McFaul) March 20, 2017

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NEWSLINK: “Unquiet American; Putin is unlikely to be brought in from the cold, says former U.S. envoy to Moscow Michael McFaul” – Politico.eu

Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“… How does the #Putin era end? ‘When Putin is no longer in power,’ responds #McFaul. ‘And I think he’ll stay in power for as long as he can.’ A natural end to Putin’s presidency is ‘unlikely,’ he says, ‘given the kind of system he’s built around himself, that really relies on one charismatic individual at its core.’ The #Russians […]

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VIDEO: “U.S.-Russia Relations” – Michael McFaul – C-SPAN/ The George Washington University/ YouTube

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Videos
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

(C-SPAN/The George Washington University/YouTube – March 3, 2017 – c-span.org/video/?424811-1/former-ambassador-michael-mcfaul-discusses-state-usrussia-relations – youtu.be/_KpbObGoEkY) “Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul delivered a lecture on U.S.-Russia relations. He shared his observations and experiences from his years of work on the bilateral relationship, and offered his thoughts on current relations under the Trump administration.” – Click here for Transcript and C-SPAN video; video also follows […]

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NEWSLINK: “We can’t let Trump go down Putin’s path; Russia’s experience shows why Americans must act now to safeguard democratic institutions.” – Washington Post/Michael McFaul

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Barack Obama Sitting at Desk with Mike McFaul Standing Next to Him Facing Him

“Michael McFaul is director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a Hoover fellow at Stanford University, and a contributing columnist to The Post. He was previously special assistant to President Barack Obama at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2012 and U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014.”  

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RUSSIALINK Russia Direct/Michael McFaul: “Steve Bannon, the Grey Cardinal in the White House: Good or bad for Russia?”

Newslinks
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

“Michael McFaul is a former ambassador to Russia and the Director of Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. This article is revised and updated version of a blogpost that originally appeared on the Echo of Moscow website in Russian. Russia Direct republishes the article with the permission of Michael McFaul and Echo of Moscow.”

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NEWSLINK The Hill: “Former US ambassador to Russia goes after WikiLeaks in tweetstorm”

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on Monday slammed WikiLeaks in a series of tweets in which he called for people to stop referring to WikiLeaks as a “news organization.” “They are a foreign agent, supported by Russia, publishing stolen data,” McFaul tweeted on Monday.

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NEWSWATCH: Michael McFaul and Barack Obama share insights about Russia

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Putin and Obama with U.S. and Russian Flags

Michael McFaul on Twitter, Sept. 9, 2016: If Obama seized control of Fox, allowed only supporters in Congress, closed the NRA & arrested Trump, he too might have 80% approval rating — Michael McFaul (@McFaul) September 9, 2016 Barack Obama, Speech in Philadelphia, Sept. 13, 2016 “The interviewer asks him [Trump] ‘well why do you support this guy? ‘He’s a […]

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Former U.S. Ambassadors Spar Over Russia, NATO, Ukraine

NATO, Ukraine, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
American Flag and Partial View of U.S. Capitol Dome, adapted from image at aoc.gov

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – WASHINGTON – June 15, 2016) Two former U.S. ambassadors to Russia clashed over past and future assessments of relations between Washington and Moscow and which country bears the greater responsibility for deepening bilateral tensions. Michael McFaul and Jack Matlock delivered their remarks at a June 14 hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Former U.S. diplomat criticizes Canada’s ‘weakness’ on Russia” [Michael McFaul] – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Canada, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

… Obama’s former ambassador to Russia says Canada is showing a ‘sign of weakness’ by not pushing ahead with a promised U.S.-style Magnitsky Act that would punish Russians deemed to be human-rights violators with visa bans and asset freezes. … McFaul, who served as the U.S. envoy to Moscow from 2012 to 2014 and before that was … Obama’s special […]

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NEWSWATCH: “‘But I love Russia, and I love Russians’; Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul speaks to Meduza”

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

First … it is true that the United States … from the very beginning, has had allies that are autocratic regimes. Our first … was France, a monarchy and a dictatorship. … Without the French, we would have lost the war against the British. … then there was the French Revolution, and there was a debate … about whether we […]

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VIDEO: What the Litvinenko assassination accusation means for the Kremlin

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
file photo

PBS interviews former Ambassador Mike McFaul and Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times about a British investigative report into the assassination of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, including implications for the Russian government and Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Video below; click here for original post and transcript. MICHAEL MCFAUL…: … it’s very important, even if nothing more comes […]

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Seven powerful politicians from around the world that speak Russian

Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

Russian is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn yet there are many influential politicians around the world that have taken it up. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – NATALIA MASHINISTOVA, SPECIAL TO RBTH – January 12, 2016) [Videos with Michael McFaul and Condoleezza Rice here: rbth.com/arts/lifestyle/2016/01/12/7-powerful-politicians-from-around-the-world-that-speak-russian_558729] Most Russian-speaking politicians live in former Soviet republics and other […]

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Hillary Clinton’s Role in Losing Russia

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – August 10, 2015) Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, and the Russia expert Kathryn Stoner say U.S. foreign policy has had a relatively neutral effect in determining Russia’s course. In an article published last week, they argued that President Vladimir Putin’s virulent anti-Americanism was driven by domestic, tactical considerations, allowing us […]

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McFaul: Russian Enmity Toward U.S. Fueled by Own Weakness

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

(RFE/RL – August 5, 2015) Russia, and the Kremlin in particular, has an unhealthy and misguided obsession with U.S. power and intentions, and this means badly strained relations between Washington and Moscow won’t improve anytime soon, former U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul told RFE/RL in an interview. McFaul, who was a chief architect of President Barack Obama’s first-term “reset” with Russia […]

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NATO will never invade Russia – McFaul

Military, NATO, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
NATO Meeting file photo

(Interfax – June 28, 2015) Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has said NATO is not planning to invade Russia and there is no need for the Russian leadership to deploy S-400 air defense systems on its Western borders. “NATO will never invade Russia,” he twitted on Sunday. The former ambassador said the Russian leadership is groundlessly concerned about […]

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NEWSLINK Daily Bruin: Former ambassador speaks at Anderson as part of lecture series. (Michael McFaul)

Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Ambassador Mike McFaul file photo

A former U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation argued domestic Russian politics are the main cause of renewed tensions between the United States and the Russian Federation at a lecture at the Anderson School of Management Tuesday

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