Center for Russia and Eurasia
RAND pioneered research on the former Soviet Union. Today, the RAND Center for Russia and Eurasia (CRE) analyzes the foreign, defense, and economic policies of Russia and the Newly Independent States and assists political and economic change within them. Researchers examine underlying social and demographic trends in the region and the implications of developments within the former Soviet Union for international security.
A key facet of this collaboration is the RAND Business Leaders Forum, a membership organization that facilitates in-depth discussions among leading corporate executives from Russia, the United States, and Europe of strategic opportunities and challenges in the development of economic and business relations.
Russia's proposal for joint missile defense represents a potential game-changer for the Kremlin's relations with the West, writes Andrew Weiss.
As observers laud the new START treaty for bringing back a framework that will make substantial U.S. and Russian nuclear reductions possible, they must recognise that lowering numbers is not the same as stripping nuclear weapons of their values, writes Olga Oliker.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Ukraine on July 4-5 provides an important opportunity to reassure Ukrainians that the U.S. remains committed to Ukraine's sovereignty and democratic evolution, write Taras Kuzio and F. Stephen Larrabee.
Vice President Joseph Biden's trip to eastern Europe this week provides an important opportunity to reassure Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania that the U.S. is committed to their security. This reassurance is needed, especially in the wake of the decision to cancel the deployment of missile defense installations in the region, write F. Stephen Larrabee and Christopher S. Chivvis.
Obama's decision to alter course on missile defense was the right choice. Those who call it a capitulation to Russia are wrong, and it plays into Russia's hands to portray the decision in that manner. But the change of course will have to be complemented with more appropriate initiatives, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.
Critics of the Bush administration missile defense plans for Central Europe have charged that the U.S. would be deploying defenses that did not work against a threat that did not exist. It would also defend countries not threatened by Iran, while leaving Iran's more likely victims entirely uncovered, writes James Dobbins.
Soft Power, Hard Power, and Counter- insurgency: The Early Soviet Experience in Central Asia and Its Implications 
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