Articles by Ariel Cohen

Security

Russian War Games in Black Sea

Ariel Cohen | April 12, 2013

On March 28, Vladimir Putin, returning home from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) Durban summit, ordered Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu to mobilize… Read More

 

President Obama Should Uphold the Magnitsky Act’s Legislative Intent

Ariel Cohen | April 08, 2013

Next week, the Obama Administration faces an important foreign policy decision in U.S. relations with Russia—how to champion human rights and the rule of law…. Read More

 

Russia Conducts Unannounced Searches of Human Rights Groups

Ariel Cohen | March 26, 2013

Russian law enforcement agents have conducted hundreds of unannounced searches of Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Authorities have searched 600 organizations across the country since last… Read More

Security

How Not to Negotiate with Russia: The Missile Defense Fiasco

Ariel Cohen | March 19, 2013

Russia’s objections to U.S. missile defense development and deployment have been on the agenda of consecutive American Administrations starting with Ronald Reagan in the 1980s…. Read More

 

London Mayor Decries Posthumous Trial of Russian Whistleblower

Ariel Cohen | March 13, 2013

London mayor Boris Johnson published an op-ed Monday in which he decried the posthumous trial of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. Johnson called Magnitsky “a martyr trampled… Read More

 

60 Years After His Death, Stalin Haunts Russia

Ariel Cohen | March 05, 2013

March 5 marks the 60th anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s death. One of the most infamous leaders of the 20thcentury, Stalin remains a controversial figure among… Read More

 

Mr. Xi Goes to Moscow: For China’s Leader, It’s Russia First

Ariel Cohen | March 01, 2013

China’s new president, Xi Jinping, will make his first official foreign visit to Russia this month. Xi’s decision to make his first visit abroad to… Read More

 

Russia: Putin Loyalist Going Down in Flames

Ariel Cohen | February 19, 2013

Vladimir Pekhtin, chairman of the Duma Ethics Committee, hid undisclosed luxury properties in Florida valued at nearly $2 million while proclaiming his anti-American credentials, according… Read More

 

Russian “Grandma of Human Rights” Nominated for Nobel Prize

Ariel Cohen | February 07, 2013

This week, Senator Benjamin Cardin (D–MD) nominated the “grandma” of the Russian human rights movement, Lyudmila Alekseeva, for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. Cardin’s nomination… Read More

 

Dead Man on Trial: Russian Whistleblower Tried After Death

Ariel Cohen | January 28, 2013

The Russian government is set to posthumously try the brutally murdered whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky for tax fraud. While working for Hermitage Capital, formerly one of… Read More

 

Russia’s Throwback Anti-Americanism

Ariel Cohen | January 25, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating is at 62 percent, its “lowest in more than 12 years,” according to Russian survey group Levada. While 62… Read More

 

Russian Orphan Adoption Ban Protests May Be Harbingers of Instability

Ariel Cohen | January 15, 2013

On Sunday, the Russian New Year’s Eve (in the old-style Julian calendar), tens of thousands of Muscovites poured into the city center to protest the… Read More

 

By Banning U.S. Adoption of Russian Orphans, Russia Shot Itself in the Foot

Ariel Cohen | January 07, 2013

Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously condemned Russia’s new draconian law—whose victims are Russian orphans and Russian democracy. Around Christmas last year, the Russian Duma… Read More

Economy

A Rare Showing of Bipartisanship

Ariel Cohen | December 07, 2012

Yesterday, in a rare showing of bipartisanship, the lame-duck Senate passed the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal Act of 2012 by a vote of 92–4…. Read More

Economy

Crucial Vote Today on Human Rights Bill

Ariel Cohen | December 05, 2012

Today, the lame-duck Senate is considering the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal Act of 2012. The bill’s language contains the language known as the Magnitsky… Read More

 

Magnitsky Act Promises to Punish Human Rights Abuse, Open Trade

Ariel Cohen | November 19, 2012

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that included language—called the Magnitsky Act—that for the first time punishes Russian officials implicated in serious… Read More

 

The Downfall of Russia’s Defense Minister

Ariel Cohen | November 06, 2012

On November 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked Defense Minister Anatoly E. Serdyukov, who has held the post since 2007. Serdyukov had overseen the largest… Read More

Security

Anti-Terrorism Operation in North Caucasus Exposes Russia’s Vulnerabilities

Ariel Cohen | October 23, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA — The Kremlin’s control over the North Caucasus region has come under scrutiny as a massive counterterrorism operation in the area got… Read More

Security

50 Years Later: The Soviets’ Reckless Overreach in the Cuban Missile Crisis

Ariel Cohen | October 18, 2012

On October 16–28, the world is marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a standoff between the United States and the former Soviet… Read More

Security

Russian Technology Espionage Exposed

Ariel Cohen | October 05, 2012

On October 3, the FBI reported it had charged 11 people with running a military technology procurement network based in the United States and Russia… Read More

 

Georgian Elections: The Nation’s Ultimate Test

Ariel Cohen | October 02, 2012

BAKU, Azerbaijan — Georgia’s governing United National Movement (UNM), led by President Mikheil Saakashvili, and the opposition Georgian Dream coalition, led by the billionaire Bidzina… Read More

Security

News Flash for the Pentagon: U.S.–Russian “Reset” Failed

Ariel Cohen | September 20, 2012

On Wednesday, Under Secretary of Defense Jim Miller argued that the Obama Administration’s “reset” policy with Russia had succeeded. According to Miller, rapproachment with Russia… Read More

 

Russia to Create “Son of Satan” Missile

Ariel Cohen | September 13, 2012

Last week, General Sergei Karakayev, Commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, announced plans for a new heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to go into production… Read More

 

Crane Number One: Putin’s Bizarre Flight

Ariel Cohen | September 07, 2012

Vladimir Putin donned a white cloak, helmet and a crane’s beak and climbed into an ultra-light plane to lead a flock of endangered red cranes… Read More

Security

North Caucasus Suicide Bombing Highlights Russia’s Islamist Terrorism Problem

Ariel Cohen | August 21, 2012

The suicide bombing on August 19 in the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia in Russia is a tragic reminder of increasing extremist violence in this… Read More

 

Russia and the World Trade Organization: Congress Should Not Sacrifice Human Rights

Ariel Cohen | July 27, 2012

Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 6156, the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal Act of 2012, by voice vote with only one… Read More

 

Duma to Crack Down Against Foreign-Funded NGOs

Ariel Cohen | July 02, 2012

Last Friday, Russia’s Kommersant, a leading newspaper, reported that United Russia, the ruling political party, is about to submit a bill in the Duma that… Read More

 

Magnitsky Act: Congress Should Uphold America’s Commitment to Human Rights

Ariel Cohen | June 29, 2012

On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relation Committee unanimously passed the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which would ban Russian officials involved in Magnitsky’s… Read More

 

Congressional Hearing Highlights the Need to Pass Magnitsky, PNTR to Russia

Ariel Cohen | June 22, 2012

Yesterday and today, the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee held hearings on Russia’s abysmal human rights record and its looming accession… Read More

 

Dialogue of the Deaf: Obama and Putin at the G-20 Meeting

Ariel Cohen | June 18, 2012

Today, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting at the G-20 summit in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This meeting is likely will… Read More