Twenty-one years ago I met a young man and his mother during my first trip to the Soviet Union. They had traveled a long distance to attend a seminar where I was a presenter. At the end of the first day he presented me with a bouquet of red carnations and said, “You are the [...]
Archive for the ‘US-Russia Relations’ Category
The US-Russia Reset: What’s Working and Challenges that Remain
Posted in US-Russia Relations, tagged Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation, START Treaty, Steven Pifer, US-Russia Relations on November 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Last week FRAEC hosted Ambassador Steven Pifer, Brookings Institution, in Seattle as our annual meeting speaker. His topic was “Twenty-one Months of Reset: Where it’s Working; the Challenges that Remain.” When we invited him we really didn’t think that the START Treaty would be at risk, but as people know who have been watching the debate [...]
Russian Silicon Valley in Skolkovo?
Posted in Business, Modernization, US-Russia Relations, tagged Innovation, modernization, Skolkovo, US Russia on October 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There has been much in the news lately about Skolkovo, Russia’s answer to Silicon Valley. In a few days California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, with a delegation of U.S. venture capitalists, will arrive in Moscow and tour Skolkovo as a follow-up to President Medvedev’s trip to Silicon Valley last June. The Governor’s trip will no doubt [...]
A Local Perspective on Energy Efficiency
Posted in Business, US-Russia Relations, tagged energy efficiency, partnerships, Russian Far East, US Russia on September 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Some months ago I wrote a post on “Moving to Energy Efficiency” where I cited a report from the United Nations that urged the Russian government to put a real emphasis on energy efficiency on all levels of government. This report, and others, have cited the various obstacles the government faces in accomplishing the goal [...]
Russian Spies and the US-Russia Relationship
Posted in US-Russia Relations, tagged Russia, Spies, US-Russia Relations on July 9, 2010 | 1 Comment »
I hesitate to add to the already rampant coverage of the Russian spies that were swapped today in Vienna, but as someone who cares about our bilateral relationship, I feel a need to weigh in on the topic. True this is the largest swap of spies in decades and therefore deserves to be observed and [...]
Moving to Energy Efficiency
Posted in Business, US-Russia Relations, tagged energy efficiency, Russia, US Russia on April 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There has been much in the press lately about Russia’s need and interest in becoming more energy-efficient. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) just published a report on the “Energy Sector and Sustainable Development.” It is comprehensive report (all 170 pages), which lays out the human and economic impacts if Russia continues as an energy [...]
Russia Closes Last Plutonium Reactor
Posted in US-Russia Relations, tagged nuclear reactors, Russia, US Russian on April 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
At 4am on April 15th, Russia closed down its last plutonium plant in Zheleznogorsk. Although this came at the end of a very successful nonproliferation meeting in Washington, DC this closure has been in the works for at least a decade. I know Zheleznogorsk well. FRAEC worked with the Department of Energy for seven years [...]
Celebrating 20 Years
Posted in US-Russia Relations, tagged Business, Community, Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation, Russia, US-Russia Relations, Vladimir Pozner on November 22, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Last Thursday night, November 19th, the Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation celebrated our 20th Anniversary with an evening gala featuring keynote speaker Vladimir Pozner. It was a very successful event by all accounts. Pozner’s remarks focused on the importance and the challenge of truly building a partnership between Russia and America. It was a [...]
