Sergei Khrushchev, son of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and a senior fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute, writes and lectures on Russian economic and political reforms. Against the backdrop of Vice President Joe Biden’s recent visit to Moscow, he talked with McClatchy-Tribune foreign-affairs columnist John C. Bersia.

Jack Mendelsohn, a former senior Foreign Service officer, a member of the SALT II and START I delegations and a former deputy director of the Arms Control Association, discussed the new START treaty with foreign-affairs columnist John C. Bersia.

In the aftermath of the Moscow subway bombings that killed or injured more than 100 people — punctuated by deadly subsequent attacks in Russia’s North Caucasus region — questions proliferate:
Who were the perpetrators? What were their goals? Are the incidents connected? Do the bombings portend a resurgence of terrorist violence in Russia? Will Prime [...]

WASHINGTON — As I made my way from one national-security discussion to another, the conversation never strayed far from an imposing topic: the 21st century’s emerging or renascent powers. Whether Americans like it or not, they must share influence with several countries that have risen in prominence, notably China, India and Russia.

Has Russia become dangerous, adversarial and increasingly undemocratic?

Among the most courageous, truth-seeking figures of the past century, Alexander Solzhenitsyn stood particularly tall. Although he succumbed to age and illness this week, the Nobel laureate left behind an impressive body of work that offers unending inspiration.
Indeed, Solzhenitsyn’s observations about tyranny and abuse are needed more than ever. Tyrants and abusers loom in all [...]

Similar to transplantology enthusiast Vladimir Demikhov’s two-headed dog experiments, Russia’s political system has lurched in the direction of a curiosity with Dmitry Medvedev’s election as president. But is the team of Medvedev and outgoing President Vladimir Putin really a power duo, as some have suggested?
My belief is that the pair is more like one of [...]

Two ballot-box disappointments had loomed in recent days: a vote in support of proposed constitutional changes in Venezuela and Russian parliamentary elections in favor of President Vladimir Putin. Fortunately, only one of them turned out badly – Moscow’s. Venezuelans won, for now.

An official U.S. intelligence report about the “return” of al-Qaeda has sparked considerable worry, echoing the concerns of those who had never stopped paying attention to the rebounding terrorist group.
Nearly six years after Sept. 11, it stands to reason that al-Qaeda would have regrouped and drawn strength from events such as the conflict in Iraq. [...]