Last winter, a wave of mass demonstrations suddenly broke the surface calm of Russian politics.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has been gripped by a devastating population crisis almost unprecedented during peacetime.

President Viktor Yanukovych has led Ukraine, no stranger to crisis, into yet another round of turmoil.

Too often over the last decades, policymakers in Washington have viewed Moscow's resistance to U.S. policies through the lens of psychology.

Moscow would like to trade its cooperation on a range of international issues for technology and investment, both of which it needs for domestic growth and stability.

In today's Russia, officers in the country's security agencies -- especially the FSB -- wield great influence over Russia's political life, foreign policy, and economic interests.

A pernicious mix of heavy-handed rule, corrupt governance, high unemployment, and militant Islam has reignited the Russian North Caucasus.

On becoming president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych immediately took actions that undermined democracy and aligned Ukraine closely with Russia.

NATO would run a strategic risk by admitting Russia, but the Atlantic alliance is actually running a greater strategic risk by excluding it.

The magisterial Cambridge History of the Cold War views the Cold War as an undifferentiated chunk of history.

Today, Russia has more to gain by cooperating with the world's major powers than by opposing them.

As it redesigns U.S. policy toward Russia, the Obama administration needs to set far more ambitious goals than it has so far -- it needs to start a comprehensive strategic dialogue.

The recent deterioration in relations between Russia and Ukraine should be of great concern to the West.

The August war over South Ossetia has rekindled a superpower rivalry and showed the West that Moscow no longer heeds multilateral institutions.

The next president will have to reassess the U.S.-Russian relationship and find the right balance between pushing back and cooperating.

Whatever the economic gains under Putin, they would have been greater under a democratic regime.

U.S.-Russian relations are deteriorating rapidly. Misguided and arrogant U.S. policies since the end of the Cold War have fueled resentment in Russia, and Vladimir Putin's increasing defiance is inflaming the West. But Washington and Moscow need not be adversaries. Both sides must act soon to avert renewed confrontation.

Russia's imperial ambitions did not end with the fall of the Soviet Union. The Kremlin has returned to expansionism, trying to recapture great-power status at the expense of its neighbors, warns one of Ukraine's most prominent politicians. The United States and Europe must counter with a strong response -- one that keeps Russia in check without sparking a new Cold War.