With concise historical analysis and forward-looking prescriptions, Pathways to Freedom offers an authoritative and accessible look at what countries must do to build durable and prosperous democracies—and what the United States and others can do to help.

Isobel Coleman and Terra Lawson-Remer share seven lessons from their new book, Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions.

The so-called "BRICS"—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—are a group of countries that have enjoyed relatively fast economic growth and increased political influence. Russia's economy used to occupy the middle tier of the BRICS, but today many Russians worry that it is dropping to the bottom of the group.

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Syria, arms control, and economic ties are likely to be the focus of the Putin-Obama meeting in Northern Ireland, where both sides are hoping to set a new tone for the relationship, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

Anya Schmemann remembers life under surveillance in the Soviet Union in light of the recent U.S. embassy staffer's explusion from Moscow.

Alexey Malashenko, co-chair of the Carnegie Moscow Center's religion, society, and security program, leads a conversation on the history of religious tension and the current relationship between Moscow and the Caucasus, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

New plans for another global summit on the Syrian crisis represent modest progress, but the real question is whether the Kremlin is willing to withdraw support for the Assad regime, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held this press conference after their meeting on May 7, 2013, focused primarily on U.S.-Russian cooperation in regards to Syria.

Poland's minister of foreign affairs speaks with Foreign Affairs about his country's history, its future, and its place in Europe.

The current nasty atmosphere between Russia and the United States goes beyond one or two disputed issues and will be difficult to improve. There have been regular spikes of tension in the U.S.-Russia relationship for the last fifteen years, and they will likely continue.

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Moscow and Washington share a number of significant interests that require cooperation, despite heightened bilateral tensions over human rights issues, says former U.S ambassador Jack F. Matlock, Jr.

Russia today may have less influence in the Middle East than previously, but it continues to have a stake in the region's stability and sees it as an area in which it has important national interests, often at variance with U.S. goals and objectives.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry released this list on April 13, 2013, in response to the U.S. Treasury April 12 sanctions barring certain Russian citizens barred from entering the United States under the Magnitsky Act.

The recent announcement of a BRICS development bank raised many questions. Isobel Coleman writes about the potential structure and purpose of the BRICS development bank and its implications for international development and the global economy.

Joshua Kurlantzick adapts part of his new book, Democracy in Retreat:The Revolt of the Middle Class and the Worldwide Decline of Representative Government for the Wall Street Journal.

"From bizarre border policies and the wholesale deportation of ethnic groups to the mass importation of ethnic Russians to various regions, Stalin's policies created or aggravated conflicts that remain central to understanding Eurasia today."

This act grants permanent normal trade relations with Russia and was signed into law on December 14, 2012. See also the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. The U.S. Treasury Department releases sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, which bans specific Russian citizens from entering the United States. The Russian Foreign Ministry recently released a list in response, banning specific U.S. citizens from entering Russia.

The passage of a new trade bill that takes aim at Russia's human rights record could complicate the Obama administration's efforts to improve U.S-Russian relations, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

Frank G. Klotz observes that the United States and Russia have been at loggerheads lately. Thus, a recent bit of bilateral cooperation in Antarctica comes as welcome news.

Sebastian Mallaby argues that microeconomic struggles are tarnishing the macroeconomic success of the BRICs.