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.

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."

FDR Treasury official Harry Dexter White was the leading architect of the Bretton Woods international monetary and financial system. But he was also a vital agent for Soviet intelligence in the 1930s and '40s. This article brings to bear startling new archival evidence to illuminate his motives.

This act (formally known as On Sanctions for Individuals Violating Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of the Citizens of the Russian Federation) bans U.S. citizens involved in human rights violations from entering, conducting business, working with non-profits in Russia, and from adopting children who are Russian citizens. President Putin signed this act into law on December 26, 2012.

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.

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

This CFR Issue Tracker looks at the United States' relationship with Russia and presidential candidates' stances on the issue.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is facing the question of finding a middle ground between confrontation and capitulation with Russia.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has asserted that Russia is America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe;" a claim that has been heavily criticized, but may still be true.

Moscow's anti-Putin protesters have captured the world's attention. But does their message resonate outside the big cities?

Gregory Bovt writes that Russia is a low priority on the list of foreign policy issues for both Democratic and Republican candidates and advises avoiding excessive anti-Russian or anti-U.S. rhetoric from both sides.

Russia finally joins the WTO, but Charles A. Kupchan says that political tensions between Washington and Moscow still trouble commercial relations between the U.S. and Russia.

The trial of a punk band in Russia reflects the Putin regime's hard-line opinions on political dissent, and those views are shaping its foreign policy, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

Russian President Putin, mistrustful of Western motives, is likely to resist pressure to commit to stronger sanctions against Syria's government, says expert Dimitri Simes.