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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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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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.

Leonid Kishkovsky, director of external affairs and interchurch relations for the Orthodox Church in America, leads a conversation on the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin, and the standing of religious minorities in Russia.

Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov talks finance policy for the next government of Russia, including budgetary and fiscal issues and priorities for APEC and G20 in 2012.

This meeting was part of the C. Peter McColough series on International Economics.

On the eve of the Russian elections, Masha Gessen, journalist and author of The Man Without A Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, and Stephen Sestanovich, CFR's George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies, sat down to discuss Putin's strategy and public response.

Leon Aron, Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., and Stephen Sestanovich assess recent demonstrations of public discontent in the Russian streets and discuss the future of the country, its leaders, and U.S.-Russia relations.

Stephen Sestanovich, CFR's George F. Kennan senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies, discusses Russia's upcoming election and its outcomes.

Russia's December 4 parliamentary vote has prompted mass demonstrations over allegations of electoral fraud. The protests also stem from public frustration with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's decision to run again for president in March. CFR senior fellow Stephen Sestanovich says "[E]ven if the [presidential] election doesn't go against [Putin], there's a potential here for changing the atmosphere and rules of Russian politics in a fundamental way." Listen to Sestanovich as he discusses the elections and public demonstrations.

Russian deputy prime minister Sergey B. Ivanov discusses the recent advances in U.S.-Russia relations, including the bilateral presidential commission.

Opposition party leader, Mikhail Kasyanov, discusses the challenges Russia faces with the current regime, as well as the need for democratic reform.

Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin discusses the future of transportation in Russia and the effects that the global recession has had on the country.

Listen to experts discuss U.S.-Russia relations, NATO enlargement, and Russian relations within Europe.

Listen to experts discuss U.S.-Russia relations, including Iranian nuclear talks and regional security concerns.