• Research
  • Politika
  • About
Carnegie Russia Eurasia center logoCarnegie lettermark logo
  • Donate
U.S.-Russian Relations: The Case for an Upgrade
Report

U.S.-Russian Relations: The Case for an Upgrade

Highly touted in both Washington and Moscow as a "strategic partnership" in 2001, the relationship has drifted and the gap between glowing rhetoric and thin substance has grown. When major policy differences emerge, as over war in Iraq in 2002-2003 and recently over Ukraine, all too easily the U.S.-Russian relationship spirals into "crisis," and the threat of a "new Cold War" looms.

Link Copied
By Andrew Kuchins, Vyacheslav A. Nikonov, Dmitri Trenin
Published on Jan 26, 2005

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)

"The recent sharp dispute over the Ukrainian presidential elections vividly illustrated the fragile and shallow nature of the U.S.-Russian relationship. Highly touted in both Washington and Moscow as a "strategic partnership" in 2001, the relationship has drifted and the gap between glowing rhetoric and thin substance has grown. When major policy differences emerge, as over war in Iraq in 2002-2003 and recently over Ukraine, all too easily the U.S.-Russian relationship spirals into "crisis," and the threat of a "new Cold War" looms."

Click on the link above for full text of this Carnegie report in English and Russian.

About the Authors
Andrew C. Kuchins is Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center. He conducts research and writes widely on Russian foreign and security policy. He is a member of the governing council of the Program on Basic Research and Higher Education in Russia, the advisory committee of Washington Profile, and the editorial board of the journal, Demokratizatsiya.

Vyacheslav Nikonov is the President of the Polity Foundation in Moscow. He is the author of  "Contemporary Russian Politics" (2003), "The Age of Change: Russia of the 1990s through Conservative's Eyes" (1999), "Conservative Manifesto" (1994), "The Republicans: From Nixon to Reagan" (1988), "Iran-Contra Affair" (1987), "The Republicans : From Eisenhower to Nixon" (1984).

Dmitri Trenin is Deputy Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, where he also co-chairs the Program on Foreign and Security Policy. He is the author of numerous articles and books on Russian security issues, including, most recently, Russia’s Restless Frontier: The Chechnya Factor in Post-Soviet Russia (Carnegie, 2004)

About the Authors

Andrew Kuchins

Former Senior Associate and Director, Russian & Eurasian Program

Vyacheslav A. Nikonov

Polity Foundation

Dmitri Trenin

Former Director, Carnegie Moscow Center

Trenin was director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2008 to early 2022.

Authors

Andrew Kuchins
Former Senior Associate and Director, Russian & Eurasian Program
Andrew Kuchins
Vyacheslav A. Nikonov
Polity Foundation
Dmitri Trenin
Former Director, Carnegie Moscow Center

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)
CaucasusRussiaPolitical ReformDemocracyEconomyMilitaryForeign PolicyNuclear PolicyNuclear Energy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia Is Exporting Its Fuel Crisis to Central Asia

    When faced with fuel shortages in the past, Central Asian governments could always count on additional supplies from Moscow. That safety net no longer exists.

      Galiya Ibragimova

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    What Do the Hacked Messages of ‘Putin’s Goddaughter’ Ksenia Sobchak Reveal About Russian Politics?

    Reading the purported correspondence of celebrity Ksenia Sobchak sheds light on her role within the system, and how journalism and politics function in Putin’s Russia.   

      Vladislav Gorin

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia Is Not Even a Contender in the Global AI Race

    When political power is concentrated in the hands of a small circle of people, a country invariably ends up with technological stagnation.

      Aleksei Kiselev

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia Is Approaching a Political Crossroads

    Two divergent trends—Putin’s hardline vision of how to prosecute the war in Ukraine, and a growing desire for change in Russia—could tear the regime apart. 

      Tatiana Stanovaya

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Control Above Reform: What’s Behind Ukraine’s Government and Security Reshuffle?

    Ultimately, Zelensky sided neither with the reform camp nor with the military establishment as such, but with political control.

      Balázs Jarábik

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Carnegie Russia Eurasia logo, white
  • Research
  • Politika
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.