Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Western media, many Russia scholars, politicians who are not in power, and much of the public see Putin moving Russia further away from democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as they are understood in the West. How can the EU forge a set of common values with Russia in order to further the bilateral relationship and better understand Russia's backslide from democracy?
Whoever wins the Ukrainian election, Russian president Vladimir Putin is a clear loser. Putin has suffered a serious setback because of the way he tried to deal with his most important neighbor. Putin's behavior has weakened Russia's influence in strategic Ukraine and damaged the Russian president's reputation in the West.
Ukraine poses a challenge for the West, for Russia and for the entire post-Soviet zone. Depending on events, a group of transitional societies - Russia among them - will either be pushed toward new transformations or will try to seal themselves up in their current condition. So, what are the challenges?
Although the United States and Europe share in interest in promoting political reform in the Middle East, they have not yet worked out whether they can work productively together on this task. Recent efforts to forge joint initiatives have demonstrated a tendency to devolve into lowest common denominator approaches that generate only lukewarm commitment.
Lipman contrasts the the strength of political involvement in Ukraine to nearly apathetic Russian citizens and Putin's semi-authoritarian rule. She also addresses Putin's miscalculation of the outcome of the Ukrainian elections, and its implications for Russia.