The Kremlin Strikes Back: Russia and the West After Crimea's Annexation

Description

America and Europe responded to Russia's annexation of Crimea on March 18, 2014 by discarding their policy of East-West partnership and reverting intermittently to a policy of cold war. The West believes that this on-again/off-again second Cold War will end with Russia's capitulation because it is not a sufficiently great power, while the Kremlin's view is just the opposite; Vladimir Putin believes that if Moscow has strategic patience, Russia can recover some of the geostrategic losses that it incurred when the Soviet Union collapsed. The Kremlin Strikes Back scrutinizes the economic prospects of both sides, including factors like military industrial prowess, warfighting capabilities, and national resolve, addressing particularly hot-button issues such as increasing military spending, decreasing domestic spending, and other policies. Stephen Rosefielde aims to objectively gauge future prospects and the wisdom of employing various strategies to address Russian developments.

Steven Rosefielde is Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 1997 he was inducted into the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RAEN). His recent publications include Russia in the 21st Century: The Prodigal Superpower (2005), Masters of Illusion: American Leadership in a New Age (2007), Russian Economy from Lenin to Putin (2007), Russia since 1980: Wrestling with Westernization (2008), and Transformation and Crisis in Russia, Ukraine, Central and Eastern Europe: Challenges and Prospects (2016).

'Professor Rosefielde has given us a carefully researched, well-informed, and analytically rigorous study which shows that Russia is economically and militarily stronger than the West concedes. He explains the political situations which make for a formula for a new cold war and resulting piecemeal humiliation of the West. No one else writing about Russia offers this provocative and significant perspective.' Quinn Mills, Harvard University, Massachusetts 'Once again Steven Rosefielde undermines the sacred cows of conventional wisdom about Russia and challenges us to reconsider our ideas about Putin's system. Whether or not we agree or disagree with Rosefielde's arguments, we must reckon with them first, as they certainly will assault our intellectual complacency. A provocative and forcefully argued study.' Stephen Blank, Senior Fellow, American Foreign Policy Council 'This volume examines the strategies and prospects of both Russia and the West visa-vis their conflict over Crimea. While the West is said to believe that Russia's weaknesses will eventually lead it to capitulate, Russia is said to believe that a patient approach will allow it to recover its geostrategic prominence.' Survival: Global Politics and Strategy