The Kremlin Strikes Back

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).