Abstract
Examines the collapse of the Soviet Union and the future of United States policy towards the region.
Description
In December of 1991 the Soviet Union simply dissolved itself. The disintegration, which occurred without massive bloodshed or organized opposition from hard-line Soviet institutions like the Army or KGB, heralded a new age of international relations, and brought the Cold War to its definitive close. However, the sudden series of events leading to the downfall of the Soviet Union caught the United States off guard, leaving policy makers rushing to develop a coherent long-term Russia policy. With the emergence of 15 new unstable republics and the possibility of loose nuclear weapons, the security of the United States was by no means assured even in the aftermath of the Cold War. In this episode host Peter Krogh and guest Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Carter and scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discuss the role of the United States in the post-Soviet republics, the U.S.'s response to the collapse, and the future of Russia - will it become a rational, westward looking state, or will it try to regain its imperial ambitions and revive itself as a threat to the west?
Location
Russia; Former Soviet Union;
