The United States vs. Russia, 2009-2019

Eurasia remains a zone of confrontation between the United States and Russia. Over the last decade, this confrontation has reached the Middle East, and, extending through Central Asia to China and points further afield, it has acquires global dimensions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Eurasia and the territories on Russia's periphery acquired increased geopolitical importance. After a decade of euphoria at what seemed to be new freedoms and another decade adjusting to new realities, the last ten years have witnessed a struggle between Putin's Russia and America of Cold War proportions. Gradually, Moscow redefined its geopolitical priorities and reclaimed a sphere of influence over the newly independent countries of Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and has projected power into Ukraine and the three Caucasian republics. This is now a battleground between Russia and the United States. Since the end of the Cold War, relations between Washington and Moscow fluctuated from open and amicable to cool and suspicious. Presently, they seem to be contradictory and difficult to grasp, though it is certain that Russia is doing everything to keep the "Near Abroad" under its control while harassing American interests globally wherever it can. As of 2019, Russia has just won a new battle in Syria that may reconfigure the geopolitical balance of the entire Middle East. What we need the most in this situation is honest and competent leaders capable of wrestling with politics as well as with ethical and moral issues that both influence and reflect international politics.