Robert Service: Putin's Russia: Threat Or Opportunity? | Hoover Virtual Policy Briefing

Recorded June 09, 2020, 11AM PST

Robert Service discusses Putin's Russia: Threat Or Opportunity?

The Hoover Institution presents an online virtual briefing series on pressing policy issues, including health care, the economy, democratic governance, and national security. Briefings will include thoughtful and informed analysis from our top scholars.

ABOUT THE FELLOW
Robert Service, a noted Russian historian and political commentator, is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford. His research interests concern Russian history and politics in all its aspects, from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Service was awarded the 2009 Duff Cooper Prize for his biography Trotsky (Harvard University Press, 2009).

[Bernardus_McJamesicus]

I'm just a simple cook with no bachelors degree. No academic nor intellectual by any means but I love learning from conversations like these.

[Hot]

World's best political channel! Shows how much honest information you can get when you don't waste time and energy on left/right posturing.

[adamb]

How many in the EU and UK have been to Little St. James Island?

[mmazourov]

Thank you Robert for an excellent analysis. I have a few questions: 1) re Russia’s pandering to China, do you think it could be that due to US-imposed sanctions, Putin has no choice but to maintain good relationships with Beijing to keep military and energy contracts safe? 2) re Crimea, I am sure you are aware of the history of the peninsula, the Russian historical military presence there and its demographics, do you think that faced with losing its main Black Sea base/fleet and access to the Mediterranean, Putin’s actions were the most sensible/only choice under the circumstances? 3) re Russian meddling, you started with a long list of countries that reported Russian meddling, however as far as I know, Mueller report did not find any significant evidence of this and by your own admission the results of the parliamentary inquiry have not been published. As you said: it could be due to clear evidence of the government being implicated in a conspiracy or it could be because (as in America) the inquiry may have spent a lot of public funds and came up with nothing. Regardless, can you direct me to any broadly recognised evidence of Russian meddling in Democratic processes in EU5 or the US?
Please do not take my questions as criticism, I really enjoyed your talk and look forward to future webcasts.

[Mateo-etwl]

It will be interesting to see what happens if petrol stays depressed and russia continues to be slowly stangled.

[cornwasher]

What is the average Russian's opinion about annexing Ukraine back under the Russian hegemonic control? Do they strongly favor this? Also, what is Putin's opinion or interest in participating in the New World Order Movement?

[tsukasaknoell]

While secretary of state Hillary Clinton signing off on 25% of our uranium to Russia then going into the 2016 us presidential If you were putin... who would you want as the US president???? Oh bob definitely isn't a expert in us politics neither am...but when people try to insinuate trump n russia... I just wonder what world I'm living in these days....thank god for this country and thank god for trump...we're living in amazing times and under attack on multiple fronts...hopefully we get back to a lil normalcy cause I've been stressed cause of how radical the left has become and how they've negatively influenced a large portion of our society...now I'm going on a rant...so god bless everyone....bye.

[lynnybee]

No more “policy makers”. People need freedom from beaucrats.

[ericafiore]

In answer, quite simple. "YOU just don't (F...) the Americans.

[MrHabart]

The America media and opponents to President Trump within government agencies and organization doesn't allow for as much disclosure as some people would prefer.

[ericniemeyer]

Do you think the Chinese would actually follow the treaty?

[andrewfletcher]

What a poor speaker, I learned very little. Unusual for me to have such an experience from this otherwise excellent channel.

[kirkbowyer]

THE SOVIET UNION CANNOT BE TRUSTED; RICE/MATTIS 2020