Articles by Ariel Cohen

EnergyAnalysis

Europe’s Energy Dependence on Russia Can’t Last

Ariel Cohen | May 26, 2014

Vladimir Putin is the father of the most significant energy mix shift in Europe. Ukraine may be the straw that broke the back of the… Read More

SecurityAnalysis

Ukraine’s Future: To Whom Does It Belong?

Ariel Cohen | May 25, 2014

In the recent makeshift referenda in Donetsk and Luhansk unrecognized by the West, a small minority of eligible voters voted in favor of secession from… Read More

EnergyAnalysis

The Future of Cars: Electric, Natural Gas, Driverless, and More

Ariel Cohen | May 24, 2014

Ten years from now, electric (EV), hybrid and natural-gas powered cars will make some, albeit not yet decisive, inroads in our lives. There are economic,… Read More

 News

Russia Is Expanding Intimidation Tactics in Eastern Ukraine

Ariel Cohen | April 23, 2014

Vice President Joe Biden, who went to Ukraine on Monday for a two-day visit to express U.S. support for the government in Kyiv, has accused… Read More

 News

Why the Russian Occupation of Crimea Could Lead to a New Islamist Terror Hotspot

Ariel Cohen | March 10, 2014

As Putin is tightening his grip on the Crimean Peninsula, the Crimean Tatars are becoming increasingly worried about their future. By annexing the Crimea to… Read More

 News

The U.S. Cannot Allow Ukraine To Be Destroyed

Ariel Cohen | March 08, 2014

Last week, Russia declared war on Ukraine. On March 1, the Russian Parliament’s Upper House, the Council of the Federation, voted to authorize the use… Read More

 News

Q&A: Russian Military Mobilization and the Violent Action in the Crimea

Ariel Cohen | February 27, 2014

Today, unknown forces wearing uniforms took over the Parliament, Council of Ministers and Justice Ministry buildings in the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, a majority-Russian… Read More

 News

Yanukovich’s Brutal Crackdown in Ukraine: Why the U.S. Should Act

Ariel Cohen | February 19, 2014

The worst crisis since the wars in Yugoslavia is convulsing Eastern Europe. Ukraine is on the brink of a civil war, and Russian intervention may… Read More

 News

Sochi Hotel Debacle Indicates Systemic Problems in Russia

Ariel Cohen | February 06, 2014

Sochi appears to be a huge management and PR disappointment. Journalists arriving to the Olympic Games are reporting major problems with the hotels, such as broken… Read More

 News

Q&A on the Crisis in Ukraine

Ariel Cohen | January 29, 2014

The political crisis that consumed Ukraine for the past two months is showing signs of positive developments. President Viktor Yanukovich is beginning to meet some… Read More

 

Spiritual Leaders of the Caucasus Extremists: The Enemies of the Olympics

Ariel Cohen | January 28, 2014

Radical Islamists of the North Caucasus are not the only ones threatening Russia’s security on the eve of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. They… Read More

 

Russia’s Reputation at Risk in Sochi

Ariel Cohen | January 26, 2014

Next month, the Winter Olympics in Sochi will bring many of Russia’s systemic problems in focus. It won’t be a pretty picture. The terrorist threat,… Read More

  Security

5 Things You Might Be Asking about the Sochi Terrorist Threats

Ariel Cohen | January 23, 2014

With two weeks to go before the opening of the winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, terrorist threats have many questioning the security of the games…. Read More

Security

Volgograd Terror Wave Threatens Sochi Olympics, Russian Civic Peace

Ariel Cohen | December 31, 2013

Russia’s holiday cheer was shattered by brutal suicide bombings on December 29 and 30 in the city of Volgograd that killed at least 31 people…. Read More

 

Vladimir Putin Disbands RIA Novosti, Tightens His Grip on Russian Media

Ariel Cohen | December 13, 2013

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin disbanded the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency. A new agency—Russia Segodnya (Russia Today)—will be taking over its assets with… Read More

 

Q&A on the Crisis in Ukraine

Ariel Cohen | December 02, 2013

The brutal dispersal of demonstrators in Ukraine last week led to dozens wounded—and a public protest movement which now surpasses the Orange Revolution of 2004…. Read More

 

Russia Should Drop “You Are with Us or Against Us” Mantra

Ariel Cohen | October 24, 2013

Recently, several of Russia’s “younger siblings,” such as Ukraine and Moldova, finally got a chance to partially break from the Russian bear hug and opt… Read More

 SecurityNews

Syrian Geopolitical Chess: Putin’s One-Two Punch

Ariel Cohen | September 12, 2013

Vladimir Putin’s op-ed in The New York Times is an attempt to talk to the American people over the heads of its elected representatives. For… Read More

 

Snowden Asylum Is Burying Obama’s Russian “Reset”

Ariel Cohen | August 05, 2013

The Kremlin delivered a diplomatic blow to U.S.–Russian relations when Moscow granted former NSA analyst Edward Snowden a temporary political asylum. Now, the White House… Read More

 

Snowden “on a Leash”: The High-Stakes Game in Russia

Ariel Cohen | July 22, 2013

President Obama is considering cancellation of his summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin at the September G-20 confab over Russia’s harboring of the American fugitive… Read More

 News

Lithuania LNG Terminal a Big Step in the Right Direction

Ariel Cohen | July 18, 2013

Lithuania is building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the port of Klaipeda. The project, which is expected to be operational by 2014, will… Read More

Security

Snowden Asylum Request: Another Blow to Obama’s Russia “Reset” Policy

Ariel Cohen | July 01, 2013

Last Sunday, a Russian consular official confirmed that former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden asked for political asylum in Russia. Snowden’s defection, announced… Read More

 

“Russian Reset”: Time to Listen to the Critics

Ariel Cohen | June 21, 2013

In a well-reasoned broadside, The Washington Post’s editorial board blasted President Obama’s Russian policy and his Berlin speech this past Thursday. The editorial justly criticized… Read More

 

Russian Arrest of U.S. Diplomat Undermines U.S.–Russian Ties

Ariel Cohen | May 15, 2013

In a scene reminiscent of the spy thriller TV series “The Americans,” Russian FSB secret police Monday night detained and then released an alleged CIA… Read More

 

Russia: Kerry’s Chilly Kremlin Reception

Ariel Cohen | May 09, 2013

This past Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met President Vladimir Putin of Russia in the Kremlin. Kerry was seeking to repair frayed ties… Read More

 

Human Rights Watch Decries Russia Opposition Crackdown

Ariel Cohen | May 08, 2013

Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a scathing new report focused on the crackdown on Russia’s civil society. Since December 2011, the Kremlin has committed… Read More

Security

Boston Bombers Have Roots in the Ungovernable, Islamist North Caucasus

Ariel Cohen | April 30, 2013

The North Caucasus has emerged as an ungovernable safe haven for terrorists, as the government of Russia is at the end of its wits as… Read More

Security

North Caucasus: Islamist Threat Comes from a History of Violence

Ariel Cohen | April 26, 2013

The Boston Marathon bombers have brought greater attention to Russia’s volatile North Caucasus, their ancestral home. As painful their heinous acts are, however, the bombers’… Read More

 

Russia: Putin Uses Courts to Crush Opposition

Ariel Cohen | April 18, 2013

KYIV, UKRAINE—Russia’s leading anti-corruption blogger, attorney and political activist Alexei Navalny, appeared in court Wednesday accused of embezzlement. On Thursday, federal prosectuors slapped him with… Read More

 

President Obama’s Half-Hearted Magnitsky List

Ariel Cohen | April 15, 2013

The Departments of State and Treasury have released their public version of the “Magnitsky List”—18 Russian nationals who have committed gross human rights violations and… Read More