- Russia–United States relations
:"This page deals with the relations between the Russian Federation and the United States. For the relations between the Russian empire and the United States (1776-1922), see:
Relations between the Russian Empire and the United States . For the relations between the Soviet Union and the United States (1922-1991), see:Soviet-United States relations ."Relations between theRussian Federation and theUnited States since 1991 began after the demise of theSoviet Union .End of the Cold War
In the late 1980s,
Eastern Europe an nations took advantage of the relaxation ofSoviet control underMikhail Gorbachev and began to break away from communist rule. OnJuly 31 ,1991 , theSTART I treaty cutting back nuclear warheads was signed by Gorbachev and U.S. presidentGeorge H.W. Bush . In December 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and theCommonwealth of Independent States was formed. With the ending of Communism, relations between Russia and the United States warmed rapidly.Post-Cold War Era
The aggressive
privatization /free market reforms implemented by Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin during the 1990s were strongly encouraged and supported by the U.S. administrations ofGeorge H. W. Bush andBill Clinton , and by American economists and corporations. However, the reforms, known as "shock therapy", produced a major economic crisis in Russia, resulting in skyrocketingpoverty , and the rise of corrupt "oligarchs" who amassed power and tremendous wealth after acquiring control of the former Soviet state industries. Public order and stability deteriorated greatly.In regard to international affairs, Russia largely stayed on the sidelines during this period. Although lending tacit support to its historical ally,
Serbia , Russia stood aside and did not attempt to block the 1999 Kosovo War in Serbia, even though both Russia and China had strongly condemned it.During the presidencies of
Vladimir Putin andGeorge W. Bush , the U.S. and Russia began to have more serious disagreements. Under Putin, Russia became more assertive in international affairs than it had been under his predecessor; under Bush, the U.S. took an increasingly unilateral course in its foreign policy, particularly in the wake of theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks .In 2002, Bush withdrew the United States from the
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to move forward with plans for amissile defense system. Putin called the decision a mistake. Russia strongly opposed the 2003U.S. invasion of Iraq , though without exercising its veto in theUnited Nations Security Council . Russia has regarded the expansion ofNATO into the old Eastern Bloc, and U.S. efforts to gain access toCentral Asia n oil and natural gas as a potentially hostile encroachment on Russia'ssphere of influence .Officials in the United States expressed concern over their perception of Putin's increasingly
authoritarian rule and reversal of democratic reforms,human rights violations inChechnya , suppression of free speech, alleged murder of political dissidents, attacks on journalists in Russia, and support for highly authoritarian regimes in other former Soviet republics. Moscow has also been accused of using its natural gas resources to blackmail neighboring countries likeUkraine and Georgia to gain concessions on matters of concern to the Kremlin.Increasing Tensions
In March 2007, the U.S. announced plans to build an anti-ballistic
missile defense installation inPoland along with aradar station in theCzech Republic . Both nations were formerWarsaw Pact members. American officials said that the system was intended to protect the United States and Europe from possible nuclear missile attacks byIran orNorth Korea . Russia, however, viewed the new system as a potential threat and, in response, tested a long-rangeintercontinental ballistic missile , theRS-24 , which it claimed could defeat any defense system. Russian president Vladimir Putin warned the U.S. that these new tensions could turn Europe into a "powder keg ". On3 June 2007 , Putin warned that if the U.S. builds the missile defense system, Russia would consider targeting missiles at Poland and the Czech Republic. [cite interview |last=Gottemoeller |first=Rose |subjectlink= Rose Gottemoeller |interviewer=Robert Siegel |title= [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10741255 Talk of the Nation] |callsign = |city= |date=5 June 2007|program=NPR ] .On
16 October 2007, Vladimir Putin visited Iran to discuss Russia's aid to Iran's nuclear power program and "insisted that the use of force was unacceptable." [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article2673546.ece Vladimir Putin pledges to complete Iranian nuclear reactor] ,17 October 2007.] On17 October Bush stated "if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," understood as a message to Putin. [ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071017.html White House Transcript of17 October 2007 Press Conference] .] A week later Putin compared U.S. plans to put up a missile defense system near Russia's border as analogous to when the Soviet Union deployed missiles in Cuba, prompting theCuban Missile Crisis . [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/26/russia.missile.ap/index.html Putin compares U.S. plan to Cuban missile crisis] ,26 October 2007.]On
14 February 2008, Vladimir Putin again announced that Russia might have to retarget some of its rockets towards the missile defense system, claiming that "If it appears, we will be forced to respond appropriately - we will have to retarget part of our systems against those missiles." He also said that missiles might be redirected towards Ukraine if they went ahead with plans to build NATO bases within their territory, saying that "We will be compelled to aim our missiles at facilities that we consider a threat to our national security, and I am putting this plainly now so that the blame for this is not shifted later," [ [http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080214/99201375.html Russia could aim rockets at European missile shield - Putin] ]On
8 July 2008, Russia announced that if a US anti-missile shield is deployed near the Russian border, they will react militarily. The statement from the Russian foreign ministry said "If a US strategic anti-missile shield starts to be deployed near our borders, we will be forced to react not in a diplomatic fashion but with military-technical means." Later, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations stated that "military-technical means" does not mean military action, but more likely a change in Russia's strategic posture, perhaps by redeploying its own missiles. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7496399.stm]In August 2008, American-Russian relations were strained, when the Russian Federation was involved in military conflict with Georgia in what they claimed was a mission to protect the autonomous regions of
South Ossetia andAbkhazia from a Georgian military offensive. The United States chose to support Georgia in the conflict and sent humanitarian aid to Georgia.On
14 August 2008 , theUnited States andPoland agreed to have 10, two-stage missile interceptors - made byOrbital Sciences Corporation - placed in Poland, as part of a missile shield to defend Europe and the US from a possible missile attack byIran . In return, the US agreed to move a battery ofMIM-104 Patriot missiles to Poland. The missile battery would be staffed - at least temporarily - by US Military personnel. The US also pledged to defend Poland - aNATO member - quicker than NATO would in the event of an attack. Additionally, the Czech Republic recently agreed to allow the placement of a radar-tracking station in their country, despite public opinion polls showing that the majority of Czechs are against the plans and only 18% support it. [ [http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/No_permanent_foreign_inspectors_in_US-Czech_radar_talks_minister_999.html No permanent foreign inspectors in US-Czech radar talks: minister] Retrieved on 20-08-08] The radar-tracking station in the Czech Republic would also be part of the missile defense shield. After the agreement was announced, Russian officials said defences on Russia's borders would be increased and that they foresee harm in bilateral relations with the United States [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6kOsE60Adag&refer=home]Timeline of Peace between The US and Russia
This timeline of peace shows the growing relations between Russia and the United States following the end of the Cold War.
* 1992 Yeltsin visits the United States.
* 1992 Russia attends the Washington Summit.
* 1994 First joint US-Russian Space Shuttle mission.
* 1996 Ratification of START 2 treaty.
* 1998 Launch ofInternational Space Station .
* 2002 US president George W Bush and Russian president Vladimir Putin meet in Moscow and sign a treaty on strategic offensive reductions and declaration on a new strategic relationship.
* 2007 Russia offers The United States to put missile defences onAzerbaijan .Military ties
The United States and Russia have done joint military excersises, training and counter terrorist excersises in Germany. This was done in hopes to strengthen relations with the United States and Russia. [http://www.mnweekly.ru/world/20070720/55262872.html] The Russian president also proposed that the United States and Russia put joint a missile defense system in
Azerbaijan which the United States is considering. [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/06/03A1DB46-8B93-4756-935F-6158C4909CF8.html] Additionally, due to tensions over Georgia, the United States has canceled its most recent joint NATO/Russia military exercise.References
ee also
*
Kremlinology
*Soviet–United States relations
*Embassy of the United States in Moscow
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.