Lesson 8: Restoring Russian Empire
September 15, 2022
Review:
- Quiz 02 results
- Impact of Brexit on London and Amsterdam
- Sovereign Debt
- Russia v. Germany Economy
- Oil and Oligarchy in Russia
- Putin’s Way video
- Spreading instability in Central Asia?
Presentation:
- Putin’s Early Career
- KGB Agent trained to oppose the US during Cold War
- Stationed in East Germany (Dresden)
- Front row seats for collapse of the Berlin Wall + USSR
- Blames USA for the Soviet Union’s downfall
- Ascent to Presidency
- Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg
- Head of FSB (successor to KGB)
- Prime Minister under Boris Yeltsin
- Moscow Apartment Bombings (see Poisoned by Polonium: The Litvinenko File)
- “Retaliation” against Chechnya
- Bush II Admin (2000-2008)
- Charmed George Bush, who “got a sense of his soul”
- Beslan School Siege and Massacre
- Government response criticized
- Russian troops attack
- 320 killed, half children
- Outrage toward Putin
- Blames US for backing Chechen rebels
- Government response criticized
- Iraq War and removal of Saddam Hussein
- Consolidates power, cancels elections
- Protests in Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan
- Attacks US for making world unsafe in combative speech (2007)
- Obama Admin (2008-2016)
- Clinton “Reset Button” gesture and gaffe
- Fears Russian version of Arab Spring
- Ben Ali in Tunisia
- Hosni Mubarak in Egypt
- Muammar Ghadaffi in Libya
- US supports pro-democracy protests
- Hillary Clinton celebrates Ghadaffi’s death
- Russian Election Controversy
- Fraud captured on cell phone cameras
- Russian people massive protest
- Hillary Clinton supports protesters
- Putin blames US and especially HRC
- Crackdown
- Opposition politicians, activists, journalists
- Some jailed, some go into exile, some are killed
- Alexei Navalny
- Sochi Olympics in 2014
- Crowning success on the world stage
- Partially stained by Ukraine protests
- Putin blames US
- Occupation of parts of Ukraine
- Stealth invasion of Crimea (unidentified military + denial) in 2014
- Less obscure invasion in Eastern Ukraine
- Cybersecurity, misinformation, interference in domestic politics
- Practicing techniques for deployment against US/EU
- Attack on the 2016 US Presidential Election
- Cybersecurity preparation and penetration
- CIA finds intel linking Putin directly to election interference
- Revenge against Clinton
- Trump amplifies impact by inviting Russia to continue interfering or expand interference
- Use of technology to spread misinformation
- Russia propaganda picked up by US right-wing media
- Release of emails to counter the “Access Hollywood” tape
- Trump victory = symbol of Putin and Russian greatness
- Trump Administration
- Brexit influence
- Russian Hybrid Warfare
- Cybersecurity attacks
- Misinformation campaigns
- Russian actors posing as Americans
- Automation technology to enhance distribution (bots)
- Denial of responsibility or involvement
- In former USSR sphere, military deployment
Assignment:
Optional:
- Extra Credit Opportunities (4 options)
- Due in class on Tue
- Earn back points lost on Quiz 01 and 02.
- Number of points earned back will depend on quality/effort of submission.
- Option 1: 4-page recap of the CSU-P Ukraine Panel Discussion (up to 100% points)
- Option 2: 2-page Essay: “Who is Alexei Navalny” (up to 50% points)
- Option 3: 2-page Essay: “Who is Alexander Litvenienko” (up to 50% points)
- Option 4: Cartography Exercise (up to 50% points)
- Create a Map of the former USSR + sphere of influence
- Use the map below (from this page) for reference
- Trace borders and label countries, preferably by hand
- Use color or shading or some other graphical technique to illustrate
- Independent countries formerly part of the USSR (green in map below)
- Eastern European countries formerly dominated by the USSR (yellow in map below)