Simon Saradzhyan
Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: 617-496-8228
Email: simon_saradzhyan@hks.harvard.edu
AP Photo
December 22, 2010
"Working Toward a Russia For All"
Op-Ed, Moscow Times
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Monica Duffy Toft, Former Associate Professor of Public Policy; Former Board Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Former Director, Initiative on Religion and International Affairs
The show of force by ultranationalists across Russia should serve as a wake-up call for the authorities, write Simon Saradzhyan, a Belfer Center research fellow, and Monica Duffy Toft, associate professor of public policy. "While [the authorities] took some steps over the past few years to dismantle violent ultranationalist groups, more needs to be done — and soon," they argue.
AP Photo
November 19, 2010
Everything to Gain By a Russia-NATO Partnership
Op-Ed, Global Intelligence Report
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Relations between NATO and Russia, which came to a freezing point in the wake of the August 2008 war in Georgia, were thawing throughout 2010 and this process will culminate when, as Russian diplomats hope, Moscow and Brussels sign off on the joint assessment of threats that Russian and NATO experts and diplomats have been crafting since December 2009.
October 4, 2010
"Moscow Mayor's Ouster Sets Stage for Russian Elections"
Op-Ed, Global Intelligence Report
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
INCIDENT: After several weeks of public trading of barbs between the Kremlin and Moscow city authorities, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev decreed to fire the Russian capital's long-time mayor Yuri Luzhkov "due to loss of confidence."
November 4, 2010
"Russia Back in Afghanistan, But in a Necessarily Limited Capacity"
Op-Ed, Global Intelligence Report
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
SITUATION: The participation of Russian agents in a recent joint special forces operation on Afghan territory falls short of crossing the Rubicon for Russian forces that have foresworn to return to Afghanistan after leaving more than two decades, but highlights Moscow's preparations for the containment of instability emanating from this country as the US-led coalition there ponders exit strategies.
Last month saw US, Russian, and Afghan agents jointly raid four laboratories in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border in what the US embassy in Moscow billed as an unprecedented collaborative military operation.
Russia's Federal Drug Police, the US Drug Enforcement Agency, the US Department of Defense, NATO, and the Afghan Interior Ministry were all involved in the raid, which destroyed an estimated $250 million worth of heroin and morphine at four labs on the AfPak border.
November 2010
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: October-November 2010
Newsletter
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Ex-Secretaries Urge Senate to Ratify New START; Belarus to Give Up HEU Stock; Russia Opens International Atomic Fuel Bank in Angarsk; and more.
October 4, 2010
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: August-September 2010
Newsletter
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter is a forum for discussing nuclear terrorism and actions to contribute to improved joint US-Russian assessment of the threat of nuclear terrorism. Available in both English and Russian.
Summer 2010
"The Dynamics of Russia’s Response to the Piracy Threat"
Journal Article, Connections
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Several years of economic growth before the 2008-09 economic crisis allowed the Russian government to steadily increase its defense expenditures, extending their conventional forces' reach, while Russia's foreign policy ambitions also grew in scope and scale. Just as important as the boom-driven rise in defense spending was the fact that, as the economy grew, so did Russian companies and individuals' activities abroad, including both shipping and fishing. Thanks to the expansion of the media industry's reach, and the globalization of news in general, the Russian public's awareness of piracy incidents in general, and particularly those involving Russian citizens, grew as well.
August 11, 2010
"Chechnya: Divisions in the Ranks"
Op-Ed, International Relations and Security Network
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Doku Umarov's attempt to resign has revealed a schism in the leadership of North Caucasus-based insurgency and terrorism networks, but whether he stays or goes will have no long-term impact on the network's capabilities, Simon Saradzhyan comments for ISN Security Watch.
July 26, 2010
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: June-July 2010
Newsletter
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter is a forum for discussing nuclear terrorism and actions to contribute to improved joint US-Russian assessment of the threat of nuclear terrorism. Available in both English and Russian.
July 3, 2010
"Russian-led Alliance Risks Losing Credibility"
Op-Ed, International Relations and Security Network
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Russia needs to lead the development of real CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation) procedure and capacity for humanitarian interventions and peacekeeping operations to deal with the dangerous internal threats that its Central Asian members face, writes Simon Saradzhyan. "If Moscow does not develop such a capacity," he says, "then it will see the credibility of its collective security project plummet."
