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Russia & Ukraine blog
Did Reagan Really Win the Cold War or Did the Soviets Just CollapseThe strongest case that the USSR fell on its own, then six numbered answers from the speeches, treaties and deployments of the 1980s.George H. W. Bush managed the end of the Cold War without a victory lapBush kept his mouth shut while the Soviet empire came apart, and his party still argues about the rest of his term. Here is the record, fairly told.What America Promised Ukraine in 1994 and What It Did NotThe Budapest Memorandum is quoted constantly and misdescribed constantly. Here is what it says, what it leaves out, and what it means for the next arms bargain.George Kennan's Long Telegram and the Strategy That Won the Cold WarAn 8,000-word telegram from Moscow became the containment strategy that guided four decades of American policy toward Russia, and it still teaches patience.Seven Myths About Reagan, Gorbachev and the End of the Cold WarSeven claims about Reagan, Gorbachev and the Cold War's end, tested against the record, with a verdict on each from both the left and the right.The Star Wars Joke That Helped Bring the Soviets to the TableCritics mocked missile defense as fantasy, but Moscow took it seriously, and it shaped every round of arms talks from 1983 to the INF Treaty.How Reagan built strength first and then sat down with GorbachevThe 1987 INF Treaty followed a military buildup and a hard line, not a substitute for one, and hawks and dealmakers both need that sequence.How Sanctions Work, From a Presidential Order to a Frozen Bank AccountSanctions look like a press release but run on specific statutes and Treasury offices, and knowing the machinery shows what they can and cannot do.