Russia is clearly testing the NATO alliance with its drone attacks in Poland and on the border of Romania. Russia is pursuing interests that run directly counter to those of the United States, the NATO alliance, Ukraine and a liberal world order.

Russia has reverted to authoritarianism, this time with an autocracy that resembles a criminal syndicate. How did it get there and what does it mean for the U.S. and Europe?

There was a brief moment in the 1990s when it appeared that Russia was heading toward a European-style democracy. Having been involved in the efforts to bring democracy to Russia back then, I have long pondered what went wrong.

Why did the Russia of Boris Yeltsin and liberal reformers fail and get replaced by Vladimir Putin and his KGB brethren? What role did the U.S. and other Western governments play?

I recently met a former U.S. diplomat who served two tours in Moscow who, in 1994, wrote a long “dissent channel” message raising questions about the approach our government was taking. Wayne Merry’s message was declassified some six months ago and published........

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