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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

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Putin is sending a not-so-friendly message to Trump

Russia’s prime-time “60 Minutes” program congratulated Melania Trump on her husband’s electoral victory by displaying on air a handful of nude...

monday 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The debate over whether Trump is ‘fascist’ misses the point

Things may change if he and his colleagues decide to abandon attempts to centralize power in his hands or if America’s democratic institutions prove...

13.11.2024 8

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

How to start World War III in 8 easy steps

No one wants World War III, of course. But, ironically, the policymakers and pundits who say they want it least are those most likely to start it.

08.11.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

America has elected a revolutionary. Will he succeed?

Like all revolutionaries, President Trump will quickly come to face what the German American political scientist Otto Kirchheimer called “confining...

06.11.2024 4

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why is the UN Secretary-General playing nice with Putin?

Shame on Antonio Guterres.

01.11.2024 9

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why the West should embrace Zelensky’s victory plan for Ukraine

Are Western policymakers ignorant? Of course not. Their problem is different.

25.10.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Russian ‘milblogger’ worries about a pro-Ukrainian fifth column

WarGonzo’s Oct. 5 Telegram posting is especially interesting in what it reveals about real Russian attitudes toward the Ukraine war.

18.10.2024 4

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

A Russian economic meltdown is coming next year

As the Russian economy tanks, immiseration and social discontent grow, and money dries up, Putin won’t have the resources to fuel his war machine.

14.10.2024 5

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The Kremlin fears that the West is trying to break Russia apart. If only!

I can think of no country, in the West or elsewhere, that actively aspires to Russia’s break up.

08.10.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Little Estonia is no longer afraid of the Russian Bear

Putin has no one to blame for the shameful state of affairs but himself.

01.10.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The real reason Trump hates Zelensky

As a closer look at Trump’s rhetoric shows, it’s clear that he feels threatened by Zelensky, whom he has called "the greatest salesman in...

27.09.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Something rotten in the ‘Russian soul’

The task before Russian liberals who want to transform their country into a decent society may be impossible.

23.09.2024 60

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin’s attempt to destroy Ukraine's nationhood backfired

Ukrainians are no longer a ragtag bunch of people thrown together by fate.

17.09.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Maybe it’s time for China to reclaim some stolen Russian land?

Xi Jinping may be reluctant to exercise China’s right to reclaim its historically Chinese territories today, but he must know — as does Putin —...

13.09.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The ordinary people swept up in Putin’s evil war

Two recently posted letters, by two courageous young women, convey the extent of human suffering that Vladimir Putin has caused, the resilience of the...

02.09.2024 4

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The experts keep getting it wrong on Ukraine. So what should we believe?

Thanks to black swans, theories never die.

26.08.2024 5

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Another Russian mercenary leader has turned against Putin

The 53-year-old Zakrevsky is no liberal and no good guy.

22.08.2024 4

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

In Kursk, Putin is learning that historical revanchism cuts both ways

Not only is there no end to historical arguments — for the simple reason that no historical interpretation of anything can ever be final — but...

15.08.2024 6

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The West is deeply implicated in Putin’s crimes

The West’s greatest sin regarding today’s Russia is to have failed to see Moscow as it truly was and look beyond it, at Russia’s neighbors.

12.08.2024 3

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

In Hungary, Orbán practices ‘goulash dictatorship’

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's "goulash dictatorship" has been compared to the more open and prosperous regime of Janos Kadar, but his...

06.08.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

3 reasons Putin agreed to the prisoner exchange

A failure on the battlefield, Putin proved to be able to outwit the West at the negotiating table.

03.08.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

What does it mean that Trump thinks God is on his side?

We generally eschew discussions of God in policy debates, but Trump’s alliance with the Almighty makes such a discussion imperative.

25.07.2024 6

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why ‘land for peace’ won’t work in Ukraine

Both sides will ask: How much of which land for what kind of peace?

22.07.2024 30

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

What opponents of Ukraine joining NATO fail to understand

Russia’s war against Ukraine has little to do with its putative NATO membership at some undetermined future time.

17.07.2024 7

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Forget Carthage: Putin must be destroyed

Can one speak to a barbarian? Can one negotiate with a savage who violates all moral codes and is committed to rampant destruction?

12.07.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Much ado about a list of people who don’t want to help Ukraine

A little-known independent Ukrainian media outfit named Texty.org.ua has recently come under attack by prominent American conservatives.

03.07.2024 4

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

It’s getting harder for Putin to find Russians willing to die for him in Ukraine

Russians are increasingly unwilling to serve and are thereby depressing supply, while the manpower deficit on the battlefield is growing and is...

27.06.2024 6

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin’s fascism is openly on display in Russia

Russia's slide towards fascism is evident in the existence of radical youth organizations like the Brotherhood of Academists, the demonization of "the...

22.06.2024 7

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Russia is now a Chinese colony — while still foolishly dreaming of empire

Putin’s Russia rests on an unsustainable contradiction.

15.06.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Watch live: Prosecutors detail Hunter Biden's guilty verdict in gun case

Prosecutors who secured a guilty verdict against Hunter Biden on three felony counts related to the illegal purchase of a firearm in 2018 will speak...

11.06.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Will Russia’s history of violence come home to roost?

With some 800 years of violence from inside and from outside, it’s no wonder that violence has become woven into the institutional and cultural...

11.06.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Trump threatens to out-crazy Putin

Given Trump’s unpredictability, we have no way of knowing whether his threats to bomb Moscow and Beijing should be taken seriously.

02.06.2024 20

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Ukraine can’t negotiate with a nation that wants to erase its people from existence

Russia's goal is no longer to intimidate Kharkivites, but to turn them and their city into human ashes and heaps of bricks.

28.05.2024 70

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why Putin’s new ‘technocrat’ defense minister is destined to fail

Mafia-like old boy networks aren’t known for innovative thinking and problem solving.

25.05.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The ruinous reign of Vladimir the Terrible

Putin has destroyed his army, lost Ukraine, strengthened NATO, diminished Russia’s security, transformed Russia into an abject vassal of China and...

20.05.2024 20

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Wishful denial about Putin’s regime

Because of its wishful denial of the possibility of Russia’s defeat, the West now confronts the possibility of a Ukrainian defeat, with all the...

13.05.2024 40

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

From Putin with love: Russian spy games continue in Europe

The ubiquity of Russian spies also raises questions about certain Western policymakers and analysts and their putative relations with Russian...

09.05.2024 40

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Reimagining Ukraine’s bloody history through decolonization

Seen through the decolonization lens, Ukraine closely resembles the colonies that rebelled against European political domination by resorting to...

06.05.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The 4 ways Russia’s war could end

It looks like defeating Russia and risking its peaceful dismemberment may be preferable to Armageddon.

30.04.2024 30

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

How wishful thinking from the West enabled Russian authoritarianism

The intellectual roots of the West’s mistakes predate the Soviet Union’s collapse.

26.04.2024 8

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Western powers shot down Iranian missiles. Why not Russian missiles?

Ukrainians are asking an indelicate question.

18.04.2024 10

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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

J.D. Vance is dead wrong about Ukraine aid

The junior senator from Ohio would be well advised to do some homework before expressing his opinions on a topic he obviously doesn’t fully...

16.04.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

America's political leaders are shrugging at Putin’s evil

American policymakers are placing their own personal ambitions above the physical survival of 40 million people and the likelihood that Putin will...

12.04.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Millions get rare look at solar eclipse 2024: Live updates

Millions will get a rare look at the total solar eclipse on Monday as parts of North America will go dark for the first time in seven years. The rare...

08.04.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The West is failing to rise to the challenge of Russia’s threat

NATO countries talk about the Russian threat, but their dilly-dallying, their insufficient support of Ukraine and their unwillingness to impose truly...

08.04.2024 30

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The Russian Orthodox Church declares ‘holy war’ on Ukraine

Russian Orthodoxy has become a central component of the Kremlin’s propaganda.

02.04.2024 3

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Is the problem Putin’s Russia or Mother Russia?

There is no easy answer to the problem of Russian imperialism.

28.03.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin lost the election

Putin would have been far better off retiring to his bunkers and leaving the Russian mess to someone else.

22.03.2024 30

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why time is not on Russia’s side

Putin has little other than coercion to rely on to elicit societal compliance.

18.03.2024 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Is Putin’s Russia a Nazi state?

Putin’s Russia is somewhere between full-fledged fascist and full-fledged Nazi, probably closer to the latter than to the former.

10.03.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

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