“Russia relations today are more strained and more confrontational than at any time since the end of the Cold War. In fact, even some periods of the Cold War seemed more cooperative than our current era.” These were opening comments by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul at the June 14, 2016, hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The subject was “U.S. Policy Towards Putin’s Russia. McFaul is now the Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.
Public diplomacy practitioners will be particular interested in his comments on countering Russian propaganda and study in the United States. Here are some key points from his opening statement:
