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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

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3 possible explanations for Putin’s bravado

Does Russia’s president know that his “special military operation” against Ukraine has turned into disaster for Russia? Or does he really think...

22.01.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why Trump should abandon his imperial ambitions

Empires are costly and inefficient, and imperialism is costly and counterproductive, with both combining to generate the very forces that eventually...

14.01.2025 6

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Live updates: Trump heads to Capitol Hill after asking Supreme Court to stop NY sentencing

President-elect Trump kicked off Wednesday morning by asking the Supreme Court to halt the scheduled Friday sentencing in his New York hush money...

08.01.2025 9

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Doing the math on Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine

Yes, Russia is making incremental advances, but no, those gains don’t amount to a blitzkrieg.

08.01.2025 5

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Does Putin believe in God?

When recently asked at a press conference whether he believes Russia’s war with Ukraine will end in 2025, Vladimir Putin gave an odd answer. “I...

31.12.2024 2

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin’s press conference showed he is committed to depravity

Vladimir Putin’s recent end-of-the-year press conference was mostly a self-congratulatory snooze, but there were several moments that revealed the...

26.12.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The fall of Assad is an ‘emperor has no clothes’ moment for Putin

It took Assad’s regime to fall and Putin to accept it meekly for the West to appreciate that things weren’t all that rosy in Tsar Vladimir’s...

23.12.2024 5

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Look out, Putin — Assad’s fall shows autocrats aren’t as strong as we think

They can repress, oppress and suppress a will, but sooner or later their seemingly stable regimes will fall.

13.12.2024 4

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Russia's authoritarianism and imperialism block a just peace in Ukraine

The Russo-Ukrainian war cannot end until all sides want a stable and just peace, and the greatest obstacle to such an outcome is the Russian...

09.12.2024 2

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The case for supporting Ukraine is both moral and geostrategic

While Ukraine and the West are willing to make concessions in order to reach a compromise with Russia, Putin is not. He will accept a compromise...

05.12.2024 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Musk’s sloppiness and hubris will doom his dreams of government efficiency

Sloppiness and insults may work in the private sector, but they are no way to run a semi-governmental agency whose job is to investigate which...

23.11.2024 5

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

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...

18.11.2024 3

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 1

The Hill

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 10

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 1

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 1

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 4

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 2

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 history...

27.09.2024 10

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 50

The Hill

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 3

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...

02.09.2024 1

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 2

The Hill

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 1

The Hill

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 1

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 1

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 7

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 1

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 1

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor