ABSTRACT
The year 2010 witnessed considerable changes in U.S.–Russian relations, or at least the desire and promise for change—the “reset” of the Obama administration and the Russian comments about “seismic change” following the unofficial publication of an official document in May of that year. The prospects for Russian–American relations cannot be discussed in isolation from wider questions: In what direction is Russia moving? What will Russia be like in ten or twenty years from now? Russian commentators maintain that Russian policy vis-à-vis the United States has always been reactive. I believe that American policy vis-à-vis Russia has been even more reactive.
