ALEXEY ARBATOV

Not since June 1941 has the Russian military stood as perilously close to ruin as it does now.

Nuclear materials are not as safe as nuclear weapons …. The nuclear materials which are received after dismantling nuclear weapons are not as secure.

If Americans are entitled to hit Iraq unilaterally, then why isn't Russia entitled to the same with respect to Georgia? Why is China not entitled to the same with respect to some other neighboring country which, according to Chinese views, may be supporting insurrection in Tibet or Shenyang? Why, say, India is not entitled to hit Pakistan, which openly supports terrorists in Kashmir and which has nuclear weapons, and which has a very fragile domestic situation under which fundamentalists any day can come to power

Russian international weakness was largely due to failures of Russian economic reforms, which made Russia extremely vulnerable, extremely dependent on foreign financial aid

It's a very painful and difficult process of many mistakes when people receive the right to vote, to elect their leaders when they become the subject for mass media for political manipulation. In particular, in a country like Russia, because we had to go through this period very quickly, it has been, I would say, a crash course in democracy

To demand the requirements of nations to contribute to the struggle against terrorism, we need much more precise definitions so that the war against terrorism is not used, [even] as it protects, to justify other purposes -- domestic purposes or external purposes. This discredits the very notion of a joint fight against terrorism.

The work of a Russian parliamentarian is very much like the work of an American congressman. It's mainly affecting the policymaking of the government

If Americans are entitled to hit Iraq unilaterally, then why isn't Russia entitled to the same with respect to Georgia? Why is China not entitled to the same with respect to some other neighboring country which, according to Chinese views, may be supporting insurrection in Tibet or Shenyang? Why, say, India is not entitled to hit Pakistan, which openly supports terrorists in Kashmir and which has nuclear weapons, and which has a very fragile domestic situation under which fundamentalists any day can come to power

It's a very painful and difficult process of many mistakes when people receive the right to vote, to elect their leaders when they become the subject for mass media for political manipulation. In particular, in a country like Russia, because we had to go through this period very quickly, it has been, I would say, a crash course in democracy

Nuclear materials are not as safe as nuclear weapons …. The nuclear materials which are received after dismantling nuclear weapons are not as secure.

Russian international weakness was largely due to failures of Russian economic reforms, which made Russia extremely vulnerable, extremely dependent on foreign financial aid

The work of a Russian parliamentarian is very much like the work of an American congressman. It's mainly affecting the policymaking of the government

To demand the requirements of nations to contribute to the struggle against terrorism, we need much more precise definitions so that the war against terrorism is not used, [even] as it protects, to justify other purposes -- domestic purposes or external purposes. This discredits the very notion of a joint fight against terrorism.

Not since June 1941 has the Russian military stood as perilously close to ruin as it does now.