Thomas Graham, "Getting Russia Right" (Polity Press, 2023)

Sep 10, 2025

Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, shares his insights on Russian history and statecraft. He critiques the U.S. approach to Russia, suggesting that American leaders underestimated its resilience post-USSR. Graham introduces the concept of 'competitive coexistence' as a potential strategy to manage relations. He also delves into the complexities of Putin's motivations and the misjudgments that have shaped current tensions, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of Russia's national interests.

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INSIGHT

Post-Cold-War Optimism Was Misplaced

The 1990s optimism assumed Russia would adopt Western liberal democracy and market systems.
That assumption ignored Russia's different historical trajectory and internal political realities.

INSIGHT

Russia Wanted Restoration, Not Conversion

Integration into the West was unlikely because Russia sought restoration as a great power, not transformation into a Western-style democracy.
Russians saw themselves as victors who deserved respect, not students to be taught American institutions.

INSIGHT

Russia's Strengths Outlast Its Weaknesses

Russia remains dangerous despite economic weakness because of its nuclear arsenal, scientific talent, and geostrategic position.
Even weakened, Russia can mobilize state resources and influence multiple strategic regions including the Arctic.

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“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia,” Winston Churchill once said. “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” That saying sounds as true now as ever in the midst of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In Getting Russia Right (Polity Press, 2023), however, Thomas Graham provides an expert perspective on Russian history and statecraft and offers timely keys to Russian national interests which can help the United States get Russia right.

As US-Russian relations scrape the depths of Cold-War antagonism, the promise of partnership that beguiled American administrations during the first post-Soviet decades increasingly appears to have been false from the start. Why did American leaders persist in pursuing it? Was there another path that would have produced more constructive relations or better prepared Washington to face the challenge Russia poses today?

With a practitioner's eye honed during decades of work on Russian affairs, Graham, a distinguished fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, deftly traces the evolution of opposing ideas of national purpose that created an inherent tension in relations. Getting Russia Right (Polity Press, 2023) identifies the blind spots that prevented Washington from seeing Russia as it really is and crafting a policy to advance American interests without provoking an aggressive Russian response. Distilling the Putin factor to reveal the contours of the Russia challenge facing the United States whenever he departs the scene, Graham lays out a compelling way to deal with it so that the United States can continue to advance its interests in a rapidly changing world.

Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached by email here or via his website. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. 

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