The Values Gap in U.S.-Russia relations

Critics of the "reset" in U.S.-Russia relations often argue that a true strategic partnership between the two countries is impossible because Russia recognizes few, if any, geopolitical priorities of the United States and doesn't adhere to its "values." Writing for the January 2010 issue of The Washington Quarterly David Kramer, for instance, points to "a widening values gap between the two countries."

By Eugene Ivanov

Critics of the "reset" in U.S.-Russia relations often argue that a true strategic partnership between the two countries is impossible because Russia recognizes few, if any, geopolitical priorities of the United States and doesn't adhere to its "values." Writing for the January 2010 issue of The Washington Quarterly David Kramer, for instance, points to "a widening values gap between the two countries."

It's very common, in certain circles in the United States, to call Russia a "police state" while describing the U.S. as a "beacon of liberty." However, as a recent article in The Economist has reminded us, the United States leads the world in the number of incarcerated people. Roughly one in 100 adult Americans is behind bars (and this number is even higher for certain ethnic and age groups).

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