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About dr. Cristina Carpinelli
Expertise
Cristina Carpinelli is a politolog. She deals with research works, from economic and social point of view, concerning Central-Est Europe (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland), South-Est Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, balkan Countries), Russia and all Former Soviet Union Countries. Recently, She has also become an expert on gender issues in Countries mentioned above. She can't answer the questions relative to other geo-economic and political areas or about other questions outside her competence/knowledge. She lives and works in Milan (Italy).

Experience
Cristina Carpinelli wrote many articles and essays on the Ussr and on the transition of the Fsu from a planned economic system to a free market one. She wrote also some books (see below). Now, She is collaborating with some magazines/reviews (The Calendar of People, Slavia, Cassandra, Marxism today ecc.).

Organizations
She is a member of Scientific Committee of Cespi (International Problems Study Center) of Milan (Italy)- www.cespi-ong.org. She is also a collaborator of the Italian Monthly Magazine "Noidonne" (Wewomen) and a editorial staff member of "Gramsci oggi" (Gramsci today) magazine on-line.

Publications
“Soviet society in the years of the perestrojka”, New Authors, Milan 1991; "Women and family in Soviet Russia", F. Angeli, Milan 1998; "Identities in Transition: Fsu Countries after the Collapse of Real Socialism", Cespi, February 2004; "Women and poverty in Russia under El’cin administration (the era of liberal transition)", F. Angeli, Milan 2004; "The contradictions of real socialism in Soviet Union" in 'Marxism Today' n.2/2007; "The Russia in pieces" (Achab, Verona 2008); Forthcoming book: "The Enlargement of Europe to the Eastern European Countries" (2010).

Education/Credentials
Cristina Carpinelli graduated during the academic year 1983/84 with the thesis "The process of demografic ageing of the population in the Soviet Union" - State University of Milan, Faculty of Political Sciences (Statistics Department). The thesis of degree was elaborated in the Ussr, at the State University Lomonosov of Moscow. For a more detailed professional profile of Cristina Carpinelli, you can connected to: http://www.beepworld.it/members/criliberoit/curriculumenglish.htm

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Russia (News & Politics) - russia's allowing transit rights to US military

Expert: dr. Cristina Carpinelli - 11/3/2009

Question
is this not a major development in russian politics? for allowing transit rights to the US military for supplying the afghan effort through their airspace...it seems almost as if there was a deal made behind closed doors that saw Obama announce an end to the bush era missile defence shield in poland and czech rep. plus the issue of the manas base in kirgizstan where the russians apparently tried to pay the kirgiz $1.2 billion in jan '09 for not allowing the US to continue using the facilities then that decsision being overturned in was it july? for possibly being also some behind the scenes understanding between russia and the US. what do russians think of all this as far as you know? cold war over move on to new thinking and deal making with the west?

Answer
Russia allows transit of US military supplies across its territory (several NATO nations, including Spain, France, Germany and Canada, already transport non-lethal supplies to their contingents in Afghanistan via Russia under bilateral agreements), because fears Afghanistan is collapsing into anarchy, leading to instability or Islamic radicals migrating northward through Central Asia. Moreover, by welcoming the transit of U.S. supplies, Russia appears to send a signal to Washington that is ready to help on Afghanistan if the U.S. deals with Moscow when it comes to Central Asia. In recent years, Russia has been increasingly impatient with the U.S. military presence in energy-rich Central Asia, which Moscow considers its strategic backyard. An Afghan transit deal reflects a significant warming in US-Russian relations since last year, when the war in Georgia sparked a bitter dispute between Moscow and Washington. But the signal from Moscow is clear: Russia is willing to help on Afghanistan, but only on the Kremlin’s terms. It wants to reopen discussions on thorny policy issues that Washington and Moscow have clashed on in recent years: NATO enlargement, missile defense in Europe, a new strategic arms control treaty.
With this agreement (transit of US military supplies across its territory), Russia has also confirmed once again that it is a reliable and consistent ally of the US and the alliance fighting against international terrorism. This is quite significant when taking into account that all efforts by Washington and Brussels have failed to achieve a desired result. The Taliban movement has consistently expanding its area of influence, while the US command in Afghanistan expresses publicly fears of possible failure of the counter terrorist campaign in the country. The fight against international terrorism from russian point of view is primarily motivated by the sharp conflicts and tensions there are in Russia in its Muslim-dominated territories: particularly in Chechnya and Dagestan.
So, it seems Russia and the United States have decided to not more quarrel. For the Russians this “appeasement” is a great achievement, especially because the world finally begins to see again their country as the great power it once was. Finally, Russia can still determine the fate of the world and influence the choices of America. The world has entered a new era: the multipolar era, where Russia with its enormous natural resources (mainly oil and gas) is a strong partner on the world chessboard, even if the planet is facing a severe economic recession. For the Russians, the United States failed to unleash a new form of Cold War after the South Ossetian episode, not least because of the global financial and economic crisis. But the global economic crisis and U.S. President Barack Obama’s more enlightened foreign policy approach is putting the farcical idea of a new Cold War into proper perspective. World needs a new peace treaty - or rather a system of accords on global collective security. For the Russians, their country’s role in defining and building a new world order/balance will be decisive. Especially at this moment, where the threat of countries like Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan pushes America and Russia to be allies and not enemies. Russian-U.S. cooperation in international policies must become much more profound. For the Russians, emphasis should also be placed on establishing a new system for governing the global economy and finance, whose creation will be even more difficult if the confrontations of the Cold War are not resolved once and for all. "Russia and the United States must finish the unfinished war on all fronts" - they claim. Then, perhaps in 2019 - the year that will mark the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I - world may finally bid farewell to the 20th century.
Hi, Cristina.

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