Post Cold-War Soviet Union had left the country in a state of shambles. The economy was in ruins, the military was behind those of the western nations, and the government's ideologies were beginning to be questioned. When S.U. itself ceased to exist on December 25, 1991, the United States (Bush administration) initiated the redefining of relationship between the two countries. The U.S. had good intentions in mind, but things did not turn out the way they were expected. "The result has been a tragicomedy of tepid cooperation, mild saber-rattling, and missed opportunities, (Cohen)." Many critics, along with experts, had called for restructuring the current foreign policy with Russia. If changes are not made soon, both countries would suffer serious implications in addition to the problems they are already experiencing now.

The U.S. original intention was that they would aid Russia in integrating itself into the Western-based international system. As believed, this integration would reap two positive effects. The international system would offer not only financial, but political and security resources as incentives to Russia for reform and transition towards a market and democrati

http://www.foreignpolicy_infocus.org/briefs/vol3/v3n25fsu.html

Sestanovich, Stephen. "U.S. Policy Toward Russia."

http://www.state.gov/www/policy_remarks/1998/980716_sestanovich_russia.html

http://www.foreignpolicy_infocus.org/briefs/vol3/v3n26fsu.html

The U.S. has to strengthen accounting and control programs for the radioactive elements in the nuclear materials. Radioactive elements like uranium should be bought, so that it is used and stored properly. The government should support more funding for the nuclear arms control; support new arm talks with Russia, and not expand NATO until U.S.-Russian security relations are improved. Currently, the U.S. will not make any further negotiations until the Russian Duma ratifies the START II treaty; however, they should change their perspective. The U.S. should immediately start formal negotiations on START III because it is estimated that "Russia's operational warheads will decline to a thousand or less in the next decade due to lack of funds (Payne)."

Russia's economy is also in a dismal state and is getting worse. Although the statistics agencies reported a growth in industrial output in 1997, real profits in industry were down by five percent. Almost fifty percent of the industrial enterprises reported losses, a dramatic jump from the twenty-seven percent two years ago. As part of its economic policy, Washington had supported free trade policies that eliminated barriers to U.S. imports. As a result, Russia opened greatly to the West, from 1990-1994, imports grew from 14-39% in retail, but with few markets and a decreasing of the domestic market, Russian industries have fell dramatically (Gaddy). Investment was down for at least seven years in a row (In 1997, the overall level of capital investment in the economy's production sectors was only seventeen percent of what it was in 1990. In metalworking and engineering, it was an unbelievable five percent.

http://www.brook.edu/views/testimony/gaddy/19980716.htm

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3707
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)