"I have no relationship with him other than he called me a genius. He said Donald Trump is a genius and he is going to be the leader of the party and he's going to be the leader of the world or something,"- President Trump on the 2016 campaign trail. Since President Trump has come to power, there has been great concern over his ability to competently deal with Vladimir Putin and United States relations with Russia.  While the State Department as well as the Department of Defense are both very wary about the possible effects Trump’s love for Putin could have on America, President Trump has made it clear that he will not change his stance. This causes many problems for the United States, because Trump has stated he will not engage in an armed conflict with Russia. This issue is close to me as I am studying Russian American relations and intend to work on the international level. This would mean that I would have constant interactions with Russia, and would like our nation to be able to have positive relations.   By looking at Russian foreign affairs we can see that President Trump is unfit to deal with them, due to his lack of experience in this particular field. This is important because the United States could be attacked by Russia and we currently do not have a leader strong enough to stand up to Putin. 

The United States and Russia have had a long tension filled relationship, starting before the Cold War. When the Cold War broke out the United States used propaganda to create the image that communism was the worst form of government and that Russia was pure evil. Ever since then the United States and Russia have fought to be the main super power in the world. The Cold War was a result of a rush to being the first nuclear power in the world. The constant threat of the use of nuclear bombs by both countries has created a relationship that is beyond repair. 

There were four main diplomatic mistakes made by both countries that created the tension filled relationship we see today (Lodestar 695). These mistakes mainly took place in the United Nations, and were made in relation to the Security Council’s mistake in handling the situation.  The mistake that had the biggest impact was the NATO Council on Russia. This was a council formed by a coalition of European countries and the United States, to make sure that international security was protected (Lodestar 699-700). The mistake was made when the United States went back on the council for political reasons, disregarding the diplomatic importance. This gave Russia a feeling of power over America because they thought that we were weak. This sparked the beginning of the current relationship between the United States and Russia. In the current state of affairs between the United States and Russia, scholars believe that President Putin is attempting to manipulate President Trump into complying with Russia’s ideology and plans in war (Malone).

During his campaign President Trump made it very clear that his intentions were to befriend President Putin and build a relationship with Russia. In any other situation this would have been a positive, to be able to work out the differences between the two countries would lead to some immense benefits for the world. But President Trump is vastly under qualified for this position, and due to his perceived weakness by other counties it can lead to the United States losing power (Last Week Tonight). President Trump also has various personality issues, because he becomes easily frustrated and angered. This could lead him to make decision in the situation room without fulling thinking through the ramifications of his choices. 

 Militarily, President Trump is underqualified and has not proven that he can efficiently lead an army. President Trump has said in more than one interview that he feels unable to order an attack against Russia if Putin showed aggression towards America (Leonhard). This poses an issue because Putin has been known to be manipulative.  If he manipulates Trump into ignoring the aggressive moves he makes Trump may not be a strong enough leader to respond. This would create many issues for Americans and could potentially compromise our national security. Further Putin has manipulated many other world leaders in the past, and has been known to eliminate any opposition.

Over past sixteen years Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Владимир Путин) has been the president of Russia. His extended period of time in office has allowed him to become very powerful. This has also allowed him to become a loved figure by the Russian people, who know no better than what Putin has taught them. Putin has taught many of the Russian people that America is full of bad ideas, and does so convincingly. As well as anti-American propaganda there Putin also rigs elections, and points out flaws in opposition parties. This behavior has kept him in power for so long.  During his time in office many of Putin’s opponents have mysteriously disappeared, and many have been found dead. 

Most recently, Boris Nemstov, a political reformer was shot by an unknown assassin in Moscow the day of a rally (Filipov). Nemstov was an activist for reform in Russia that would allow Russians to be more free, and have more rights. He was seen as a possible pick for the next President of Russia during the next election cycle (Filipov). This case alone would seem unconnected to President Putin’s power, but there have been dozens of suspicious deaths just like this one.  This creates an issue for the United States, regarding a relationship with Russia. What would it say if the United States had a strong tie to a country whose leader continuously murders any form of opposition? In relation to President Trump, over the course of his campaign he changed his platform and had many instances where he misspoke about his beliefs or lied about what his intentions were. This shows that he is easily persuaded which is dangerous. If President Trump were to be persuaded to do something that undermines American values our democracy would be ruined. On the other hand, if President Trump does not comply with President Putin the ramifications could be much worse. 

Due to the seriousness of this issue, many scholars have taken it upon themselves to research and predict what could happen if the United States and Russia’s relationship took a turn for the worse. The Council on Foreign Relations recently had a seminar where top scholars discussed possible outcomes of actions taken against America. Robert Legvold a professor at Columbia University said that he believes that for the first time in history there are two competing powers that have no reason not to fight (The State of U.S.-Russia Relations) and what makes this situation especially dangerous is the chain reaction that will follow an infraction. What he means by this is, if America makes an aggressive move towards Russia, Russia will respond, and this will go back and forth until it hits the nuclear level. And when that level is reached other countries will have no choice but to get involved, in an attempt to stop the nuclear war. This will create a World War III which will have much greater consequences than any other war in history. The consequences of another war would be much greater because of the advances in technology. This would force other countries to engage in this war too, which would be catastrophic.

Another scholar Fiona Hill says she believes that we are not yet at the point of a ‘war scare’ but closer to a minor infraction. She said she believes that neither country wants a nuclear war, and therefore would never make an aggressive enough of a move to make the other retaliate with nuclear power (The State of U.S.-Russia Relations). She did however state that this type of behavior we are seeing from both countries is not good. She goes further to state that because of the lack of punishment when one country violates a treaty, it allows the other to feel more powerful. This will continue until one country decides enough is enough. At that point there will be an infraction between the two countries, and we will not know the outcome until then.

Another reason why a building a strong relationship with Russia right now is not a good idea is the world view. The United States has had a long standing tradition of being the main super power that attempts to help other countries democratize. While it is a positive America wants to help other countries, Russia is usually on the other side of the issue. For example, currently in Syria the United States is arming and aiding the Syrian rebels, who are attempting to democratize Syria and make the country free. While aiding rebels who are seeking asylum from religious persecution seems like the moral thing to do, Russia is currently aiding the Assad family who have ruled for over forty years (McClam). The Assad’s are being overthrown for their unfair treatment of Shia and other smaller denominations for Islam in their country. The Assad family comes from the denomination of Sunni, which is less than half of the population of Muslims in Syria, though holds the most power and gets the most aid from the government (McClam). In addition, Assad has ruled harshly, and has imprisoned many for disagreeing with him and his regime. This regime is much like Putin’s regime in Russia, though the Assad family did not have enough power to fight against the Arab Spring. 

 As a result of Russia repeatedly aiding countries with failing authoritarian regimes the United Nations and the United States have imposed many sanctions on Russia. Russia has repeatedly broken these sanctions with little to no consequences. This has put us into what scholars call a New Cold War. Professor Cohen of Princeton University spoke on the issue, and said that the situation the United States is in is very dangerous. He went further to explain that Russia currently feels like they do not report to anyone, and that none of their actions will have consequences (The State of U.S. Russian Relations). This is important because Russia is a major super power, and has been itching to show their strength on the international stage. This causes problems for the United States specifically because President Trump has never dealt with Russia in this way before.

 The most recent example of Russia getting away with disobeying international sanctions, would be the attempted annexation of the Ukraine and other smaller countries surrounding Russia. Vladimir Putin invaded and declared annexation of these countries, because before World War II they were a part of Russia. These small countries have fought hard for their freedom and had it ripped away without the thief receiving any punishment. The United Nations without the backing of the United States is not strong enough on its own to enforce these sanctions and needs the United States to step in and help put Russia in their place (Lodestar 710). Since President Trump has not taken a stance on these issues it does not look like there will be a solution anytime soon. The negative ramifications of President Trump’s lack of experience could affect American foreign relations for decades to come. 

 While there are many negative social ramifications to President Trump attempt to build a relationship with Russia, one positive is the possible economic benefits. In her article Jessica Rovello states that there is a difference between, “Washington/Moscow relations are not the same as American/Russia relations” (Say). This is an important statement to be made because when the average American thinks of Russia then think of the politics and not what their culture and economy have to offer. Rovello goes on to speak about the strong ties many corporate companies have with Russia, and how positive these relationships have been. The United States is one of the leading importers of Russian products. If the United States ruins this relationship, then they could in turn be ruining the American economy. 

In addition to the economic benefits there is also a large cultural exchange between the two countries. Historically, Russian literature is considered some of the greatest in the world and America should value where it came from and the history that comes along with it.  She argues that even though there are many political differences between the two countries we still need to get along and respect each other. American’s live in a country where there is constant argument over ideology, and  Rovello shows how President Trump could be qualified to build a relationship with Russia because he is a businessman. 

 Rovello’s article does a very nice job of explaining that are plenty of reasons that Trump’s business background will not help the United States have stronger foreign relations. President Trump has repeatedly made statements saying that he has never had any contact with Russia or Vladimir Putin. To many Americans this is more comforting than believing that our President is a good friend of Putin. But very recently the FBI director, James Comey has stated that the FBI has opened an investigation into Trump and his advisor’s connections with Russia (US Officials). 

This possible communication poses many issues. First, if the investigation shows that Trump has ties with Russia, even just business ties, this would mean that he had been lying to the American public for months. Second, if the results show that Trump has secret ties with Putin there is a major issue of national security. Putin is very manipulative and therefore cannot be trusted with America’s secrets, as we would not trust any other foreign leader with national secrets. Finally, it would show that Trump is unfit to be trusted with America’s secrets. There have been more scandals in the short time Trump has been president than with any other president, which is not a good way to start off his four years. 

In conclusion, Trump has shown that he is unfit and unable to be a strong foreign relations leader. In the short time he has been President there have been many issues regarding foreign relations with Russia. He ran on the promise of building a relationship with Russia, while he continuously denies ever knowing President Putin. In addition, there are other factors that make a relationship with Russia a bad idea right now. The rest of the world would view America as weak for befriending them in a time when we must remain strong and uphold our core values as a country. While the economic benefits would be nice, it is more important to be morally and ethically right than it is to have a thriving economy. Overall, President Trump is unfit to deal with this situation due to his lack of experience, and the United States must find a way to remain the good world power we strive to be and other countries expect of us. 
