Jeffrey Hawn

The focus of my research is on the US Russian relationship leading up to the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993. I argue the brief period between the collapse of the USSR in December of 1991 and the crisis in September-October 1993, was a pivotal moment in shaping the post-Cold War world order, and what sort of nation Russia would be after the end of the USSR. Thus the focus of my research is two-fold. Examining the internal power struggle that led up to the crisis and how the struggle impacted and was shaped by Russia's relations with the West primarily the United States. While also examing how the US formulated and implemented policy toward Russia. I see this research as a crucial starting point in establishing a firm foundation for the broader scope of study that I am interested in namely understanding why Russia was not integrated into the Trans-Atlantic system after the Cold War, and what factors brought about the dynamics of the post-Cold War world order we are now contending with. As Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin so aptly put it Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда (We wanted the best, but it turned out like always).