Kasparov is the only Russian expert at the Hill's anti-Russian party. For purposes of clarification, his opposition party in Russia--when joined by other liberal parties in previous elections--has failed to gain even 0.5% (half of one percent) of the Russians' vote. Maybe that's what qualifies him to decide what's best for the Russian people and their partnership with America. Russia Blog's article "Liberals and Lesbians" from March 2007 stays valid to this day: Russian liberals' attempts to attract the country's votes with under-aged kissing lesbians and dancing transvestites had failed. In fact a few babushkas died from heart attacks when watching the campaign concerts on TV. Isn't it wonderful, that four years later same people are the experts on what's best for U.S.-Russia relations?

However, the surrealism of the event is the fact that it features old Cold War warriors, who graduated from high schools hiding under the study desks from Soviet (not Russian) missiles, and who know just as much about modern-day Russia as Dwight D. Eisenhower. The event panelists' average age seems to be hovering in the neighborhood of 65. With all due respect to the elders, American and Russian presidents are nearly two decades younger than that, and the future is being shaped by people who grew up in a different world. If Washington conservatives simply hate everything that Obama has launched - that's fine, but they should pick other issues than disallowing the President of the United States of America to address them on His schedule at the Congress or whining about Russia, who is technically irrelevant to the U.S. imminent national interests. One of my (American) friends thinks that D.C. Republicans are so anti-Obama and anti-Everything-to-do-with-him-including-Russia-Reset because of the color of his skin. I sure hope my friend is wrong.

Here's a piece of advice to our colleagues at the Heritage: change the conference title from "Washington Must Watch Its Steps with Moscow" to "Washington Must Watch Its Spending." Maybe then you'll get a more exciting event. Honorable Boehner should be worried about nearly $15 trillion of U.S. national debt, and technically should not have time for a political circus like this one. Vladimir Putin can afford horse riding and fishing, because--despite Russia's rampant corruption and the world financial crisis--he has managed to balance Russia's budget and satisfy the general population. When Putin took over Russia, nearly 34% of the population lived under the poverty line; today the number is below 12% and the official per-capita income has surpassed that of some EU countries. Russia is not engaged in any military conflict abroad and enjoys a healthy debt-to-GDP of under 10 percent.

Once Washington politicians and think tanks figure out how to balance their country's books and get America out of real wars, they may have time to entertain chess masters and old-timers with fairy tales of the Horrible Russia. Until then, the time and energy can be (and should be) better spent solving real issues that threaten the American nation. Real work requires hard effort and true responsibility, but who wants to do that in D.C.?

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Heritage Foundation's original posting:

The Risks of the Reset: Why Washington Must Watch Its Step with Moscow

Featuring Keynote Remarks by

The Honorable John Boehner (R-OH)
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
and
Garry Kasparov
Founder, United Civil Front, and former World Chess Champion

Conference Agenda:

8:30 a.m. Registration

9:30 a.m. Panel 1 - The Strategic Risks of the Reset

Baker Spring
F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy,
The Heritage Foundation

Stephen J. Blank
Research Professor of National Security Affairs,
U.S. Army War College

Dr. Svante Cornell
Director of Research, Caucasus/Central Asia Institute,
Johns Hopkins University

The Honorable Michael Turner (R-OH)
Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Kim R. Holmes, Ph.D
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies,
The Heritage Foundation (Host)

11:00 a.m. Panel 2 - The Economic Risks of the Reset

Jeff Gedmin
Chief Executive Officer and President, Legatum Institute

Daniel Kaufmann
Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Chrystia Freeland
Global Editor-at-Large, Reuters

David Satter
Senior Fellow, The Hudson Institute

The Honorable Doug Lamborn (R-CO)
Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Ariel Cohen, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow for Russian and European Studies,
The Heritage Foundation (Host)

12:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. Keynote Address

"Reasserting American Exceptionalism in the U.S.-Russia Relationship"
The Honorable John Boehner (R-OH)
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President, The Heritage Foundation (Host)

2:30 p.m. Panel 3 - The Risks to the Rule of Law

Donald Jensen
Senior Fellow, Center for Transatlantic Relations
Johns Hopkins University

Arch Puddington
Director of Research, Freedom House

Clifford D. May
President, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

The Honorable Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Charles "Cully" Stimson
Senior Legal Fellow, The Heritage Foundation (Host)

4:30 p.m. Closing Keynote

"Why Vladimir Putin Is Immune to the American Reset"
Garry Kasparov
Founder, United Civil Front, and former World Chess Champion

Lee Edwards, Ph.D.
Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought,
The Heritage Foundation (Host)

Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Time: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Location: The Heritage Foundation's Allison Auditorium

RSVP: http://www.heritage.org/Events/2011/10/Risks-of-the-Reset

or call (202) 675-1752

News media inquiries, please call (202) 675-1761

All events can be viewed live at heritage.org.

In 2009, the Obama Administration announced a "reset" of relations with Russia. The reset came in the wake of the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, which brought U.S.-Russian relations to a post-Cold War low. Since then, the "reset" has become a centerpiece of American foreign policy, and has been embodied in the negotiation and ratification of the New START Treaty in 2010, as well as in U.S. hopes that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev would be the face of a new, modernizing, and friendly Russia.

The announcement last month by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that he will return to the Russian presidency in 2012 raises further serious doubts about the "reset" policy, doubts that have only been exacerbated by the refusal of the Russian Justice Ministry to register a prominent opposition party, by Russian pressure on independent states like Ukraine and Georgia, by Russia's relations with rogue states such as Iran, and by the workings of a justice system that has - in the case of Sergei Magnitsky - attracted bipartisan concern in the United States.

American policy towards Russia must certainly reflect American interests. But it must also reflect the values that shape those interests, and the emphasis that we place on limited government, the rule of law, human rights, economic freedom, democratic politics, and the sovereignty of democratic nation-states. A foreign policy that does not respect these values, summed up in the concept of American exceptionalism, will not command the support of the American people. It is particularly incumbent on conservatives to recognize the importance of American leadership based on our founding principles, and to warn of the risks posed when the United States fails to respect these principles.

Please join a distinguished group of experts for this all-day conference, featuring a keynote address on the U.S.-Russia relationship by Speaker of the House John Boehner, a closing keynote by chess grandmaster and leader of the Russian opposition Garry Kasparov, and panels with experts on the risks posed by the reset of relations with Russia to America's strategic interests, economic freedom, and human rights and the rule of law.