Before Donald J. Trump does anything else, he’s going to have to articulate and navigate a position with Putin and a re-medievalized Russian security state.

http://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-resurrects-the-kgb-moscow-security/

https://www.amazon.com/Putins-Kleptocracy-Who-Owns-Russia/dp/1476795207

Americans — Far Left, Far Left, Down the Middle, I don’t care — may need a good review of the Cold War

https://www.amazon.com/Cold-War-New-History/dp/0143038273/

plus familiarity with “Active Measures” and the state’s history in relation to “Disinformation” and “Terrorism”

http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2016/09/counter-russian-disinformation-look-cold-war-tactics/131674/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_measures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_and_the_Soviet_Union

Consider it a syllabus.

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One day, BackChannels will collect the books around the place and write a 3×5 card for each and by category — there are more volumes in “The Russian Section” than appear online.  Nonetheless, and especially online for readers who arrive, much like the editor, with more curiosity than formal background in foreign affairs, international studies, and political science, there may be greater value in a short list — a short hallways with half a dozen doors — than in a comprehensive one.

In the online environment, such posts are stepping stones — no need to dwell: click on a selection and move on!

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