Russia's American think tank

The opening of a new American think tank isn't usually much of a story. (I have trouble keeping track of the ones in our building.) But the new Russian Institute for Democracy and Cooperation is raising a few eyebrows. The first Russian think tank based in the United States is seen by many as Vladimir Putin's payback for all the grief he's gotten from U.S. human rights NGOs over the years. Statements from the Institute's already-opened Paris branch about looking for "weak spots" in American democracy would seem to confirm the characterization.

But the institute's U.S. director, Andranik Migranyan, says that all they want to do is learn from U.S:

"We have very serious problems today concerning these problems of immigration, integration, and adaptation," Migranyan said at a recent press conference in Washington. "Russia is becoming more multinational, multiethnic, multireligious, and we have serious problems in this area. This country [the United States] has a long-lasting history on all these issues. And we would like to know how these problems are discussed here, how they are solved here -- as well as institutional problems, and problems [with values]. What do those things mean?"

The RIDC has bought office space in New York but hasn't yet announced a date for their opening. Meanwhile, Migranyan is holding meetings with established think tanks like the Brookings Instution and the Heritage Foundation.

Migranyan is pretty vague about where the institute gets its funding, which doesn't do much to dispel the notion that it will be little more than a Kremlin propaganda tool. Of course, if they ever open a D.C. office, they're welcome to join our softball league.

(Hat tip: David Johnson)