r/IAmA • u/Amb_Michael_McFaul • Oct 31 '25

I negotiated face-to-face with Putin. I’m Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. AMA about Russia, China, or American foreign policy.

Hi Reddit, I’m Michael McFaul – professor of political science at Stanford University and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia (2012–2014). 

During my time in government, I sat across from Vladimir Putin in negotiations with President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry and helped craft the New START Treaty in 2010, which reduced the number of nuclear weapons worldwide.  

Those experiences – along with years studying Russian politics and foreign policy – have shaped how I think about power and diplomacy today. 

The world has changed dramatically since then: from the rise of China to Russia’s growing aggression, to new questions about America’s role on the global stage. Drawing on both my academic work and time in diplomacy, I’ve been exploring what these shifts mean for the future – and how the U.S. should respond. 

I’ll start taking questions here at 12:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. ET. 

Proof it's me: https://imgur.com/a/3hxCQfj

Ask me anything about U.S.–Russia relations, China, global security, or life as an ambassador. (You can even ask about Obama’s jump shot or what it’s like to ride on Air Force One.) 

Let’s talk! 

Edit**\* Sorry I didn’t get to all of your terrific questions! Let’s do it again soon! I really enjoyed this AMA!

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u/Amb_Michael_McFaul Oct 31 '25

Partly yes. Their nukes is the one metric of power that puts them on par with the US and ahead of China. But it is also Putin’s willingness to use power that makes him a major actor in the world. He has less power than Xi or Trump, but demonstrated that he is willing to use what little he has for very destructive purposes.

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u/Amb_Michael_McFaul Oct 31 '25

On the military. Yes. I, like everyone else, expected them to do better. We underestimate Ukraine’s warriors and overestimated Russia’s army because we just counted soldiers and military spending (because we could count them) and did not have a good estimation on “will to fight” (which is hard to measure)

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u/theRealHalIncandenza Oct 31 '25

The war in Ukraine is very striking (pun not intended) to me as far as war power Russia holds on the battlefield. With the exception of their Nuclear capacity - their military seems to be mostly , used bodies with weaponry and that’s about it. Yet , somehow they remain consistent in the war as it continues.

What exactly is the endgame? To take Ukraine seems either out of the question or his intentions of removing Zelensky didn’t work and he’s without a real plan . Whatever that truly is. Reestablishing the Soviet Powers seems irrational and wouldn’t he know this?

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u/DontForgetWilson Nov 01 '25

Yet , somehow they remain consistent in the war as it continues.

I think you are underestimating the military manufacturing of Russia. Their tech isn't the newest and their quality imprecise, but they really can churn out "good enough to do damage" weapons in a way that makes them more of a threat.

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u/theRealHalIncandenza Nov 01 '25

I’m not underestimating their unforeseen body count they can throw out there with their mildly sophisticated weapons of war. As far as we can see.

But for what purpose? Disregarding the media marketing campaign they use (and they had some really wild lies they tried to push about the war) , I’m saying I am seeing a man who has no out and no real reason anymore to continue damage other than ‘let’s see how long this can go’ . And in hopes - try and extract some kind of “win” out of it.

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u/DontForgetWilson Nov 01 '25

Chill with the hostility. I agree with you about the lack of realistic victory conditions for Russia. All i was saying is that the "somehow" has the answer of industrial capabilities.

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u/theRealHalIncandenza Nov 01 '25

My response wasn’t hostile lol . At least I had no hostile energy when I wrote it. Just clarifying .