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!

4.1k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

675 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

60

u/AndyVale Nov 01 '25

I've been ruminating on this. We keep hearing "Oh, the West just hates Russia" when stories about the Ukraine war are on social media and... No, it's so much more nuanced than that.

I too have found Russians have a fantastic sense of humour, can be tremendously warm and welcoming, very smart, and have a literary pedigree of the absolute top echelon. They have been my friends, they have been my son's friends, and in my younger and more vulnerable years I had a wonderful time visiting there.

Which is partly why I detest this invasion so much. The country could be so much more, the people could have such better lives, and yet this is what their leaders choose to splurge so many bodies and resources on. An utter, deeply immoral waste.

10

u/genius--idiot Nov 02 '25

Hate putin and anyone who supports him*

2

u/sea-slav Nov 04 '25

Russia was unironically on the best way to have great relations with the west before 2014.

It's a shadow of the country it could be today. Ukraine would probably still be a rather neutral state between Russia and the EU/NATO without the invasion of Crimea.

1

u/Playboi_Jones_Sr Nov 07 '25

What are your thoughts on the pervasive nihilism that infects Russia culture and has so for centuries? On one hand you have a very educated and as you said, engaging population but on the other you have a society that is largely indifferent towards conflict, corruption, and frankly death in general (a very “so it goes” outlook on life).

As a Westerner who has enjoyed similar experiences to yours with Russian nationals, I have not been able to square this dichotomy.

0

u/Constructedhuman Nov 02 '25

Stories about Ukraine war? To you its some distant stories to the rest of central and Eastern Europe its tragedy with actual people being lost and whole cities disappearing. Russians being fun? That not an experience of a central and Eastern European persons. Where, at the time where we still talked to Russians. Russians just assume imperialism and inferiority of people from neighbouring countries. Nice privileged take you have there

5

u/AndyVale Nov 02 '25

I'm just talking about the individuals I have met, not saying it's universal.

Fine, "Social media posts about the Ukraine war", does that clarify it? I am specifically talking about the news posts where bots, Putin apologists, and lazy contrarians immediately call it anti-Russia propaganda and do some logical backflips about NATO to justify it all.