The Role of US Congress in Policy Shaping Towards the Russian Federation (2009-2018)

This paper analyzes the state of Russian-American relations during the period from 2009 to 2018 and the role played by the legislative power in the face of Congress. The author considers the main phases of the Russian-American relations over the past ten years. The paper discusses the main events and trends that have been observed during two qualitatively different periods: the first period is indicated as Obama’s first presidential term, when a “Reset” policy took place in the Russian-American relations and the so-called “Post-Reset”, and as a second period, the state of relations after the crisis in Ukraine, from 2014 to 2018. Particular attention is paid to the laws, initiatives, resolutions, and statements that came from congressmen in a specified period of time. As a result of the research, the author managed to identify the role of Congress in shaping the foreign policy towards the Russian Federation and how this policy has been changing in a given period.