Recommended: Dmitry Medvedev’s Article, Go Russia!

Fareed Zakaria interviewed Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, on his GPS program this past Sunday. It was a fascinating interview, very cordial in tone. But Fareed, as usual, asked all the hard questions. Medvedev is clearly a bright and engaging guy, but just as clearly, he is Russian first and foremost, with a Russian view of the world.

Just a few days before this interview was taped, Medvedev wrote an article that has been widely reprinted. You can read a translation of the article here. It is an extraordinary piece to come from a Russian leader. It speaks quite frankly and intelligently about Russia's domestic problems, and it give some insight into how Russian's current leadership sees the world and Russia's place in this world.

I strongly recommend reading it. Russia is not the global superpower it once was, or at least aspired to be. But it is nevertheless a major player on the world scene, and we in the Western world have got to learn how to live with Russia, and how to be sensitive to its concerns, if we want Russia to help us with issues like Iran's nuclear program.