Michael McFaul Quotations

I've always been against having the State Department promote civil society directly in other countries,

That is we are not moving in an antagonistic way. Our presidents definitely have a genuine, personal relationship that they both think is important and vital to their respective countries. But they are not looking to do anything new or creative, to try to make U.S.-Russian relations better or more comprehensive.

There are lots of rumors. What he really needs to do is fundamentally change his government. ... There's a lot of stagnation. ... I'm not so optimistic Yeltsin's going to do that.

There are lots of rumors, ... What he really needs to do is fundamentally change his government. ... There's a lot of stagnation. ... I'm not so optimistic Yeltsin's going to do that.

In the short run, the big windfall winners ... have been the Islamists.

In retrospect, all revolutions seem inevitable. Beforehand, all revolutions seem impossible.

I don't think the Bush administration could have been better served. This was a brilliant performance &#8212 and I say this as a critic of the Bush administration on a lot of things.