Wheaton prof and student collaborate on op-ed

David E. Powell, Professor of Russian Studies at Wheaton, and Hadrien J. Fraissinet, a Wheaton senior, have co-authored an op-ed on Russia's role in the war on terrorism and U.S. foreign policy. The piece was published in the October 25 issue of the Providence Journal and can be accessed by clicking here

Powell and Fraissinet assert that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put his own political future on the line by siding with the U.S. against terrorists. Given that, they say President George W. Bush should show his appreciation for America's new ally by dropping - at least for now - his plans to move forward with developing a national missile defense system. ''It is not unreasonable to ask the Bush Administration to defer research and development in the sphere of missile defense and relax its criticism of Moscow's behavior in Chechnya,'' wrote Powell and Fraissinet. ''We might even adopt a more forgiving posture toward Russia's Soviet-era debt, while also encouraging American investment in Russia. In view of the dramatic events unfolding in Central Asia and the Middle East, the Russian president's desire to play a constructive role in international affairs may be a godsend -- to America and to the struggle against terrorism.''

Powell is Wheaton's Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of Russian Studies at Wheaton and an associate of the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard. His research interests focus on Russian and Eastern European politics and social policy. Powell has co-authored two other published op-eds with Wheaton students.

Fraissinet is a senior at Wheaton majoring in international relations minoring in Russian studies. He is from Geneva, Switzerland and has worked at the United Nations. Fraissinet plans a career as an investment banker in Europe or as a private consultant on Russian affairs.