Book Talk | Canceling Russia: The Ukraine War and the Rise of the Western Hawks
For the US foreign and security establishment and European countries to adopt a new diplomatic and economic strategy towards Moscow, it will be necessary to reconsider the widespread hatred of Russia that developed in Western societies during the war in Ukraine. All wars give rise to attitudes and propaganda of this kind; but it is to be hoped that peace will allow for a calmer and more objective approach that will criticize Russian actions without demonizing the Russian people and culture, or suggesting that Russian crimes are incomparably greater than those of the U.S. and its allies.
Andrei Tsygankov’s new book, Canceling Russia: The Ukraine War and the Rise of the Western Hawks (Palgrave Macmillan, January 7th 2026), is an essential early step in this process. In this work, one of the leading experts on the history of Russian foreign policy and US-Russian relations explores how the foundations for extreme and irrational Russophobia were laid long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He critiques the unprecedented way in which many Westerners extended condemnation of the Russian state to condemnation of the entire Russian nation, and sanctions against Russia were extended to the “cancellation” of contacts with ordinary Russians, including many who had condemned the war. Restoring these contacts will be essential if Europe is once again to live in peace.
The author spoke with Anatol Lieven, director of the Eurasia program at the Quincy Institute.
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Andrei Tsygankov
Andrei Pavlovich Tsygankov is professor of Russian and International Politics at San Francisco State University and author of numerous books on Russian history, foreign policy and national identity, including "Whose World Order?" (2004) and "Russia and the West from Alexander to Putin" (2011). He has spoken at various forums and has contributed to Asia Times, Johnson's Russia List, Moscow Times, Korea Herald, Los Angeles Times, Russia Profile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America and other media publications.
Anatol Lieven
Anatol Lieven is the director of the Eurasia Program and the Andrew Bacevich chair in American Diplomatic History at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He was formerly a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar and in the War Studies Department of King’s College London. Lieven is author of several books on Russia and its neighbors including The Baltic Revolutions: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence (Yale University Press, 1993), Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power? (Yale University Press, 1998), and Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry (US Institute of Peace, 1999).