"The truth is that no one knows whether the United States or any other members of NATO would risk a nuclear exchange with Russia over slivers of contested territory in Eastern Europe. Much more credible would be a promise of low-level support that preserves Baltic sovereignty, raises Russian costs, and reduces the risk of escalation.



The essence of this approach is to let Russia continue to engage in self-defeating behavior without acting in ways that raise the specter of nuclear escalation. In other words, the scenario I have described for a Baltics crisis would mimic U.S. policy towards Russia for the last year and a half. This approach is clearly unsatisfying to some U.S. defense officials who believe the administration is “too timid.” These critics fear that the White House is not taking the Russian threat seriously, and is avoiding the kind of bold action needed to reassure NATO allies and deter Russia. But the administration’s conduct is not based on some blasé attitude about Moscow, but on the recognition that Russian strategy has been working against Russian interests. Putin’s mistakes are demolishing his plan to make Russia a great power again, and letting him continue is sensible. Reshaping American strategy and force posture to keep up with a blundering adversary is an unnecessary risk. As President Obama himself noted, “at least outside of Russia, maybe some people are thinking what Putin did wasn’t so smart.”"

Muratov said on being named co-winner of the Nobel Prize last October that he dedicated it to the memory of six of his paper's journalists who had been murdered for their work.