In the weekend’s Washington Post, Georgetown professor Angela Stent discussed the sudden demand for Russia experts—in particular those Sovietologists and Kremlinologists who in the 1990s had been consigned to the dustbin of history (or, if they had tenure, the dustbin of history departments). But ever since Vladimir Putin annexed the Crimea, Stent and her cohort have been regaining prominence. The professor argues this should not be a passing fad.

“Unless we commit to educating a new generation about this onetime rival and possible partner,” she writes, “we won’t be prepared to deal effectively with Russia’s post-Putin generation, with all the risks and challenges—but also the opportunities—it will present.”