Founded in 1982, AFPC's Russia Program was one of the first private initiatives in Washington to establish ongoing connections between U.S. officials and the upper echelons of the political leadership in the Soviet Union and, subsequently, the Russian Federation. On the premise that Russia is an indispensable part of U.S. national security planning, the Russia Program engages in a wide range of activities relating to the U.S.-Russia relationship, as well as publishing the AFPC's flagship publication, the Russia Reform Monitor, which tracks the transition to democracy in the Russian Federation and U.S. policy toward the former USSR.