President Obama's chief advisor on Russia, Michael McFaul has been appointed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. ambassador to Russia. He will change his predecessor John Byerly in early January 2012.

      Prof McFaul who is fluent in Russian received his degrees in International Relations, Slavic Languages and Slavic and Eastern European Studies from Stanford University. In 1991 he completed his Ph.D. in International Relations at the University of Oxford. Until his approval by the Senate he was a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, Russia and Eurasia Affairs, for the White House National Security Staff.

      McFaul has been regarded as one of the masterminds behind the changes in the U.S.-Russian relations. His appointment is expected to further boost the trust between Russia and the United States. It was, however, held back by the opposition from Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. who demanded written confirmation that "the United States will not provide Russia with any currently classified information on a missile defense system". As McFaul was finally appointed on December 17, it looks like the administration succeeded in reassuring the senator.

      Never the less, the choice for the ambassador runs against the opinion of some analysists who consider McFaul's appointment as one of the greatest blunders in the history of America's Congress. Kim Zigfeld of American Thinker writes: "McFaul obviously felt he needed to distract the attention of the Congress from the total failure of American policy on Russia, a failure which has resulted in Vladimir Putin, a proud KGB spy who hates America like the plague, returning to power as president for life.  McFaul chose to completely ignore this topic in his speech.  In fact, McFaul did not say the word "Putin" even once -- not once -- in his entire presentation".

      The now former U.S. ambassador to Russia John Byerly has not yet commented on his departure in his LiveJournal blog.

      Source: Washington Post, American Thinker.