© "Russia in Global Affairs". № 1, January - March 2008

Russia in Global Affairs is celebrating a small anniversary: five years ago – in January 2003 – the first regular issue of our journal appeared in print. Five years is a short period of time in historical dimensions, but the pace and substance of the current changes make one recall the practice of calculating one’s length of service in the Soviet Union. At that time, a year of work under harsh climatic conditions or a year of performing a hazardous job was counted as two.

Over these past five years, global politics has taken several sharp turns and Russia has changed markedly, as well. These years have seen many events, which we witnessed and covered. These events were analyzed by our most remarkable writers – policymakers, scholars and writers from Russia and all major world countries. Judging by the interest evoked by those publications, this journal’s approach has found an appeal among our readers.

Relations between Russia and the West in our rapidly changing world have always been our focus. In this “anniversary” issue, we discuss this subject again, especially as present developments give cause for this all the time. In our very first issue, Vladimir Lukin wrote about the need to abide by the European orientation and thus to confirm Russia’s civilizational identity. Five years later, he follows up on this subject. Philip Hanson draws the reader’s attention to some practical aspects of Russian-EU cooperation in the energy sector. He is confident that the mutual dependence of Russia and the European Union leaves them no choice and the parties are “doomed to cooperate.”

Boris Mezhuev holds that Russia and the EU are divided not by some minor factors, but because they belong to different types of cultural and political consciousness. Therefore Russia and Europe must learn how to live and cooperate without trying to understand each other. Igor Zevelev raises the issue, which is actively discussed now, of Moscow’s attitude toward Russian compatriots abroad and the prospects of using the Russian diaspora in Russia’s own interests.

Sir Roderic Lyne is optimistic about the future. He believes that in a couple of years the West will cease to view Moscow’s desire for an independent position as something hostile, while Russia, having overcome its period of self-assertion, will become a strong and responsible partner. Anatoly Vishnevsky analyzes the global demographic situation and concludes that without a serious partnership with the West, Russia will find it very hard to keep its independence in the face of Asian giants. Jean-Pierre Lehmann draws a gloomy picture of the global economy. He is apprehensive about the growth of protectionism, which can bring about conflicts between traditional centers of economic influence and new ones – Russia, China and India.

Ivan Safranchuk focuses on the situation in Central Asia, which is generally believed to be an arena of geopolitical rivalry between Russia, the United States and China. Georgy Toloraya analyzes Russia’s policy with regard to the Korean conflict – one of the most acute problems in the Pacific region. General Victor Yesin urges Russia and the U.S. to preserve the nuclear arms control regime, which may cease to exist several years from now.

The handover of power in Russia opens a new political cycle in this country. Dmitry Furman tries to figure out whether there is any chance for ideological pluralism amid political stability and the domination of one political force. Leonid Grigoriev writes about the main task Russia’s next president will face – namely, the large-scale modernization of the country. This task is unfeasible without joint active efforts by the state, business and civil society. Mikhail Delyagin warns about the dangers that Russia’s economic and geopolitical luck of the last few years may pose in the near future.

Alla Yazkova writes about Moscow’s ethnic policy, which has repeatedly caused deep crises in Russia and the Soviet Union. Finally, in our Controversy section, Russian diplomat Vladimir Kazimirov and Azerbaijani political analyst Fuad Ahundov argue about the causes behind the deadlock in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the oldest ethnic conflict in the territory of the former Soviet Union, which erupted during the last years of the Soviet Union. The conflict is twenty years old this winter.

Our next issue will mainly focus on one subject. In May 2008, Vladimir Putin will officially step down as the president of Russia, and we will sum up some of the results of his eight years in power.