Russia in Global Affairs

Keeping the post-Soviet space as Moscow’s exclusive zone of influence is the Kremlin’s strategic goal. Transnational citizenship may eventually become one of the main tools for ensuring Russia’s hegemony in the region.

Until spring 2014, discussions about the new Russian national identity, including the Russian world concept, had little to do with Russia’s foreign policy and national security agenda. The revolution in Ukraine made it one of the issues critical for the survival of the Russian nation and statehood.

Maintaining a balance between the Euro-Atlantic vector and the Asian-Pacific vector of Russian foreign policy should not be a game of U-turns one way or the other, but should rather be characterized by flexibility and readiness to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

To build a real civic identity, a nation must have legitimate and, desirably, historically grounded borders, as well as stable and effective state institutions. The all-Russian nation within the present borders of the Russian Federation is young, unstable and weak. Regular elections, political parties, common social and economic problems, and politics could gradually become a shell for a new political nation.

The official attitude of Moscow toward Russians outside the Russian Federation after the disintegration of the Soviet Union shows quite clearly the victory of pragmatism over the phantoms of imperial heritage. Yet the political rhetoric concerning this issue often has a neo-imperialist tone. It plays a compensatory role in the national consciousness and lays foundations for more resolute actions in the future.

Russia could learn from the Chinese the intricate overtones of public diplomacy, even though it recognizes its own difference as a political player. Beijing skillfully lifts its partners’ concerns over the growth of China’s economic and military capability, and persistently profiles itself as a friendly country that is trying to build a harmonious world.