Russia in Global Affairs

Following the disintegration of communism in the early 1990s, there occurred what was then referred to as an unblocking of many conflicts.

Political references to the past in the context of symbolic politics are aimed at (re)constructing the national idea of ‘We’ in Russian society. A reconsideration of the major narratives of the collective past is an important element in nation-building and it suggests a choice between different options for interpretation and evaluation.

In a world of new transnational challenges created by non-state actors the United States and Russia have much to gain from working together to cope with these new challenges. In short, the U.S. has more to gain from partnership with a strong reformed Russia rather than a weak declining Russia.

It is not our practice to publish special issues devoted to one topic. This time, however, we have made an exception.

The role the West played in the collapse of the Soviet Union remains a subject of debate.