Russia in Global Affairs

In an era of global instability and transition of power, those will survive who can adapt external and internal conditions to their needs. Markets, regional systems and military-political alliances are being redrawn worldwide. Modern great powerness should combine the protection of the world’s vital interests with active efforts to build a new world order and carry out necessary internal reforms.

The recent history of Russia saw a renaissance of the ideas of justice in relation to the world order. Only a few other foreign policy terms are mentioned probably as frequently in fundamental documents and in official speeches of modern Russia’s political leadership.

The world has been changing so dramatically lately that even the Russian approach to strategic stability, characteristic of the period after the collapse of the USSR, and its understanding adopted in 1990 are rapidly becoming obsolete. As non-nuclear weapons acquire strategic properties and the line between war and peace becomes increasingly vague, the very nature of the threat of nuclear war is changing fundamentally: its outbreak becomes much more likely due to the escalation of a non-nuclear conflict than to an unexpected nuclear attack.

Hardly anyone will disagree that Russia has never been an exclusively pragmatic power, driven only by practical interests. The feeling of a certain mission and a lofty goal has always been Russia’s inherent quality.

Russia has extensive historical experience of using force and diplomacy, which makes its strategic culture one of the most fruitful of all. The Russian elites have a large reserve of determination. They are able to mobilize resources to achieve foreign policy goals. Apparently, the strategy that stems from these qualities works best at a time when the international order is crumbling down and anar-chy is rising.

The living body is what matters. The bodies make up a population, a nation, citizenry that in most modern countries have been declared the bearers of sovereignty and the inalienable source of power.

The realization of national interests, and of foreign policy in general, depends not only on the conscious, scientifically grounded formulation of the content of these interests, but also on the perception by state leaders of the “avails and needs of their homeland and the aspirations of other countries.”

Pragmatism is one of the fundamental principles of Russia’s foreign policy. Although this term is somewhat abstract, its content is quite concrete. The 2016 Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation envisages that diplomats’ efforts should be focused on creating favorable external condi-tions for the country’s sustainable internal development.

Equality is one of the key social values in the modern world. It featured prominently in the foreign policy of the former USSR and great importance is attached to it in post-Soviet Russia as well. Equality as a principle, value and purpose is mentioned in all of Russia’s fundamental documents —from the Constitution to concepts and strategies. But what are the real manifestations of equality in interstate relations?