Russia in Global Affairs

Whether we like it or not, our ties with the West are not going anywhere. Political contradictions and a military threat will force us, at least, to take into account the Western experience of organizing the army, industry, and science.

The era of “Grand Alliances” seems to have come to an end. The great powers (Russia certainly being one of them) are revisiting their commitments to client states and “junior partners” in real-time mode, focusing on internal processes and obligations to their citi-zens.

Russia does not need to expand or run a race with other powers. On the contrary, it closely monitors their actions with a view to ensuring the security of its own internal and external borders. These borders include particularly “the taiga of the Russian bear” President Putin has once mentioned in one of his speeches.

The total number of threats mentioned in the Strategy and “factors that negatively affect security” is approaching one hundred. The mere listing of them shows both the gravity of security challenges and the fact that the state is its only guarantor.