Russia in Global Affairs

Russia in Global Affairs Editor-in-Chief Fyodor Lukyanov took part in Meduza's podcast The Naked Pravda on Russia's peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan and security demands in Europe.

Scaremongers predicting abrupt departures in Berlin’s approach to nuclear arms control and deterrence got it wrong. The government’s coalition agreement emphasizes continuity over change.

Fyodor Lukyanov believes the West is unlikely to accept Russia’s demands because doing so would be politically impossible.

It is not yet clear what will replace the post-Cold War order in Europe. The major political and security institutions of this order – NATO, the EU, and the OSCE – remain, but their future roles and direction are unclear and in the process of redefinition, both from outside and from within.

A simple Google news search will lead the curious to literally dozens of articles about the likelihood of invasion. But there is something odd with this overwhelming onslaught of news: the articles have seemingly skipped the set-up, the lead-up from the Russian side that ostensibly should be driving this conflict forward.

Thirty years after the beginning of the new era, Moscow seems to have come to the conclusion that maintaining the previous system of omissions and signals becomes unproductive and only deepens the crisis.

For Russia, alliances can serve as an effective tool of ensuring national security. Moreover, alliances along the perimeter of the Russian border serve as a guarantee against further expansion of hostile blocs, since keeping an ally in its orbit by definition prevents it from defecting to the opposing camp.

The new Cold War between Russia and the U.S. has, in fact, had a positive impact on relations between the two nations: They are now simpler and stricter. 

Recent shockwaves in Russian-Ukrainian relations, and the increasing involvement of the US, could prove to be among the most significant milestones in the history of Europe since the end of the Cold War, over three decades ago.