LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE
December 2007
A major foreign player again
By Jean Radvanyi
Russia’s foreign policy has been one of the main forces for change in the
new strategy adopted by Vladimir Putin when he was first elected president
in March 2000. This is not surprising as all Russian leaders, and the
population in general, have always been sensitive to Russia’s position in
the world. With the dismantling of the USSR there were developments that
could only heighten their concerns: a brutal loss of territory and of
regions that had been “Russian” for generations; confusion as to the
identity of Russians in the former Soviet republics (many of whom were
relatives or friends); and massive immigration from these republics into
Russia.
The changes inside the country and a painful awareness of its loss of
international influence prepared the way for a rise of nationalist sentiment
in the population. Most of the political parties, and the Putin government
itself, have not hesitated to play on this. Nearly all the major decisions
recently taken on institutional, economic and social reform have exploited
the logic of patriotic rhetoric, promising to reinstate Russia’s authority
in world affairs and its rightful role in the globalisation process.
There is another element underlying the changes in Russian foreign policy.
The general view in political circles, and not just within the Putin
administration, is that Russia has been duped by the West.
When the Russian president initiated a spectacular reconciliation with the
United States following the 11 September 2001 attacks, his motives were not
disinterested: the Kremlin was buying time to consolidate its domestic
economy, and it was also interested in establishing a parallel between
global terrorism and the Chechen uprising. Putin’s approach – which was not
entirely welcomed by the Russian elites – could have marked a significant
turning point in relations between his country and the Atlantic Alliance.
In the event, the US interpreted his moves as a sign of Russian weakness,
and proceeded to roll out strategies to counter Russian influence, even in
areas where the federation’s strategic interests were really at stake – from
Ukraine to the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Russia has never really succeeded in redefining its relations with its
closest neighbours in a satisfactory manner. It has made brutal decisions,
though some were legitimate (such as the realignment of its gas prices with
the global market), and it has been accused of political interference (in
the 2004 elections in Ukraine, for example); this has only added weight to
its opponents’ claims.
Even so, can we ignore the American and European interference in the
“colour” revolutions (1)? Excessive Western military activity and human
rights abuse have escalated in the Iraqi and other recent conflicts, and
Russians are now less and less willing to accept the double standards to
which they are frequently exposed by their critics.
The Russian president’s denunciations in Munich last February (2) at least
raised the issues frankly. Although the western press found his speech
brutal, it was an invitation to renew dialogue on sensitive issues: the
extension of Nato to other former-USSR republics such as Georgia, the US
missile defence system, Kosovo and nuclear Iran, to cite the most obvious.
The Kremlin’s aim in such talks is to impose new working relations with the
West, setting aside for good the model of the 1990s in which Russia was no
more than a minor partner of the West. Moscow will not now be pushed into
what it sees as imbalanced agreements (such as the European Energy Charter).
Putin’s vigorous political discourse is electorally motivated of course, but
it nevertheless indicates a firm geostrategic foothold: Europe and the US
will have to take on board the emergence of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and
China). Putin rarely misses a chance to recall that his country is more than
a European state, and that it will continue to develop its Asian frontier
(as it is doing with Beijing inside the Shanghai Group (3)). If he continues
to enjoy such popular support, it is largely due to the popular perception
that Russia is again a major player on the international scene.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[email protected]
http://www.antic.org/
