Russia — a leading or a fading power? Students’ geopolitical meta-narratives on Russia's role in the post-Soviet space

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirke Mäkinen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Elite Level ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Discursive Field ◽  
Russian Universities ◽  
Russian Identity ◽  
Post Soviet Space

This article explores the construction of Russia's role in the post-Soviet space on the popular level of geopolitical culture. This empirical study is based on an interpretative analysis of open-ended survey responses of International Relations and Political Science students in Russian universities. The purpose of the article is twofold: first, to introduce the two main geopolitical meta-narratives constructed from students’ responses, Russia as a leading power and Russia as a fading power; and second, to show how they resonate with the broader discursive field on Russian identity and policies in the post-Soviet space. I argue that the two meta-narratives tell us about both support and challenges posed against the elite level of geopolitical culture, and Russia's foreign policy in the post-Soviet space. They also show variation on how Russia's role is represented, as well as on the goals which Russia should have vis-à-vis this space. The ideal role of Russia would be that of integration leader, but students disagree on whether this is the actual role now, or whether this can ever be attained. Moreover, not all would even agree with aspiring for this role; instead, Russia should re-orientate its foreign policy as well as domestic policy.

Eurasian Integration in the American Scientific-Academic Discourse

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-327
Author(s):  
Virsaviya Viver ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The United States ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Expert Community ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The article discusses modern Eurasian integration - regional processes of unification in the post-Soviet space, in which Russia plays a guiding role. Despite the declaration by the American establishment of the importance of the Eurasian macro region and the deep involvement of the United States in the region’s affairs, the American foreign policy discourse clearly shows a lack of interest on the part of the expert community in integration in the post-Soviet space against the backdrop of Washington’s assistance in integration processes in other regions of the world. In this regard, the purpose of the article is to analyze the current practice of coverage in the American scientific and academic discourse of Eurasian integration processes with the active role of Russia. Based on the opinion of American experts from centrist, liberal and conservative think tanks, it is planned to determine the place of Eurasian integration issues in the American foreign policy discourse, to determine the dynamics of changes in the process of coverage of Eurasian integration by the American expert community, and to outline the nature of the assessments of American experts on Eurasian integration projects.

scholarly journals The role of the Republic of Kazakhstan in geopolitical transformation in the framework of the «Eurasian project»

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-202
Author(s):  
M. M. Nurtazin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Eurasian Economic Union ◽  
The Status ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Economic Union ◽  
Post Soviet Space

In the process of researching the geopolitical transformation of the post-Soviet space as a «Eurasian project», the author uses the method of comparative analysis of the official foreign policy documents of the founding States of the Eurasian economic union. The author, highlighting Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus as subjects of the «integration core» in the post-Soviet space, reinforces the integration aspirations of these countries with economic data indicating their growing interdependence during the decade preceding the creation of the Union in may 2014.It is shown that the sanctions regime imposed by the Western countries on Russia and their negative impact on the economy of the EEU did not reduce the political will of the leaders of the «Troika» to continue further integration.A detailed research of the policy statements (publications) of the political leaders of the EEU «integration core» allows to determine the special role of Kazakhstan and its President N. Nazarbayev in the implementation of this large-scale geopolitical project.The author in considering programmatic foreign policy documents of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia offers to focus attention on the peculiarities of the positioning of the Eurasian economic union as integration entity. As a result, according to the author, the membership of Belarus in the «Eurasian project» was the result of a hard compromise for the Belarusian people. The Russian example shows that Moscow’s foreign policy vector was initially perceived by the EEU as a global project connecting Europe with the Asia-Pacific region. Now, however, Russia has positioned the EEU as a regional site. The author regards this as a decrease in the status of Eurasian integration and believes that this thesis looks very controversial. Kazakhstan, in turn, sees the «Eurasian project» as an opportunity to join the global economic chains. Thus, Astana attaches to the EEU exclusively global significance.The position of the Kazakh leader in the course of meetings with Western leaders is emphasized. The leader of Kazakhstan traditionally positions the EEU as an adequate and successful economic integration entity with which it is necessary to establish cooperation in all spheres. This allows him to be assigned the status of «advocate» of the «Eurasian project». At the same time, the article notes the support of the Eurasian views of N. Nazarbayev on the ideas of classical Eurasians P. Savitsky, G. Florovsky, N. Trubetskoy, G. Vernadsky, S. Solovyov, L. Gumilev.It is concluded that in the conditions of the remaining anti-Russian sanctions regime Kazakhstan’s participation in the EEU is one of the main factors of the legitimization of integration education at the regional and global levels. 

scholarly journals Russian Pop Music as a Factor of Russia’s “soft Power” in the Post-soviet space (on the Example of Belarus and Kazakhstan)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
I. I. Kalitko
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Pop Music ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Show Business ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The article is devoted to the study of the potential of mass-cultural factors of “soft power” of modern Russian pop music in the post-Soviet countries. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia’s key goals were to restore and strengthen its political influence in the post-Soviet space, as well as to preserve the socio-cultural space of the “Russian world”. Soft power policies, especially their cultural aspects, are a useful tool for achieving these goals. Today, the sphere of show business and the musical stage are becoming the most accessible and practical tools for promoting the Russian policy of “soft power”. The article examines the prospects of Russian foreign policy influence and the role of the Russian musical variety “soft power”, using the analysis of the popularity of Russian performers in the post-Soviet countries, on the example of Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Peacemaking as an important part of Russian foreign policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 63-68
Author(s):  
S. M. Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The article examines such an important aspect of Russian foreign policy as peacekeeping. Russia has been participating in many activities to maintain and strengthen peace in the post-Soviet space and in other regions of our planet. This activity is successfully carried out in the formats of the UN, CIS, CSTO, OSCE, other international organizations and on a bilateral basis. The author notes that the role of peacekeeping is growing immeasurably in the context of attempts to revive the atmosphere of the Cold War, the ongoing arms race in the world, the build-up of nuclear missile potentials of a number of countries, and the intensifi cation of the forces of international terrorism represented by radical Islamist groups.

THE CONCEPT OF THE BALTIC-BLACK SEA ARC AND UKRAINIAN FOREIGN POLICY (1990 - EARLY 2000)

2020 ◽  
pp. 89-108
Author(s):  
Alexandr S. Levchenkov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Caspian Region ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Eastern Baltic ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The article analyzes the influence of the concepts of the Intermarium and the Baltic-Black Sea Arc on the formation of Ukraine’s foreign policy in 1990 – early 2000. The use of these concepts in American, European and Ukrainian geopolitical thought, which historically included the idea of opposing Russian influence in the region, contributed to the increase in tension and was aimed at further disintegration of the Western flank of the post-Soviet space. The article proves that the design of the Euro-Atlantic vector of Ukraine’s foreign policy was already active under the first two Ukrainian presidents – Leonid Kravchuk (1991–1994) and Leonid Kuchma (1994–2005). One of the concrete attempts to implement the idea of forming a common political, economic, transport and logistics space of the Black Sea-Caspian region with a promising expansion of the cooperation zone to the whole of Eastern Europe and the Eastern Baltic during the presidency of Leonid Kuchma was the foundation and launch of a new regional organization, Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, better known as GUAM (composed by the initial letters of names of member states – Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova; when Uzbekistan was also a member of Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the name of the organization was GUUAM), which is an alternative to Eurasian projects with the participation of Russia.

scholarly journals Trade-offs and inconsistencies of the Russian foreign policy: The case of Eurasia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56
Author(s):  
Irina Busygina ◽  
Mikhail Filippov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
Former Soviet Republics ◽  
Post Soviet Space

In this article, we explore the inherent trade-offs and inconsistencies of Russia’s policies toward the post-Soviet space. We argue that attempts to rebuild an image of Russia as a “great power” have actually led to a reduction of Russian influence in the post-Soviet region. The more Russia acted as a “Great Power,” the less credible was its promise to respect the national sovereignty of the former Soviet republics. In 2011, Vladimir Putin declared that during his next term as president, his goal would be to establish a powerful supra-national Eurasian Union capable of becoming one of the poles in a multipolar world. However, Russia’s attempt to force Ukraine to join the Eurasian Union provoked the 2014 crisis. The Ukrainian crisis has de-facto completed the separation of Ukraine and Russia and made successful post-Soviet re-integration around Russia improbable.

History of Post-Soviet Migrations in Russian Science of the 21st Century

Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11 (109)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Efim Pivovar
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Russian Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Cis Countries ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The paper is devoted to the latest Russian historiography of migration processes in the post-Soviet space. The author considers the most important research projects of academic institutions and universities of Russia in the field of history and modern dynamics of post-Soviet migrations, covers key trends and results of the development of migration issues in the framework of various areas of Russian science. The author comes to the conclusion about the need for further in-depth development of the recent history and modern trends in the migration policy of the CIS countries, the role of migration in the dialogue of cultures and civilizations in the post-Soviet space, including within the framework of international cooperation of Eurasian scientists.

scholarly journals Noble associations in modern Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-270
Author(s):  
Igor Olegovich Trubitszyn
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Value System ◽  
Corporate Organization ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Political Realities ◽  
Revolutionary Period ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The author made an attempt to study the role of the descendants of the nobility in the new socio-economic and political realities of Russia at the end of the XX - first decades of the XXI century. The author focuses on the processes of recreation and subsequent activities of noble societies. The basis of the source base was a series of interviews with the descendants of the nobility living in the territory of the Russian Federation and in the countries of the post-Soviet space. The research identified the stages of development of the noble organizations, the main aspects of their activities. A comparative analysis was carried out with the pre-revolutionary noble corporate organization, which made it possible to characterize the main ideals of this social group and to make a comparative analysis with the value system of the class of the pre-revolutionary period. The range of problems faced by noble societies in modern Russia is highlighted. The results of the study can be used to comprehensively characterize the activities of corporations of the nobility in Russia, as well as the activities of the descendants of the nobility in the modern world.

RUSSIAN-UZBEKISTAN RELATIONS IN THE LAST YEARS OF THE PRESIDENCY OF ISLAM KARIMOV

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-52
Author(s):  
Konstantin E. Meshcheryakov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Condition ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Bilateral Cooperation ◽  
Official Sources ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The article investigates the evolution of the Russian-Uzbekistani relations in the last years of the presidency of Islam Karimov (2012–2016). Based on a wide range of official sources and periodicals, it identifies the main trends, achievements and issues of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres. It determines the factors that influenced the interaction between Moscow and Tashkent, and pays a particular attention to the role of the presidents of the two states in the development and strength- ening of their cooperation. The author concludes that throughout the period under review the Rus- sian-Uzbekistani relations faced serious challenges. They were remarkably conflicting, unpredictable, inconsistent, and quite turbulent, what provoked the discussions about the correspondence of their real political condition to their high legal status (in 2004, Russia and Uzbekistan became strategic part- ners, and in 2005, allied states). Nevertheless, the two countries overcame most of their differences and took a course towards the further expansion and deep- ening, as well as modernization of their relations. As a result, at present Uzbeki- stan remains one of the most important Russia’s partners not only in Central Asia, but throughout the post-Soviet space, as well as within the framework of the leading international organizations.

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