Russia and its relations with major powers and neighboring countries

Author: Feng Shaolei / Xiang Lanxin (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, its successor Russia experienced an extremely turbulent and unstable decade in the last decade of the 20th century. The profound changes brought about by the transition not only affected all aspects of domestic politics, economy, and social life in Russia but also impacted its foreign policy direction. Although Russia was the successor of the Soviet Union, it made significant adjustments to its foreign policy and diplomatic relations, no longer adhering to the ideological-based approach of the Soviet era but focusing on formulating its foreign policy from the perspective of national interests. This book examines the transformation of Russia's foreign strategy since its independence and the resulting changes in its diplomatic practices, starting from the international context it faced during the transition. It focuses on analyzing Russia's foreign strategy from the perspectives of major powers, neighboring countries, and more distant countries. Since the comprehensive transformation of Russia, its relations with major powers have always been a key focus of its foreign strategy. This book comprehensively analyzes Russia's relations with the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China since the transition. Given that relations with major powers were also a priority during the Soviet era, the authors elaborate on the historical context of each bilateral relationship to provide a continuous analysis of Russia's ties with major powers and to offer readers a comparative understanding of Soviet-era ideological-based diplomacy versus Russian-era economic-interest-focused diplomacy.
Russia's relations with neighboring countries primarily refer to its relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Baltic States, Central and Southeastern European countries, and the Korean Peninsula, with a focus on its relations with the CIS. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia's relations with neighboring countries were once quite cold due to historical reasons. However, with the adjustment of its foreign strategy and the establishment of its goal to revitalize its status as a world power, Russia began to reassess its relations with neighboring countries. As former Soviet republics, relations with the CIS were elevated to a "priority" in Russian diplomacy.
Russia's relations with more distant countries mainly refer to its relations with Middle Eastern countries, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin American countries, and African countries. During the Soviet era, the focus in these regions was primarily on cultivating socialist countries to counter the capitalist bloc led by the United States. Therefore, Russia did not pay much attention to these regions in its early years of independence. With the implementation of Russia's pragmatic and all-around foreign policy, these regions gradually entered the scope of Russian diplomacy, and bilateral relations developed. Overall, this book comprehensively reflects Russia's foreign relations after its independence, covering many fields such as politics, economy, military, society, and culture. The content is rich and provides excellent reference value for academic and policy research.
[Preface] The dramatic changes in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet Union were among the most significant events in the development of world history in the latter half of the 20th century. Accompanying this historical event, the severe institutional changes that Russia underwent since its comprehensive transformation have also attracted widespread attention from the international community. The last decade of the 20th century was a period of extreme turbulence and transformation for the Russian nation, state, and people, leaving a deep mark on Russian history. The changes in Russia during this decade were not only profound but also all-encompassing. This transformation was reflected not only in the rapid domestic political, economic, and social shifts but also in the major adjustments of Russia's foreign strategy and the evolution of its foreign relations. As a transcontinental, Russia's foreign strategy since the transition has had a crucial impact not only on the development direction of the Russian state itself but also on the future trajectory of the evolving international landscape.
This book examines the transformation of Russia's foreign strategy since its independence and the resulting changes in its diplomatic practices, starting from the international context it faced during the transition. It is divided into three parts: major powers, neighboring countries, and more distant countries. Facing the challenges of rapid domestic transformation and swiftly changing international dynamics, Russia has made significant adjustments to its foreign strategy since independence. The adjustment of Russia's foreign strategy since independence can be broadly traced through three stages: from the pro-Western Atlanticist diplomacy it pursued in the early years of independence to the all-around foreign policy that emphasized leveraging Russia's great power influence and balancing between the East and the West, with a greater focus on the East, especially after the appointment of Yevgeny Primakov as foreign minister in the mid-to-late 1990s. Then, in the early 21st century, under Vladimir Putin, Russia emphasized the restoration of its great power status while adopting a pragmatic all-around foreign policy strategy that prioritized economic interests.
Accompanying these major adjustments in foreign strategy, the relationships between Russia and major countries and regions, neighboring countries, and more distant countries have all undergone significant changes. As a transcontinental, how Russia manages its relationships with major countries and regions such as the United States, the European Union, China, and Japan is not only a primary issue in its foreign policy but also largely determines whether its domestic transformation can proceed smoothly. With the shift in foreign strategy from a "one-sided tilt toward the West" to a "dual-headed eagle" diplomacy that balances between the East and the West, Russia's relationships with the United States, the European Union, China, and Japan have also gone through a process of continuous adjustment, realignment, and adaptation.
After a brief period of rapprochement in the early years of independence, Russia's relations with the United States deteriorated significantly in the mid-1990s due to disappointment with the West, the rise of nationalism in Russia, and the expansion of NATO to the east. However, with the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the two countries' relations improved again, entering a period of both drama and reasonableness. Under the slogan of "returning to Europe," European diplomacy has always been a key focus of Russia's geopolitical foreign policy. Although Russia and the European Union have had frequent frictions over issues such as NATO expansion, human rights, and Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization, the end of the Cold War removed the major obstacles to bilateral relations, and driven by practical political and economic interests, Russia-EU relations have generally deepened.
China and Russia, both undergoing transformation, are the largest neighbors of each other. Facing the significant changes in the post-Cold War international landscape, the arduous tasks of domestic transformation, and the shared aspiration for a multipolar world, the two countries have discarded ideological constraints and advanced their relations based on security, economic cooperation, and political interests aimed at promoting a multipolar world. In Russia-Japan relations, although driven by significant economic interests, bilateral relations saw a slight improvement at the beginning of the 21st century. However, unresolved issues such as territorial disputes will continue to influence the trajectory of Russia-Japan relations in the coming years.
Overall, with the vigorous promotion of Putin's pragmatic foreign policy, Russia holds a rather active and promising position in today's relations with major powers. Reconstructing relations with former Soviet republics, former Eastern European countries, and countries in the Korean Peninsula is also a major foreign policy challenge for Russia during its transition. In the early years of independence, due to its focus on the West, neighboring countries and regions did not receive sufficient attention from Russia. However, as conflicts and tensions in neighboring regions, particularly the CIS, escalated, Russia was forced to begin paying attention to these areas. With the re-establishment of Russia's great power goals and the comprehensive adjustment of its foreign strategy, the CIS region was seen as a geopolitical foundation for reviving its great power status. As a result, the status of neighboring countries and regions in Russia's foreign policy has gradually risen, and bilateral relations have begun to improve. Through the active efforts of Putin's pragmatic diplomacy, by the beginning of the new century, Russia's relations with neighboring countries and regions had achieved certain results in the context of its struggle against the West.
Like its geopolitical foreign relations with major powers and neighboring countries, Russia's relations with more distant countries in the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa have also been significantly influenced by its foreign strategy adjustments. With the comprehensive adjustment of Russia's overall foreign strategy, its relations with Middle Eastern, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Latin American, and African countries have generally followed a path from "cold" to "warm," currently undergoing further adjustments and recovery. This also reflects, from another perspective, that after more than a decade of difficult transformation, Russia's international status and influence as a great power are gradually being restored and enhanced.
The book is structured as follows: Part 1 introduces the development of Russia's relations with the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China since the transition, with adjustments in its foreign strategy. Part 2 focuses on the development of bilateral relations between Russia and its neighboring countries and regions. Part 3 discusses the development of Russia's relations with more distant countries since its independence. The chapters are written by the following authors: Yuan Shengyu (Chapter 1); Fan Jun, Liu Jun (Chapter 2); Chen Jiehua, Xiao Huizhong (Chapter 3); Zhao Huasheng, He Ming, Shi Yajun (Chapter 4); Bi Hongye (Chapter 5); Kong Fanjun (Chapter 6); Chen Shiping (Chapter 7); Pan Guanghui (Chapter 8); Yuan Shengyu (Chapter 9); Yu Huachuan (Chapter 10); Zhao Yinliang (Chapter 11); Pan Guanghui (Chapter 12); Yuan Xinhua (Chapter 13). Feng Shaolei and Xiang Lanxin are responsible for the overall structure design and the introduction of academic materials. Associate Professor Lu Gang provided the preliminary draft for the section on Russia's relations with the United States, and Professor Zhou Min provided the preliminary draft for the section on Russia's relations with the United States. Bi Hongye conducted the first round of proofreading for the entire book, while Feng Shaolei was responsible for the revision, supplementation, and finalization of the book.