Russia Regains Its Vigor in Global Politics: A Brief Review of E-Reports

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia was comparatively inactive in the global political arena for a relatively long period. In 1991, with the collapse of the communist regimes, the Soviet Union dissolved into 15 different states virtually overnight; Russia, the largest and strategically most important of these states, was faced with the necessity of the total restructuring of its political and economic systems. At that time, Russia had too many domestic problems which needed immediate attention before it could successfully begin participating again in international affairs.

Until the late 1990s, the country was engaged in the stabilization of its socio-economic foundations, and the process did not seem to be easy. The Soviet system was based on economic interdependence among states. Therefore, every former member’s economy was badly balanced and could not function properly independently. Russia experienced huge economic problems: government salaries and pensions dropped significantly, real income in 1992 was about one-third of 1985 income, and net decline in GDP was about 50%. The devaluation of the ruble in added to the economic crisis (Austin, 2004).

Besides economic problems, Russia was confronted by a number of other issues. The need for national identity in new Russia was quite serious. The country was “in search of the very fundamentals of statehood: legitimacy, national identity and political institutions” (Mendras, 1992).

In the major cities of the Russian Federation, especially Moscow and Saint Petersburg, members of ethnic minorities faced continuous discrimination; a number of nationalistic and fascist movements in Russia developed in the post-soviet period. In 1997, the Moscow Anti Fascist Centre estimated about 40 extremist groups operating in Russia (Moscow Anti Fascist Centre report, 1997). The most violent of these was the Skinhead movement, whose numbers were continuously increasing (Osborne, 2005). To get a more comprehensive picture of the difficulties, it is essential to include armed and political conflicts in Chechnya. The wars and armed conflicts in the 1990s cost Russia about 100,000 lives and over $100 billion (Rodin, 1999).

Those and other problems, such as corruption, poor security within the state, and the abuse of the individual’s rights were among the main domestic problems preventing the country from dealing with problems outside its own borders during the 1990s

. However, the situation has changed significantly since that time period and the country has made remarkable economic and social progress. In the beginning of 2000, the new government, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, adopted new programs of socio-economic reform, which focused on improving the social, economic, education, and health sectors. Over the next few years, the Russian economy continued to grow rapidly due to the increases in oil prices and the stabilization of business and investment climates. The annual GDP increase reached 6.7% in 2006. An impressive increase in direct capital and foreign investments also significantly improved the economy of the country (Russian Economic Report, 2007). The political situation in the country changed beyond recognition, too. In a relatively short time, Russia has managed to become a middle-income capitalist democratic state, which seeks continuous improvements and total independence (Shleifer & Treisman, 2005).

Internal successes have created many favorable opportunities abroad. As the global economy continues to develop at a very rapid pace, Russia has had to adapt itself to the speed at which globalization is changing the world. Since early 2000, Russia has become an active participator in a vast range of international political activities.

It is important to mention the closest neighbors of Russia, who have been the initial objects of Russia’s international political attention. The country has realized a need to reassert its authority over the 11 member and 11 associate countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and some Asian countries, most of which have been quite unstable and need Russia’s constant attention and involvement in order to envisage stability on their borders. A further concern of Russia in its relationships with the CIS countries is to promote these continental relations to the global level. Former countries of the Soviet Union have become a collision field of economic, political, and ideological interests, where the United States has been the most active and powerful player. However, Russia has now become powerful enough to deeply influence these states (Shakleina, 2006).

One of the most recent political successes of the country is ratifying the agreement on borders between Russia and Latvia. Indeed, defining the borders between Russian and the Baltic states has been almost completed, leaving just a part of the Estonian- Russian borders still unratified. “Monument disputes” first in Estonia and later in Latvia were occasions in which Russia showed close interest and intensive political activities. The next major problem for the Russian government is being willing to resolve the status of the Russian population in Baltic States. Actually, 20-30% of their population is Russian (Bavirin, 2007).

At the beginning of the 21st century, Russia recognized that it had identical or similar positions on all key international problems with China. Since that time Sino-Russian relationships have been developing intensively. Some of the experts state that increased diplomatic activities between the two countries are a form of reactionary protest of both Beijing and Moscow to any proposed US anti-missile system, since Russia faced NATO’s expansion to the East and China had begun to expand into the Pacific. The present level of Sino-Russian relationships “is accompanied by ever more frequent contacts at all levels” (Westerman, 2001). This relationship between the two countries has also been strengthened by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), founded in 2001 in Shanghai by six countries: China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Since its establishment, the SCO has been turning into “an acknowledged world power centre”, which significantly influences the world’s political and economic processes (Centrasia, 2006). The most recent plan of the SCO is opening a ‘power production club’ to create the SCO’s marketplace, which will enable Russia to coordinate its energy markets with the markets of China. Therefore, new ventures on the development of oil and gas deposits, as well as the pipelines, will be launched (Voice of Russia, 2007). Russia also played an important role in the founding and maintaining of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC).

Russia has membership in another important international organization: The Group of Eight (G8). Members of this organization together account for about two-thirds of the global economic output. During the 2007 G8 summit in Germany, Putin made an offer which may turn a disagreement over the European missile defense system into a partnership between the US and Russia. Putin offered to share data from the Russian air defense radar system which is capable of scanning the entire Middle East, Indian Ocean, and North Africa. The proposal was welcomed by the US government, which evaluated this as another important step for strengthening bilateral ties (McKeeby, 2007). Also, Russia has achieved a degree of cooperation with the US in terms of intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism activities. Russia has been a good partner in Security Council debates about Iran. Russia’s positions on the countries’ responsibilities over their missile materials and nuclear weapons ‘do coincide and intersect nicely’ (Kempe, 2007) with the positions of the United States.

Close interaction with the European Union (EU) is imperative to Russia’s international policy, although the relationship between Europe and Russia are rather strained. The EU sees the policies of Russia as a path followed by its own states decades ago. Nevertheless, Russia is not going to forgo following the European path and hopes that Brussels will finally assume a policy of strategic rapprochement (Karaganov, 2005). Additionally, it should not be forgotten that both the EU and Russia need each other: Russian gas is the backbone of the EU energy supply mix; at the same time, Russian earnings from energy exports is a significant part of the budget. A quarter of EU gas consumption depends on Russian gas: some states like Slovakia, Finland, Poland, and Hungary rely almost completely on Russian gas, 90% of which passes through the Ukraine territory (European Parliament, 2006).

In 2006, Russia engaged in a bitter dispute with the Ukraine, which threatened gas supplies to the EU as well. Russia raised the costs of gas from $50 to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters, which was rejected by the Ukraine. In response, Russia halted the gas supply to the Ukraine. The dispute was over after the sides reached a compromise and signed a 5-year agreement, stating that the Ukraine would buy Russian gas at $95 per 1,000 meters. After the crisis, the EU stated that they ‘have to learn the lessons from the crisis and think about their energy supply security’ (Bartenstein, 2006). An acute issue in the relationships between the supplying and purchasing countries is the gas supply pipelines. Unlike oil pipelines which are moved around globally, making it difficult to cut them off, gas pipelines, which pass through several countries, can be cut off anytime. Therefore, a good relationship between countries is a vital part of an efficient gas supply process.

In addition to the energy disputes of Russia and the Ukraine, it is pivotal to mention other aspects of the relationship between the two countries. After the Orange Revolution, the Ukraine, under the leadership of its new president Viktor Yushchenko, gravitated towards the European/Atlantic world, thus becoming more and more distant to Russia. According to some statistics, Russia invested about $300 million in the electoral campaign of Viktor Yanukovich, who favors close ties with Russia. Additionally, Russia is aware that the Ukraine revolution could become a scenario in other post-soviet states, which seek to a European path of development (Harton Ash, 2005).

Russia plans to gain membership in the WTO. A recent development on this issue is the Russian bilateral agreement on accession to the WTO with Guatemala. Russia plans to sign agreements with Vietnam and Cambodia, revise its relationships with Georgia, and start negotiations with Saudi Arabia. These steps would further its chances of membership. Russia aniticipated joining the WTO by the end of 2007. The country believes that membership in the WTO would bring benefits as a promotion of its market reforms, secure business and investment environments, and increase transparency (RiaNovosti, 2007).

A powerful indicator of Russia’s increased international political activities is its claims on half of the Arctic Ocean as its territory. Although this claim was rejected by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Russia is not going to give up exploring the ocean. The Russian expedition “Arctic-2007” aims to prove that underwater ridges of Lomonosov and Mendeleyev, which stretch to Greenland, are a natural extension of the Russian continental shelf. If their evidence is accepted by the United Nations (UN), then Russia will get rights to explore an enormous triangular territory, Chukotka-Murmansk-North Pole, which is rich in natural and mineral resources (Molle, 2006).

One of the most recent focal points of Russian political affairs has been about Russia’s agreements with Australia. This concerns Russia’s plan to buy Australian uranium to use for its ambitious program of building 40 new nuclear reactors by 2030 to cover domestic energy shortages. In theory, the Australian uranium would not be used for military purposes and sold to Third World countries; however, Western experts are worried about the possibility that the purchase of uranium from Australia would allow Russia to supply its own atomic resources to Iran because Russia has already been known to have financial interests in Iran’s nuclear program (Bigg, 2007).

Interests of Russia and Turkey overlap in many local and global aspects. Bilateral relations have reached a multidimensional partnership after the visit of Putin to Turkey in 2004. Turkey enjoys a important geopolitical position in the Middle East Region, linking the economies of Europe and Asia; Turkey is a powerful military player capable of providing security in that area. These qualities make Russian cooperation with Turkey vital and mutually beneficial. Indeed, Turkey is one of the most important economic and trade partners for Russia. The trade volume between the two countries is expected to rise from $11 billion in 2005 to almost $25 billion in 2008 (Tuzmen, 2005). Moreover, Russia is the biggest import- partner of Turkey with 12.7% in 2006 (CIA, 2007).

Other important issues help to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. A cornerstone is the energy issue. A unique gas transmission network known as Blue Stream supplies natural gas to Turkey via the Black Sea area. In addition, Russia is increasing its electricity supply to Turkey (EurActiv, 2006). Also, Turkey fully supported Russia’s intention to enter the WTO by signing the bilateral protocol for its accession (Tuzmen, 2005). Turkey realizes that Russian membership in the WTO can open many doors to new economic opportunities. At the same time, Russia welcomes Turkey’s EU accession plan, primarily because it could open new trading channels for Russia.

In conclusion, recent developments in domestic and international issues have shown that Russia is no longer just a shadow of its predecessor – the powerful and mighty Soviet Union. It is in fact becoming a strong and independent state. Although Russian economic and political indicators are still far from perfect, solving the domestic and non-domestic problems simultaneously – in the framework of one strategy – is a major challenge for contemporary Russia, and the country has been quite successful in managing it thus far. Russia has many advantages for further success in its active performance in the global arena. Russia has a relatively fast-developing economy, rich mineral and natural resources, nuclear weapons, large general-purpose forces, membership in the UN Security Council, the Group of Eight, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and an advantageous geopolitical location – all these advantages are leverage in the implementation of a multilateral strategy to pursue the interests of the country in global development.

*Master’s Student at George Mason University, Department of Political Science.

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