Russia in 2008 and Beyond – What Kind of Foreign Policy?

Abstract:

Russia’s current foreign policy should be understood as an element of the political regime that was built under Vladimir Putin’s leadership.

The major domestic impact on foreign policy seems to stem from the inclination among the elites and the power groups to maintain the power status quo in the country whilst profiting from the economic ties with the West.

In this context the West becomes perceived as an unwanted external political factor on the one hand, and as a source of profits and financial stability for the Russian elites on the other.

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