Carnegie Moscow Center
Russia has been in a post-empire state for the last 20 years. There is no way back to an empire now—Russia has passed the point of no return in this respect.
One of the fundamental impediments to molding the Euro-Atlantic nations into a more unified and workable security community is the lingering distrust that poisons too many of the region’s key relationships.
Russian protesters hail from a new generation who are tired of Vladimir Putin’s regime. Given Putin’s refusal to give up power and the impending presidential elections, further unrest is likely.
Eurasia today is much broader than two decades ago, but it is also more interconnected. In this new environment, Russia should define its post-imperial role in ways that are appropriate for the 21st century.
As Russians move toward the long New Year and Christmas holidays, they hope that the coming year will offer positive change.
If the growing Russian popular movement remains committed and tenacious, organized political challenges to Vladimir Putin’s power will eventually follow.
The recent rallies in Russian cities may indicate that, twenty years after the dismantlement of the Soviet Union, post-imperial Russia is beginning to emerge as a nation.
Greater understanding and cooperation with China is crucial to Russia’s future as a Euro-Pacific nation-state.
Relations between the West and Russia are still shifting as the West has yet to adjust to the post-Soviet reality and Russia has not settled on its relationship with the rest of the world.
The twentieth anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union comes at a moment of unique challenge and opportunity for the country, as Ukrainians look to their new leaders to resolve longstanding problems.