Carnegie Moscow Center
In order for the EU to have a successful policy toward its biggest neighbor, Europeans must understand the recent changes that have taken place in Russia and their implications for the country’s future.
Russia has embarked on its own “pivot” toward China, but it is far from certain that Moscow will find Beijing a comfortable partner.
For the foreseeable future, the Commonwealth of Independent States should remain Russia’s significant foreign policy priority. Its policies toward individual CIS countries will be shaped by Russian leaders’ practical interests and needs, and also by the changing environment.
The emerging Sino-Russian relationship in the Xi-Putin era is likely to take the form of a tandem in which China will be the driving force, though not at the cost of Russia surrendering its independence.
Western society wants to bring back a normative dimension to foreign policy and stop the export of corruption from authoritarian and semi-authoritarian countries to the West.
Xi Jinping’s first foreign trip as China’s president reflects the remarkable progress made in the Chinese-Russian relationship. But potential pitfalls remain.
A true de-Stalinization process in Russia will require no less than a reinvention of Russian nationhood based on a rejection of the traditional concept of the state, an end to the political and historical immunity of the secret police, and the emergence of a concept of "we, the people."
Poland’s decision to indirectly criticize Russia on human rights issues as part of the EU and not as a single state is a strategic decision. This allows Warsaw to voice its concerns while still maintaining its position in the EU and reaping the benefits of productive relations with Moscow.
The Russian government should transition to a comprehensive and overarching strategy in South Asia.
For the first time, Moscow has said openly that it will limit the West and its influence not only in Russian territory but also in the post-Soviet countries.