Russia in global affairs

A Chance for a Fundamental Renewal The year 2014 is likely to go down in the history of Russia as a time when its foreign policy course was tightened and its internal and economic policy guidelines started to change. The former was almost inevitable. It is a risky move but it may potentially be beneficial for both the country and the world.

Resume Russia has given up hope for joining the West in the foreseeable future. But it has not yet made a choice in favor of anti-West, let alone, anti-Europeanism.
Debates over the ongoing crisis in relations between Russia and the West revolve around the incorporation of Crimea, the global reaction to that move, and the future configuration of the Ukrainian state if, of course, it manages to survive (and I hope it will).

Resume The main reserves for Russia’s foreign policy and its influence in the next decade lie more than ever in internal development. And this is also where the main threats are, fraught with the risk of losing political weight in the international arena and the status of great power.

There is a widely-held view that military power – the main tool for the expansion of state agendas since time immemorial – is progressively losing importance.

Today, 21 years later, the results are disheartening. The euphoria of the times of the Paris Charter was gone as sober judgment reasserted itself.

Nuclear Weapons in the Modern World This article is based on the material prepared for a Trilateral Commission meeting. On the surface, the nuclear weapons situation has been developing quite successfully.