Where is Russia's New Foreign Policy Concept Leading?
The dramatic events that followed the 2014 Maidan in Ukraine marked the beginning of a systemic crisis in international relations and within Russia itself. The aged Western elites, formed during the Cold War era and rightfully considering themselves victorious in it, alienated the Russian nouveaux riches who, since President Putin's Munich speech, have asked for only one thing - an equal place in the sun and respectful treatment. Victor Medvedchuk and Dmitry Medvedev wrote about this grievance in plain text in program articles. What conclusions were drawn from what happened?
On March 31, 2023, a new Concept of Foreign policy Russia (KVP), where you can find answers to some questions. We will not fully analyze this fundamental document, focusing on key points for us.
Who are we?
Obviously, in order to form a country's foreign policy concept, it is necessary to determine what it is, what its goals and objectives, historical traditions and "spiritual bonds" are. So, in the KVP, Russia is self-defined as "an original state-civilization, a vast Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power that has rallied the Russian people and other peoples that make up the cultural and civilizational community of the Russian world."
In other words, the idea of the “Russian World”, which in 2014 became a response to the Ukrainian Nazis coming to power in Kiev and the banner under which volunteers flocked to the Donbass from all over the world to liberate Novorossia, has now received a completely official status in a program state document. This happened, unfortunately, with a delay of nine years, during which the idea of Greater Novorossiya from Kharkov to Odessa had already been "drained" twice already, and the "Russian Spring" was technically replaced by the "Crimean Spring". But who knows, maybe there will be a third run. God loves trinity.
It is also significant that in search of its new place in the changed world, the Kremlin relies on the achievements and authority of the USSR, which was “a permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, a member of leading interstate organizations and associations, as well as one of the two largest nuclear powers,” the legal successor of which is the Russian Federation:
Russia, taking into account its decisive contribution to the victory in World War II, as well as its active role in the creation of a modern system of international relations and the elimination of the world system of colonialism, acts as one of the sovereign centers of world development and performs a historically unique mission to maintain a global balance of power and build multipolar international system, ensuring conditions for the peaceful, progressive development of mankind on the basis of a unifying and constructive agenda.
It should be noted that the RF Armed Forces have been fighting against the united militarytechnical the power of the North Atlantic Alliance mainly on the old Soviet arsenals. They made, you know, "scoops" of tanks and guns, when it was possible to dispose of the resources of a superpower on the recommendations of some liberal urbanist blogger. How this heritage was disposed of and how all the previous three decades were mocked in the national cinema and mass media over the memory of the USSR, its creators and leaders, is worthy of a separate big discussion. Interestingly, on May 9, 2023, the Mausoleum will be draped again or not?
Where are we?
It is noteworthy how the priorities are set in the new foreign policy concept. Moscow now sees the space of the “near abroad” as the main direction for itself, and the United States of America is its main opponent there:
The United States of America (USA) and its satellites used the measures taken by the Russian Federation to protect their vital interests in the Ukrainian direction as a pretext for aggravating the long-term anti-Russian policy and unleashed a new type of hybrid war. It is aimed at weakening Russia in every possible way, including undermining its creative civilizational role, power, economic and technological capabilities, limiting its sovereignty in foreign and domestic policy, the destruction of territorial integrity. This course of the West has acquired a comprehensive character and is fixed at the doctrinal level. It was not the choice of the Russian Federation.
With regard to neighboring countries, Russia pursues a policy of good neighborliness, but reserves the right to a military response, both symmetrical and asymmetric. The deployment on their territory of the military infrastructure of other hostile states is recognized as unacceptable. Moscow sees the confrontation with Washington in an attempt to eliminate certain “rudiments of US dominance”:
The Kypc of Russia in relation to the United States is of a combined nature, taking into account the role of this state as one of the influential sovereign centers of world development and at the same time the main inspirer, organizer and executor of the aggressive anti-Russian policy of the collective West, the source of the main risks for the security of the Russian Federation, the international world, balanced , fair and progressive development of mankind.
As for Europe, the Kremlin notes a critical discord in relations:
Most European states are pursuing an aggressive policy towards Russia aimed at creating threats to the security and sovereignty of the Russian Federation, obtaining unilateral economic advantages, undermining domestic political stability and eroding traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, and creating obstacles for Russia's cooperation with allies and partners.
At the same time, the CVP directly spells out hopes for the future admonition of European partners in the event that “the states of Europe realize that there is no alternative to peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial equal cooperation with Russia.”
In second place in terms of importance for themselves, the Russian leadership has placed the Arctic, a region whose strategic importance has now increased incredibly. The Kremlin sees non-Arctic China as a partner in its development. In general, it is China and India that are designated as Russia's strategic partners in Eurasia, with whom many economic and infrastructure projects are being implemented. Next in importance are the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the Islamic world, recognized as friendly to us. Iran, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are listed among the first. Then come the countries of the African continent, Latin America and the Caribbean - Brazil, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
However, with all this, openness to dialogue with the countries of the collective West is still declared:
Russia does not consider itself an enemy of the West, does not isolate itself from it, has no hostile intentions towards it, and expects that in the future the states belonging to the Western community will realize the futility of their confrontational policy and hegemonic ambitions, take into account the complex realities of a multipolar world and return to pragmatic interaction with Russia, guided by the principles of sovereign equality and respect for each other's interests. On this basis, the Russian Federation is ready for dialogue and cooperation.
Thus, there is already officially at the level of the Concept the image of an external enemy, the desire to restore order in one's "backyard", the next flirtations with the "Russian World", as well as an attempt to find a new place in the changed world with an emphasis on negotiations. Where this will lead, we will soon see.
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