Foreign relations of Russia

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The foreign relations of the Russian Federation is the policy arm of the government of Russia which guides its interactions with other nations, their citizens, and foreign organizations. This article covers the foreign policy of the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991. At present, Russia has no diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Other than Ukraine, Russia also has no diplomatic relations with Georgia, Bhutan, Federated States of Micronesia or Solomon Islands.

The Kremlin's foreign policy debates show a conflict between three rival schools: Atlanticists, seeking a closer relationship with the United States and the Western World in general; Imperialists, seeking a recovery of the semi-hegemonic status lost during the previous decade; and Neo-Slavophiles, promoting the isolation of Russia within its own cultural sphere. While Atlanticism was the dominant ideology during the first years of the new Russian Federation, under Andrei Kozyrev, it came under attack for its failure to defend Russian pre-eminence in the former USSR. The promotion of Yevgeny Primakov to Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1996 marked the beginning of a more nationalistic approach to foreign policy.[1]: 33–69 

Another major trend has been Eurasianism, a school of thought that emerged during the early 20th century. Eurasianists assert that Russia is composed of Slavic, Turkic and Asiatic cultures and equates Liberalism with Eurocentric imperialism. One of the earliest ideologues of Eurasianism was the Russian historian Nikolai Trubetzkoy, who denounced the Europhilic Czar Peter I and advocated Russian embracal of the Asiatic "legacy of Chinggis Khan" to establish a trans-continental Eurasian state. Following the collapse of Soviet Union, Eurasianism gained public ascendency through the writings of philosopher Aleksandr Dugin and has become the official ideological policy under the government of Vladimir Putin.[a]

Vladimir Putin's presidency lasted from January 2000 to May 2008, and again from May 2012 to the present. Under Putin, Russia has engaged in several notable conflicts, including against the neighboring country of Ukraine. He recognized the independence of DNR and Lugansk within that country. Relations with the United States in particular have sharply deteriorated between 2001 and 2022, in large part due to United States meddling in the Middle East and countries bordering with the Russian Federation. While relations with the European Union deteriorated since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a an invasion of Ukraine, prompting the imposition of substantial economic and political sanctions by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan and other countries. The Russian government now has a specified "Unfriendly Countries List" which indicates those countries with which relations are now strained (or non-existent). Despite deteriorating relations with the Western world since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia still maintains support and strong relations with majority of countries, such as India, China,[6] Belarus, Vietnam (during a recent meeting with Vladimir Putin),[6] Iran,[6] Cuba,[6] Venezuela,[6] Nicaragua,[6] Syria,[6] North Korea,[6] Myanmar,[6] Eritrea,[6] Mali,[6] Zimbabwe,[7] Central African Republic,[7] Burkina Faso,[8] Palestine, Burundi,[9] Iraq and Niger.[10] Russia also has strong support from the Supreme Political Council of Yemen.[11]

Russia also maintains positive relations with countries that have been described as "Russia-leaning" according to The Economist. These countries include Algeria, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,[12] Afghanistan,[13] Laos, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda.[14] Russia also maintains positive relations with countries considered neutral on the world stage such as Brazil,[15] Honduras, India, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. With countries traditionally considered Western aligned, Russia maintains positive relations with Hungary,[16] Serbia,[17] Azerbaijan, Turkey,[16] Bahrain,[18] Kuwait,[18] Qatar,[16] Egypt,[19] Saudi Arabia,[20] Oman,[18] and the United Arab Emirates.[20]

  1. ^ Ambrosio, Thomas (2005). Challenging America's Global Preeminence: Russia's Quest for Multipolarity. Routledge. ISBN 0-7546-4289-5.
  2. ^ Fuller, Steve (23 March 2022). "Eurasianism as the deep history of Russia's discontent". Educational Philosophy and Theory. 54 (7): 863–866. doi:10.1080/00131857.2022.2054330. S2CID 249047326.
  3. ^ Burbank, Jane (22 March 2022). "The Grand Theory Driving Putin to War". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023.
  4. ^ Laurelle, Marlene (2008). Russian Eurasianism: An Ideology of Empire. Translated by Gabowitsch, Mischa. Baltimore, Maryland 21211: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9073-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. ^ Dixon Klump, Sarah. "Russian Eurasianism: An Ideology of Empire". Archived from the original on 29 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Chiu, Leo (23 October 2023). "Who are Russia's Allies? A List of Countries Supporting the Kremlin's Invasion of Ukraine". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Russia-Africa summit fails to deliver concrete results". 2 August 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  8. ^ Bl/mw. "Eritrean, Burkina Faso Leaders Align with Russia, Deny Putin's Terrorist War." TVP World - Poland and World Breaking, Daily & Top News, Telewizja Polska S.A, 29 July 2023, https://tvpworld.com/71644604/eritrean-burkina-faso-leaders-align-with-russia-deny-putins-terrorist-war Archived 29 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ "Russia's Putin Plans Trip to Burundi, Equatorial Guinea". 9 January 2024.
  10. ^ Russia and Niger Agree to Develop Military Ties, Moscow Says
  11. ^ "President Al-Mashat congratulates Russian President Vladimir Putin on his election victory". www.saba.ye. 19 March 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  12. ^ Brick Murtazashvili, Jennifer (2 March 2022). "Central Asian countries now have two big worries about Russia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  13. ^ Suleymanov, Ruslan (19 September 2023). "Russia's Growing Ties With Afghanistan Are More Symbolism Than Substance". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Who are Russia's supporters?". The Economist. 3 August 2023. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ "Lula envia carta a Putin cumprimentando pela vitória". CNN Brasil. 20 March 2024. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  16. ^ a b c "MSN". MSN.
  17. ^ "Serbia is Playing with Matches Again". 28 February 2024.
  18. ^ a b c Farhat, Beatrice (18 March 2024). "Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, others shower Russia's Putin with congratulatory messages". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Egypt-Russia relations reach new heights in Ukraine war aftermath". 24 March 2023.
  20. ^ a b Weiss, Andrew S.; Alexander-Greene, Jasmine (5 October 2022). "What's Driving Russia's Opportunistic Inroads With Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arabs". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 7 May 2024.


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