Foreign relations

Nichol, James P.

book chapter

Foreign relations

russia: a country study • Washington, D.C. • Published In 1996 • Pages: 429-485

By: Nichol, James P..

Abstract
This work covers some of the changes that occurred in Russia’s foreign policy as the successor to the Soviet Union, asserting that, despite Russia’s stated goal of transitioning from Socialism to Western-style democracy, it followed pragmatic and flexible approaches that resembled, and at times reinforced, those of the Soviet Union. Russia’s vast territorial span and long-standing strategic interests in three distinct regions—Europe, the Pacific, and the largely Muslim Middle East and Central Asia—afforded few other options. Much of the text is devoted to explaining the range of Russia’s policies regarding the United States, Western Europe, and former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Also considered are Russia’s complex and sometimes conflicting relations with former soviet republics that had become immediately neighboring sovereign states.

Atomic energy

External trade

Inter-ethnic relations

Form and rules of government

Chief executive

Administrative agencies

External relations

Political movements

Military organization

Warfare

Peacemaking

Russians