Eurasia in Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Opportunities and Constraints
The Eurasian axis of Russian foreign policy has been given several impetuses over the last two years. The most important of these has been the sharp deterioration in relations with the West against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis.
In response to such changes, Russia’s approach to multipolarity has shifted: it is now understood to offer simultaneous access to several different sources of economic growth and modernisation. Success in Russia’s Eurasian foreign policy will require real effort to promote economic development and guarantee security. In the field of development, Russia has a great potential but starts from a weak position. It has a significant advantage, however, in being able to underwrite regional security, an essential precondition for economic development at a time when the risks of the region descending into chaos are high. The politicization of economic projects ranks among the major risks associated with Eurasian integration.
Ivan Timofeev has been Director of Programs at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
Elena Alekseenkova has been Program Manager at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
Download the full analysis
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
Eurasia in Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Opportunities and Constraints
Author(s)
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programs
Russia/Eurasia Center
Founded in 2005 within Ifri, the Russia/Eurasia Center conducts research and organizes debates on Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. Its goal is to understand and anticipate the evolution of this complex and rapidly changing geographical area in order to enrich public discourse in France and Europe and to assist in strategic, political, and economic decision-making.
Find out more
Discover all our analyses
The Contradictory Impacts of Western Sanctions on Economic Relations between Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa
How does Russia maintain economic ties with Africa despite Western sanctions? An analysis of investments, trade, and the circumvention strategies deployed by Moscow.
The Caspian Sea as an Emerging Energy Hub : Potentials and Limitations
This report analyzes the prospects of the Caspian Sea region — and its key actors except for Russia and Iran — becoming an important energy hub serving the needs of the European Union (EU).
The European Union's Strategic Test in Georgia
The political crisis brewing in Georgia is of an existential nature for the country. What is at stake is Georgia's future as a democratic and sovereign European nation (EU).
Commanders of Putin's Long War: Purged, Reshuffled and Disgruntled
The trend of reshuffling the Russian top military command in the course of a fast-evolving and far from successful war has progressed unevenly both across the Armed Forces’ structures and in time. The rationale for and timing of the abrupt cadre decisions made by Commander-in-Chief Putin often defy logical explanation, and the rare official clarifications are no more informative than the usual information blackout.