Relations between the United States and Russia have been rocky since the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War and the opening of Eastern Europe to democracy and regime change.
The former superpower broke apart into many minor republics, leaving only Russia behind as a possible successor state. But ethnic and ideological divisions within the former states of the U.S.S.R. have kept Russia from reuniting these countries, and many of them have undergone immense reform with the hopes of joining NATO or the European Union in the globalized Western-led modern world.
Taking control of the resources still available to them, the Russians have gone on their journey of reconstruction, demonstrating a ruthless and assertive foreign policy meant to keep the former Soviet bloc firmly under Russia’s control.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation has seen significant decline in economic and political power. However, in the last decade, the Russian government under the leadership of the controversial former KGB chief Vladimir Putin has rebuilt a portion of its old military and economic strength.
To drive out rival powers, the Russians have been acting very aggressively in establishing their sphere of influence in the former Soviet republics, going so far as to invade Georgia in the summer of 2008. Do these actions represent a resurgence of power, or are they just the last gasps of a has-been superpower?
Great Decisions hopes to address this question this Tuesday by hosting a lecture titled “Russia and Its Neighbors” by professor Ellen Mickiewicz of Duke University. Mickiewicz has studied the greater trend of democratization in Eastern Europe and how mass media has been used in this process to either hinder or promote positive democratic change.
She has taught at Yale, Michigan State University and Emory and is currently at Duke, working with the Sanford School of Public Policy. Her most recent book examines the interaction between the centralized authoritarian government and the media institutions of Russia. Mickiewicz will be speaking about the current foreign policy objectives of the Russian government, and the means by which the Putin/Dmitry Medvedev administration is pursuing those objectives.
Putin’s overarching goal seems to be to re-establish Russia as a reliable international actor capable of projecting power on a similar scale with other recognized major powers. In turn, he expects that Russia will be afforded the same level of free reign by other world powers to conduct its own affairs within its sphere of influence.
The development of positive relationships between Russia, the European Union and the United States encourages the West to increasingly rely on Russia to assist with major political situations, both as a Security Council member and as a regional power.
The goal of Tuesday’s lecture will be to examine Russia’s changing role in Eastern Europe and how shifts in Russian foreign policy can impact United States strategy in providing international peace and security.
Savtchenko is a peace, war and defence and international studies major from Kiev, Ukraine. Treske is a political science and international studies major from Charlotte. Contact Savtchenko at asavt@email.unc.edu and Treske at cora@email.unc.edu.
