Russia of 2010s: How to Live with It and How to Outlive It

Abstract

Several factors call for the West to rethink the course the "new Russia" is taking. These include Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its intense involvement in destabilizing the post-Soviet states; Russia's increasingly tough position toward both the European Union and the United States and its increasingly strong ties to China; and the Russian leadership's obvious preoccupation with political rather than economic issues. The paper suggests that the Russia of Vladimir Putin's new term in power, as a system, differs profoundly from the country the West was dealing with in the previous decade. Russia’s transition from a promising Westernized nation into an aggressive authoritarian regional power is nearing completion. Western powers should therefore concentrate on two things: elaborating appropriate - and realistic - political attitudes toward today's Russia and creating an agenda for dealing with a post-Putin Russia that may arise in the distant future.