A Bridge to Asia or a Bridge to Nowhere? The Russian Far East and the Sakha Republic in Russia's 'Turn' to Asia

In: Russian politics, Band 6, Heft 2, S. 255-278

Abstract

Abstract
The Russian leadership envisages Russia as a bridge connecting East and West via Asiatic Russia. Nevertheless, this self-image seemingly does not fully correspond to the current trends; moreover, it is unclear what the Russian Government tries to 'bridge' as it has been unable to construct a bridge across the Lena River connecting Yakutsk, the capital of its largest Republic, to Russian mainland. This work attempts to examine both the external and internal dimension for the Russian Far East of Russia's 'turn' to Asia, and the way Sakha Republic experiences the tension between the domestic and international dimensions of this 'turn' to the East.