Suchergebnisse

I examine the relationship between Russia and the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, including how Moscow's responses to changing geopolitical dynamics framed these relations in 2019. In particular, I consider the changes in preparation for Russia to assume the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose membership overlaps partially with the CIS and which has become a key instrument for engaging with China in the region. For Russia, the organizational structures of both the SCO and the CIS are key instruments to maintain influence within the former Soviet Space, although how Moscow does this varies greatly, not least due to sensitivities about China.

Sino-Russian relations have swayed considerably in the second millennium. During the Yeltsin era, China-Russia relations were still strong, but this changed abruptly after Putin's accession to the presidency in 2000 and his initial pro-Western adventures. This was, in no small part, due to Russia's involvement in the war on terror, together with Russia's complicity in a US military presence in Central Asia which did not go down well in Beijing. Putin's domestic constituency found his swing into Washington's fold equally awkward, which created no small amount of criticism in Russia. Convinced that things could not get much worse, Putin's acceptance of NATO's expansion into the Baltics, his approval of US withdrawal from the ABM-treaty, and his quiet consent for an American military presence in Georgia raised additional fears in the Duma, within Russian public opinion, and to some extent among the Chinese. This was perceived as a direct surrender to American superiority and aggression, and it would not last for long. (J Contemp China/GIGA)