What Does Russia Want?

Angus Ross & Andrew Savchenko, National Interest: The Obvious Question: What Does Russia Want?

Russia reserves the right to pursue its interests in the post–Soviet space without Western interference, in any way it sees fit.

With Vladimir Putin now safely back in the Kremlin for another six years, and with a number of crises involving Russian forces still smoldering in the world, the time is ripe to have another look at the vexing question of what exactly Russia might want from the next decade, and what it might be willing to do to achieve these ends.

Russia is one of history’s great survivors. In one form or another, it has existed for close to a thousand years; for a large part of that period, particularly in recent centuries, it has counted itself among the greatest land powers on the planet. It does, however, have difficulty with its national identity. Spanning eleven time zones, and with a landmass equal to the surface area of the moon, it is home to an ethnically diverse mixture of creeds and cultures. In many ways, its recent history has been one of self-colonization.

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WNU Editor: Border and national security. Protecting the rights of Russian nationals in former Soviet states. Economic prosperity.