Russia and the National Interest: New Trends in Russian Foreign Policy

The essay analyzes the recent evolution in Russian foreign policy. It maintains that three very clear stages in Russia’s foreign policy of the last five years can be identified. The first stage covers the years 1992 and 1993; it is characterized by an absence of doctrine and the situational response to the problems that have gradually been arising. The second stage covers the end of 1993 until 1995, characterized by the abandonment of a strategy based on cooperation with the West and the predominance of a new posture, propelled by the military sector, that favors Russian security above any other issue in relation to foreign policy. The third stage, that includes the period that has lapsed since the end of 1995, is characterized by the pragmatic incorporation of many of the proposals of the nationalists and the definitive abandonment of the idea of unconditional cooperation with the West.