Russia’s Foreign Policy (2012–2016): The Temptation of Being a Great-Power

Abstract

The study shows Russian foreign policy changes in the last half decade. Besides discussing the key foreign policy issues (the Ukrainian crisis, the Syrian crisis, Russian-Chinese relations, and Russian-Western ties) that are important for Russia, the article takes into account the internal political and communication motives of foreign policy actions as well. The paper concludes that nowadays some of the Russian political elite are ready to admit that the ambitious transformation experiment that began at the beginning of the 1990s has failed, and the foreign and internal politics of recent years have been dominated by the frustration of this recognition. In addition, it is more important for Moscow to exercise its geopolitical interests this time, than to settle its relationship with the West.