Commentary
Dmitri Trenin
{
"authors": [
"Dmitri Trenin"
],
"type": "commentary",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Russia"
],
"topics": [
"Foreign Policy"
]
}
Source: Getty
Commentary
Russia, a Euro-Pacific Nation
As a Euro-Pacific nation, Russia is in a good position to connect directly with all important economic, technological, political, military, and cultural players in the world—and keep the right balance among them in its foreign policy.
Published on Oct 14, 2013
Exactly 12 years ago this month, speaking in the German Bundestag and in German, Vladimir Putin—then as now Russia's president—announced Russia's European choice. That was the defining foreign policy speech of his first term, in which he also pledged a near-alliance with the United States. Today, Putin has no use for the concept. The defining speech of his current presidency, delivered at the Valdai Club last month, sends a very different message. Its key points can be summarized as follows.
Russia may be European, historically and culturally, but it is apart from Europe, represented today by the European Union. For Russia, the EU has long ceased to be a mentor and has recently ceased to be a model. Instead, Russia is busy building a geopolitical unit to include much of post-Soviet Eurasia. Russians and Ukrainians are one people, belonging to a distinct civilization. Greater Europe does not mean Russia accepting the EU's norms and principles and associating itself with it, even without a prospect of membership. Rather, it is a binary non-exclusive construct between the EU and the emerging Eurasian Union.
Putin's Eurasian identity for Russia is romantic and nostalgic. It makes sense to have a degree of economic integration, security arrangements, and extensive human contacts with those ex-Soviet republics which want them and who can contribute to Russia's own development. Yet, to subsume Russia within a Eurasian framework is backward-looking. Russia' s path in the 21st century does not lie through imitated restoration of historical patterns, but through openness to all sources of innovation. Russia's resources should be used for Russia's own advancement, not in pursuit of quasi-imperial projects.
Russia is not a newcomer to the world of international relations. It can look back on 1,150 years of statehood, but most of the time needs to look ahead. Its singular feature through the ages has been its independence, and so it should be, including independence from would-be clients or satellites. Russia is not and will not be part of the EU-Europe, but it is European by birth and culture, broadly similar in that sense to the United States. This is a huge advantage for a country which seeks to get ahead in this world. Being anti-Western, by contrast, kills this advantage.
Russia, however, is more than European. It stretches all the way to the Pacific, where it has maritime borders with America and Japan, alongside a land border with China. As a Euro-Pacific nation, Russia is in a good position to connect directly with all important economic, technological, political, military, and cultural players in the world—and keep the right balance among them in its foreign policy. It only needs to resist the temptation to repeat history.
About the Author
Dmitri Trenin
Former Director, Carnegie Moscow Center
Trenin was director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2008 to early 2022.
- Mapping Russia’s New Approach to the Post-Soviet Space
- What a Week of Talks Between Russia and the West RevealedCommentary
Dmitri Trenin
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
- Could Migrants From India and Africa Solve Russia’s Labor Shortage?Commentary
The demands of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, demographic problems, and public hostility toward Central Asians mean Russia does not have enough workers.
Salavat Abylkalikov
- Russian Market Sours for Belarusian State CompaniesCommentary
Minsk’s faith in the future of its larger neighbor’s economy is fading as Belarusian firms in Russia see record losses.
Olga Loiko
- Did Putin Return From China Empty-Handed?Commentary
With no key agreement signed on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, there is a risk that the window of opportunity for Russia will close if Chinese power generation becomes so green that new gas sources are no longer of any interest to Beijing.
Alexander Gabuev
- What Does Central Europe’s Post-Orban Russia Policy Look Like?Commentary
Though Orban is gone, Putin can still count on some like-minded individuals in Central and Eastern Europe. However, they will seek to avoid open confrontation with EU institutions over Ukraine and their ties with Moscow.
Dimitar Bechev
- Are Russia-Japan Relations Really Warming Up?Commentary
The truth is that Japan’s government is seeking a degree of reengagement but at a vastly reduced level than under Abe. Most significantly, Japan has shown no willingness to ease sanctions.
James D.J. Brown
