Russian strategic interests in south asia are three dimensional. In the past five years, real and present dangers to u. Still, recent developments in chinarussia militarytomilitary relations have important implications for u. Russias central asia policy and the role of russian nationalism. Indias strategic interests in central asia in the postsoviet years. In practical terms, this pointed to the absence of a unified strategic goal that has cast new questions on moscows goals and capabilities since the post911 period. China vies for influence in russias backyard what will it mean for kazakhstan.
Though analysts tend to portray russias foreign policy as truly global that is, independent of europe, the us, and china, the country is plainly tilting toward asia. President putin has devoted considerable attention to promoting and defending the interests of russian compatriots in central asia, and russian foreign policy is slowly changing to utilize soft power more effectively in achieving russias goals in the near abroad. Central asia in the context of w estern and russian interests 5 l europe en formation n. The geopolitical situation in central asia has changed considerably and the republics in the region repeatedly expressed their interest in developing relations with russia, china, the usa, the eu, germany, japan and others. The contributors examine russian and chinese perspectives on a wide range of issues, including security, political relationships, economic interactions, and defense ties. Russian policy on central asia and the role of russian nationalism. It comprised the oasis region to the south of the kazakh steppe, but not the protectorates of the emirate of bukhara and the khanate of khiva. Mar 06, 2019 freire describes the facilitation of russian interests in central asia as a simultaneous process of engagement and disengagement that has introduced a great degree of ambiguity in the region. Get to the heart of central asia and begin your journey now. This collection explores the energy courtship between the two nations and analyzes their interests and policies regarding central asia, the korean peninsula, and taiwan. Russia traditionally has been central asia s main trading partner. Johannes linn discusses chinas and russias growing support for economic integration in central asia, specifically in kazahkstah, which is seen as a potential driver of regional and global. With the partial exception of russia, the interests of contemporary players of the great game in central asia are rather different than those of their nineteenthcentury predecessors. Central asia in the context of western and russian interests.
The united states is vitally interested in the transition of the central asian states to democracy and to market economies. Her recent publications and research are on labour migration and legal regulatory framework of migration governance in russia and kazakhstan, role of migration and development in the russian far east, and indiacentral asia relations. Dec 31, 2017 moscow still acts as a big brother in much of eurasian politics and security. Pdf indias strategic interests in central asia in the. Jul 01, 20 in the near term, the best interests of the u.
All the main decisions in the russian empire were made by the tsar tsarist autocracy, so there was a uniformity of policy and a forcefulness during the long regimes of powerful leaders such as peter the great and catherine the great. Its primary interests are maintaining its sphere of influence, keeping out western influence and preventing the postsoviet states there from drawing close to the west, and securing the region from external and internal threats to stability, especially with regard to spillover effects from afghanistan. The viability of russias assertive approach, however, depends on many factors, not least the health of the russian economy. Chinas expanding commercial interests in central asia, the russian far east, and the arctic are likely increasing the competitiveness of chinese firms on a global scale.
Russian intrest in central asia after 91 slideshare. Kremlin, under putin state interests and those of the major companies have been unified. The asiapacific, in particular, is already the principal region of global growth, geopolitical rivalry, and clashing values. For much of the postsoviet period, central asia has been a backwater of.
Russias sale of su35 fighter jets to china deliveries of which began in december 2016 will help the. Russias national interests and foreign policy preferences givi gigitashvili is an intern at the latvian institute of international affairs we have no eternal allies and we have no eternal enemies. A graduate field will include a variety of topics in russian history from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. The first part analyses the main benefits of this giant project.
Russian migrations into central asia were encouraged by the extension of the transaral railway to tashkent in 1906. Russian policy on central asia and the role of russian. Mar 01, 2014 106 for more on russian policy in these regions, see crs report rl33453, armenia, azerbaijan, and georgia. Jul 15, 20 with the partial exception of russia, the interests of contemporary players of the great game in central asia are rather different than those of their nineteenthcentury predecessors. Introduction this paper addresses russias growing engagement with the asia pacific region from the vantage point of two key concepts that shape russian foreign policy. Policy priorities and military roles build strong ties with the central asians rather than to allocate significant resources of its own. Principal investigator, international conference afghanistans stability and regional security.
Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots. In practical terms, this pointed to the absence of a unified strategic goal that has cast new questions on moscows goals and capabilities since the. Russias financial strains and substantial military commitments in areas such as ukraine and syria will cause moscow to cut and reorganize its military deployments in central asia rather than increase its troop levels in the region as previously planned. Russian strategy toward central asia generates great interest in western academic and policy circles, but few analytical nuances. Whoever controls this region manages the new economic corridors connecting the rich markets of europe to east asia, and the new emerging markets of south asia to west asia. Chinas response to the complex challenges on its western borders during the past two decades has been to adopt an empty fortress strategy, whereby china boldly projects an image of considerable strength in central and south asia to mask serious frailty. For much of the postsoviet period, central asia has been a backwater of russian foreign policy. This commission examined activities of the shanghai cooperation organization since its inception in 2001 and its effects on the u. The united states has become involved in central asia as part of the war on terrorism and u. How much do indian and russian interests converge in the.
Depending on the source, russia is often characterized as wanting to dominate or control the region, to reconstitute the soviet union, or to obsessively counter the influence of the west andor a rising china. Russian intrest in central asia after 911content abstract background introduction russian interests in central asia russia and central asia energy resources russias oligarch power plays russian interest in central asian water russias involvement in the central asia security and economy recent developments conclusion references. Developments in central asia also reveal the superficiality of painting putins russia as a. For a long time russia has been enjoying monopsony position in central asian energy market. Arguably, nazarbayev and tokayev are operating in a loose tandem. Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests. American and russian interests in the stability of central asia are challenged by the extreme domestic fragility of the states. The larger chinese goal is most likely to dominate eurasia, which means relegating russia to secondtier status. Pdf russian foreign policy towards central asia researchgate. Interests and central asia energy security ariel cohen, ph. Central asia is critical to putins aim of establishing russia as the leading player in the eurasian. Apr 19, 2018 russias geopolitical outlook in central asia is evolving.
Central asia in the context of western and russian interests cairn. The main research topic is the impact of the chinese new silk road project on the russian interests in one of the zones of its strongest traditional influence central asian countries. Russian authorities do not perceive russias relations with china in central asia as that of competition. The kyrgyz analyst on central asia geopolitics and security told iwpr that she saw no future imminent accessions to the customs union of russia, armenia, belarus, kazakstan and kyrgyzstan. Russia should strive at creating free trade zones, mutual tariff, custom and. President vladimir putins vision of a greater europe, which pictured a free trade zone from lisbon to. Kemal kirisci and philippe le corre tuesday, january 2, 2018. Central asia will become more of a security concern for russia, especially with the risk of spillover militancy from afghanistan.
Realizing indias strategic interests in central asia. The term great game originally refers to the nineteenthcentury competition between the russian and british empires for control over central asia. The geopolitics of india and russias disparate interests. Chinarussia relations in central asia the asan forum. Russias role and interests in central asia saferworld. Vladimir putins russia is losing power in the middle east. Strategies, and us interests, he smith richardson foundation t march 15, 2012march 14, 20. Russia, china, and the united states in central asia the web site.
Chinese influence in central asia and the russian far east rfe, in areas of military. No other continent will have a greater impact on russias international prospects in the coming decades. At present, it seems rather difficult to differentiate between russian economic interests in central asia and wider geopolitical considerations, to identify the degree of preparedness to pursue a moneylosing policy that does not yield immediate financial gains. Russian authorities do not perceive russia s relations with china in central asia as that of competition. Russian political, economic, and security issues and u. The russian conquest of central asia took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, beijings bri, not washingtons new silk road initiative, appears to have greater traction in the region and a good chance of linking central asia to external non russian markets. Jan 23, 2020 during minister jaishankars speech, india announced that it would establish an indiancentral asia business council, that the indian council for cultural relations is organizing an international conference in new delhi on the cultural links between india and central asia, and that india is ready to help the central asian states follow its. Russias eurasian union could endanger the neighborhood and u.
Indiacentral asian states relations in the 21 century. The first is the concept of multipolarity, the key foundational principle for russian diplomacy, based on the idea of cultural. Russia continues to lack a common policy on central asia, preferring instead to pursue bilateral relations with individual states, according to regional expert chinara esengul. But commercial ties between russia and the region have atrophied over the past. Russias national interests and foreign policy preferences. Asserting russian interests on korean security, energy, and central asia, asian survey on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. Nov 18, 2019 moreover, while contemporary ukrainian nationalism has many facets, one is antirussian sentiment. While the postsoviet region continues to be a focal point for russian foreign policy, moscow is also recalibrating its approach to the u. Pdf central asia in the context of western and russian. The russian political elite does its best to hide this development, but the country is accumulating more interests and freedom to act in asia than in europe or anywhere else. Russia and central asia how is russia and central asia. The changing logic of russian strategy in central asia. The british empire and tibet studies in the modern history of asia, milton park, england. Work with moscow in central asia the national interest.
Mar 15, 2020 the russian political elite does its best to hide this development, but the country is accumulating more interests and freedom to act in asia than in europe or anywhere else. A thesis submitted to the school of politics and international relations, spir. The region has great energy potential and is strategically important, but it is landlocked. The main contradictionreflected in political practices is, on the one hand, the recognition of exceptionalimportance of central asia on the scale of russian foreign policy interests whichhas already become a truism, and, on the other hand, the absence of a developedconcept of comprehensive measures that facilitate building a longterm.
Chinas expanding commercial interests in central asia, the russian far. Throughout the postsoviet policy of the russian federation in relation to central asia was changing from actually complete ignoring the region as observed in the early 90s of the xx century to the development of cooperation with them, mainly in the institutional and petroleum areas which can be seen today. Behind china and russias special relationship the diplomat. Reflecting on a quarter century of russias relations with. Influence in central asia the divergent aspirations of russia and 1 % russia. Interests congressional research service 2 in late february 2014, russian defense minister sergey shoygu announced that additional. Moreover, incorporation of central asia into the list. Pdf central asia is one of the regions of the highest priority in russian foreign policy. Trenin, russias spheres of interest, not influence. Freire describes the facilitation of russian interests in central asia as a simultaneous process of engagement and disengagement that has introduced a great degree of ambiguity in the region. Jun 25, 20 the main contradictionreflected in political practices is, on the one hand, the recognition of exceptionalimportance of central asia on the scale of russian foreign policy interests whichhas already become a truism, and, on the other hand, the absence of a developedconcept of comprehensive measures that facilitate building a longterm. Russian foreign policy towards central asia 4 main stages based on the fp schools in previous lecture of the rf policy to ca after the collapse of the usr.
While the dissolution of the silk road limited exchanges between the two, there is a renewed effort to reconnect new delhi with the region. Russian strategic interests in south asia scholar research. United states foreign policy in the states of central asia. Aug 20, 2019 the rise of asia is the central challenge of vladimir putins foreign policy. Russia is pursuing a strategic partnership with china right now, but different interests occasionally arouse suspicion. Russian domination of the steppes is no longer a serious threat. But the greatest threat to the west of the sinorussian partnership emanates from their efforts to adjust the international system to their advantage. Nov 22, 20 russian authorities do not perceive russias relations with china in central asia as that of competition. However, many of the central asian countries still. The eu has long been central asias biggest trading partner for decades, but it was surged past by china in 2010. Central asian states were all ranked as not free, with. Merchants took control of land and then leased it back to the central asians. Expanding vistas of partnership article pdf available in asian journal of political science 4no.
The new russian security policy is often termed as the monrovski doctrine. Russia, china and the shanghai cooperation organization. Russkiy turkestan was the western part of turkestan within the russian empires central asian territories, and was administered as a krai or governorgeneralship. Indias ties with central asia can be traced back to the ancient silk road, along which goods, people, and ideas flowed. Circumstances in and beyond the region are driving a more committed approach in moscow. Interests congressional research service 1 most recent developments visiting uzbekistan on march 1619, 2014, deputy assistant secretary of state fatema sumar reportedly stressed that the united. The land that became russian turkestan and later soviet central asia is now divided between kazakhstan in the north, uzbekistan across the center, kyrgyzstan in the east, tajikistan in the southeast and turkmenistan in the southwest. Russian foreign policy in central asia from 1991 to present.
The geopolitical situation in central asia has changed considerably and the republics in the region repeatedly expressed their interest in. Pdf russia, china, and the united states in central asia. The region is also a critical partner in the war on terrorism. The eurasian heartland, central asia, has become, as halford mackinder predicted at the start of the 20 th century, the worlds most vital geostrategic region. For many in russia, stability in central asia essentially means the absence of major regional. The foreign policy of the russian empire covers russian foreign relations down to 1917. The four speakers offered an overview of the changes in united states policy toward central asia since september 11, 2001, and of recent developments in the region. One is of its gas pipeline routes through south asia, the second is security factor related to afghanistan including entrance of militants in. Russia in central asia politics essay uk essays ukessays. Control over the transportation of energy resources from central asia to europe is a crucial determinant in russia s energy and pipeline policies. Professor campbells current research interests concern empire, religion and nationalism in late imperial russia. Fabien merz and lisa watanabe by jeronim perovic and benno zogg russia is increasingly orienting itself toward asia. Jan 02, 2018 order from chaos the new geopolitics of central asia.
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