The Czech Republic sees Russia as an integral part of Europe
Having withdrawn from the Soviet Bloc the Czech Republic headed towards the West, but as time passed, it ceased to rely implicitly on its help having realized that European integration often causes problems instead of solving them. Now the Czech Republic began to show restraint towards the European Union trying to restore the lost ties with Russia.
From big to small: disintegration of transnational organizations and socialist federations...
Old friends are better than new ones
Albania, once a closed, isolated country standing apart from the rest of the socialist camp, has traveled a hard road from an autarky to an open market economy. Today it experiences an increasing pressure from its current allies -- the United States and the European Union-- and is seriously thinking about returning to its "old friends” - China and Russia.
Albania, which has transformed itself in recent history from a socialist country into a developing...
What prevents from active cooperation between Russia and Romania?
Romanian withdrawal from the “socialist community” and the elimination of totalitarian regime was concurrent with the reorientation of national policy toward rapprochement with the European Union and NATO while the relations with Russia went to the back burner. Obviously, transformation of Romania into a base area for the deployment of the US Air Force and Navy, and stationing of American ABMD system also impedes Russian-Romanian...
From the sixteenth republic to the twenty-seventh member
Of all former Soviet Union states, Bulgaria was mostly affected by the union’s disintegration and forced reorientation of its policy and economy towards the West. But now a host of objective reasons is dictating that the country should restore relations with its former ally, which is now called Russia.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union and socialist camp, which took place twenty years ago, became one of the most significant and dramatic...
Will Russia and Poland be able to find a common language?
Poland used to be an essential element of the socialist camp during its existence. The relationships of the Polish political establishment with the Russian leadership were not always simple. Most tense they were in critical 1956 and 1981. These were the years of mass protests in Poland. That said, leaders of both countries always managed to find a common language. The Soviet Union’s leadership was keenly interested in Polish experience of...
Withdrawal from the Russian market in the 1990-ies was a strategic mistake of Hungary
Some Hungarian experts compare the loss of the Russian market in the 1990-ies with the losses suffered by the country after the Trianon Treaty.
Twenty years after the disintegration of the USSR the attempts to reevaluate the role of the Soviet state in the international policy and in the lives of neighboring countries and nations are natural and justified. The possibility to compare “before” and “after” gives...
20 years on. How has the world changed since the disintegration of the USSR?
The disintegration of the Soviet Union has crowned nearly a 500 year-long period of Russian history when imperial regime used to be the backbone and for the most of the time the form of Russian statehood. This overhaul had tremendous implications above all for the Russian foreign policy.
Despite the hopes of some and fears of others the USSR disintegration unlike the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 was not followed...
Russia more than anybody else is interested in a full-fledged existence of Ukraine
Current Russian-Ukrainian relations are not based on the value system or a mobilization project common for the two countries and often remind of a dialogue between a mute and a deaf. Nevertheless a full-fledged existence of Ukraine with the preservation of its specific social features may contribute to the systemic transformation of Russian development model – from the current mobilization pattern to the innovative...
Each time the West turns away from Uzbekistan, it recalls Russia
On September1, 2011 The Republic of Uzbekistan marked with great fanfare the 21
st
anniversary of its independence. At the festive ceremonies much was said about the success of the Uzbek economy. It was emphasized that such brilliant results became possible due to the secession from the Soviet Union. How has Uzbekistan benefited from independence? To what extent are the proclaimed achievements true to reality? What are the prospects...
Strong Azerbaijan is a guarantor of stability in the Caucasus
After the period of confrontation and feelings running high in the 1990s, the Russian-Azerbaijani relations have moved on to the stage of strategic partnership. Russia is interested in a stable and strong Azerbaijan, a state-stabilizer and a natural barrier against the threats posed by the Middle East, Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
Secession of Azerbaijan from the USSR
The fashionable clichés used nowadays by certain political...
