러시아ㆍ유라시아

Russian foreign policy is judged by the Western world on the basis of a series of depreciatory adjectives. The aim of this paper is to effect an historical review of the Russian (and Soviet) perception of their frontier. The Russian frontier is continually changing; and the country has been both invader as well as invaded. For historical reasons, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union kept both a close watch and a strong control over the Soviet frontier, to the point of rendering it almost impenetrable. During the early years of transition, border policies relaxed consederably, to the point of instability and placing the Russian Federation on the verge of balkanization. Both Putin and Medvedev put a stop to this process. Now, partially as a result of Western pressure and reluctance to cooperate, Russia has undertaken an aggressive border policy that threatens expansion. The enormous Russian diaspora has turned out to be a successful justification for the expansion of the Russian border.