At the beginning of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s second term, the analytical community was full of expectations that Moscow’s policy toward its post-Soviet neighbors would become more assertive. Inside Russia, a somewhat unusual coalition combining derzhavniki, dreaming about the restoration of Russia’s great power status, and newly-born liberal imperialists, wishing to convert political leverage into property, felt very self-confident. The coalition pushed the administration toward actions to regain Russia’s influence in the former USSR. […]
Memo #:
391
Series:
1
PDF:
PDF URL:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/ponars/pm_0391.pdf
