New Trends in the Domestic and Foreign Policies of Putin’s Russia in Early 21st Century (Part 2)

Abstract

The article is a continuation of the publication from the previous issue of the journal. In the previous part, the main focus was on Russia's domestic political and economic transformation during Vladimir Putin's first presidential term, which clearly shows a refusal from Yeltsin's limited democracy and the establishment of an authoritarian regime with Praetorian features. During his first years as president, Vladimir Putin demonstrated that, contrary to the commitments made by Boris Yeltsin's team at the OSCE Istanbul Summit, he did not intend to reduce Russia's military presence in the post-Soviet space. Conversely, the official Kremlin has intensified diplomatic efforts, which have resulted in an increase in the number of its military bases in the countries of the so-called «Near Abroad». At the same time, steps were taken to demonstrate the growing potential and ambitions of the Russian army. The corresponding activity was accompanied by purposeful actions aimed at building a modern Soviet Union around Russia. To achieve this goal, a wide range of tools was used, ranging from official statements to Moscow-initiated integration projects. The practical consequences of the respective aspirations of the new leadership of the Russian Federation were the signing of agreements on the establishment of the EurAsEC, the Common Economic Space, and the reformatting of the Collective Security Treaty into the CSTO. Analysis of internal and external initiatives of the new leadership of Russia in the period outlined in the article, in comparison with the statements of authoritative researchers, provide grounds to conclude that the construction of an authoritarian regime in the Russian Federation was accompanied by pro-Western rhetoric of its leadership due to the internal weakness of the Russian state in the early XXI century. After Russia’s significant economic growth, complemented by the introduction of comprehensive control within the country by the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin began to gradually abandon the disguise of the true nature of his regime, which soon was manifested through the prism of both tough statements and aggressive steps in the international arena.