Development and Features of the Northern European Vector of the Russian Foreign Policy during 1991-2014 (on the Example of Sweden and Norway)

Abstract

The regional proximity of any states determines the need for them to implement a corresponding foreign policy in relation to each other. The importance of one state in the politics of another is demonstrated, in particular, by the presence of separate strategies for bilateral relations, the number and thoroughness of bilateral agreements, the attraction of investments, etc. The Russian Federation's approach to building relations with the Scandinavian countries is interesting in this context. The regional proximity of these actors in the future could play a significant role in the development of fruitful cooperation between them. However, the radically different internal political nature of these states, value orientations and geopolitical orientation create certain difficulties in the process of bilateral relations. Within the framework of this article, we propose to consider the process of formation of the Northern European vector of the Russian foreign policy. The author singled out the main stages of the formation of this direction of Russian policy in the period of 1991-2014 and important factors that had an impact on Moscow's implementation of relations with Sweden and Norway. The reasons for the secondary nature of the Scandinavian vector in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation in the period after the collapse of the USSR are investigated. Among such reasons the author indicates Moscow's focus on the post-Soviet space, domestic political problems, and economic difficulties. The priority of the regional aspect of the Scandinavian vector over bilateral relations with the countries of the region at later stages are examined. The periodic predominance of regional policy in the Arctic and the Baltic over bilateral relations with the Scandinavian countries is demonstrated by the example of foreign policy documents of the Russian Federation. The researcher emphasized on the dual Russian policy toward Scandinavian countries with a pragmatic division of political and economic-resource factors in the process of relations with Norway and Sweden.