CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE EURASIAN UNION AS A TOOL OF RUSSIAN

GEOPOLITICS IN THE ERA OF GLOBALISATION

VELINA TCHAKAROVA

Introduction

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the global interdependence
of all actors in international relations as a result of globalisation.^1
Moreover, international actors already interact with each other in a
multilateral world, where no single country or non-state actor can claim to
be a global power anymore. After the collapse of the Soviet Union (SU),
which Vladimir Putin once described as the “major geopolitical disaster of
the century,”^2 Moscow has been systematically following the course of
transformative processes, encompassing a broad set of reforms in the
political, economic, security, and social spheres, and thus pursuing a
moderate policy of the status quo towards its direct neighborhood.^3 As a
consequence, Russia has been predominantly absent as a major player on
the international scene over the last twenty years, mainly due to the
successful integration projects of the European Union (EU) and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Central and Eastern Europe^4
However, Russia again celebrated its return to its status as a regional
power by actively taking part in the struggle for geopolitical influence on
current matters of concern in international relations, such as the military
conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria.^5

(^1) Kissane, “Beyond Anarchy and Interdependence: New Thinking about an Old
System.”
(^2) Putin, “Annual Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.”
(^3) Zagorski, “Russia’s Neighborhood Policy.“
(^4) Schimmelfennig, The EU, NATO, and the Integration of Europe. Rules and
Rhetoric.
(^5) Cockburn, “Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have put Russia back on the top table.”