Modern Russia in the system of international relations faces many problems. Almost all of them are inherited from the Soviet past. The problems concern all spheres of international relations: political, economic, cultural, etc. In the article we will try to understand what positions Russia occupies in the system of modern international relations. Let's start from the first days of the emergence of a new state - the Russian Federation.
Prerequisites for the collapse of the USSR
Russia in the system of international political relations began to develop after the collapse of the Soviet Union into separate independent republics. In terms of its scale, this event became a real geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. I would like to note that by the 80s of the twentieth century, the communist ideology had already lost its formerattractiveness for most of the Soviet population. This happened much earlier in the world. Yes, in the 60s and 70s. of the last century, a wave of anti-communist speeches swept through the countries of the Warsaw Pact. It is a mistake to say that the American State Department was involved in them. The Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence services skillfully identified all agents of the West, were able to protect both their own citizens and citizens of the allied countries in the socialist camp from their ideological influence. People themselves began to become disillusioned with the ideology of the Soviet regimes. The main reason was the lag of the USSR behind the West in the decisive areas of the scientific and technological revolution, which could no longer be hidden. It is also wrong to say that our citizens "sold out for jeans and chewing gum" to capitalism, as patriots who are nostalgic for the Soviet past like to do. The quality of life of Europeans, indeed, was much better than the citizens who "defeated fascism."
Time mine
Russia in the system of modern international relations received a new legal status on June 12, 1990. On this day, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR declared sovereignty over the USSR.
The tragedy in this for us lies in the fact that in fact we were the first to leave the country that our ancestors collected for so long. The USSR was formed only in the 1920s. However, this happened due to the fact that almost all the republics that entered the USSR (except Poland, the B altic states and Finland) were internally ready for a new unification, sohow they maintained cultural and economic ties with each other after the collapse of a single empire. Lenin and Trotsky made a major geopolitical mistake: they divided the country along national lines, which would inevitably lead to national chauvinism and separatism in the future. Recall that I. V. Stalin was an opponent of such a union, and President V. V. Putin called this process "laying a time bomb", which "exploded" after the collapse of socialist ideology at the end of the 20th century.
New political status: Russia is the successor of the USSR
So, our country began its new history after 1990. From this moment on, the topic “Russia in the system of international relations” should be considered. After the collapse of the USSR, we faced the need for geopolitical self-determination, which affects positioning in the geopolitical space, the choice of civilizational landmarks, the vector of foreign policy, the economic model of development, etc. The new state - the Russian Federation - proclaimed itself a "partner" and "friend" of the West, a democratic a country that will "respect and recognize all governments and existing regimes" in the world. However, we have also preserved the traditions of the Soviet past:
- Positioning yourself as a multinational and multicultural state. For the first time in its history, Russia could take shape as a nation-state. The percentage of Russians in the new state is about 80%, and in some regions up to 99% of the population. This ismore than it was in the other "national republics" of the former USSR at the time of the collapse. Many other nation-states cannot boast such a percentage of the titular nation from the number of inhabitants. However, we deliberately refused this status, paying tribute to the imperial and Soviet past. It is no coincidence that the first president, B. N. Yeltsin, began all his appeals to the people with the phrase: “Dear Russians” - this emphasized the status of citizenship, and not of the nation. By the way, the term "Russian" has not taken root in our society, giving way to "citizen of Russia".
- Status of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It went to our country because Russia declared itself the successor of the USSR.
The last circumstance gives us significant leverage in the international arena. We will look into this in more detail later.
The UN Security Council is an instrument of influence on international politics
Permanent membership in the UN Security Council gives reason to say that Russia occupies a leading position in the system of international relations. Let's briefly list the benefits of this status:
- Our representative at the UN can "veto" any UN resolution. In fact, without our consent, any major international event - war, sanctions against other countries, the formation of new states, etc. - will be considered illegal from the point of view of international law.
- Russia can initiate many issues on the agenda of the UN Security Council and others.
Unfortunately, many international processes are bypassing the UN, which gives reason to believe that this organization is in crisis and accuse it of being unable to solve international political problems. Russia in the system of international relations no longer plays the significant role that the “united and mighty” Union once played.
Factors of Russia's influence on the state of affairs in the world
Permanent membership in the UN Security Council is not the only instrument of influence. Russia occupies one of the key positions in the system of international relations due to the following circumstances:
- Territory. Our country is the largest state in terms of territory and the seventh most populous state.
- Location. Russia occupies a favorable geopolitical position in the center of Eurasia. With the proper conduct of foreign policy, it is possible to form the most profitable economic transit routes between the "Asian tigers" - China, South Korea and Japan - and the Old World.
- Raw materials. The share of the Russian Federation in world reserves: oil - 10-12%, iron - 25%, potassium s alts - 31%, gas - 30-35%, etc. Our country can influence world prices, production of world minerals, etc.
- Powerful nuclear potential inherited from the USSR and others.
What is the place of Russia in the system of international relations? All of the above factors make us understand that our country is an influential trans-regional power and a global nuclear superpower. Anti-Russian sanctions of the West, as well as its politicalpressure on our country is of a temporary non-constructive nature. This is stated not by the Russian official authorities, but by the leaders of the leading Western countries. We hope that the situation will normalize soon. Let's try to model a possible future based on Russia's geopolitical self-determination.
Russia's Future Development Options
Two alternative development scenarios are possible for our country:
- It will take an innovative path of development, carry out comprehensive modernization, which will lead to the establishment of a democratic regime.
- Russia will become a destabilizing factor in a significant part of Eurasia, which will lead to the establishment of a totalitarian regime.
There can be no third option. We either develop and become an advanced developed country, or we completely separate ourselves from the rest of the world. The second option completely repeats the fate of the USSR. Unfortunately, many independent economists and political scientists note that we are following the second path and have become "a field of anarchy and chaos that is spreading to neighboring regions." To the traditional "Soviet" problems of technical backwardness, new, previously unseen problems were added: the imposition of Orthodoxy, chauvinism and nationalism at the state level, which manifests itself through the construction of the so-called "Russian world".
Russia in the system of international economic relations
Let's move away from the political sphere and analyze the economic one. Russia in the system of international financial relations has becomedevelop after its entry into the international stock market. This event, of course, was a positive development for international trade, but on the contrary, it had a negative impact on us. The reason is that we were not ready for the abrupt transition to the stage of "wild capitalism" after "socialism with a human face." Gorbachev's "perestroika", although it gave birth to the first rudiments of a market economy, but the bulk of the population was confused in the new conditions for themselves. The situation was also aggravated by the “shock therapy” of our democratic government, which hit the pockets of ordinary citizens. Hunger and poverty are symbols of the era of transition. This continued until the financial crisis of July-August 1998. By declaring default, we actually ruined many large foreign investors. Nevertheless, after these events, our country began to develop in the spirit of a capitalist power.
Problems of economic globalization for Russia
The creation of economic freedom for capital, combined with the political isolation of our country in the international arena, leads to a huge problem for the economic development of the state: there is a "capital flight". In other words, many entrepreneurs are not interested in the long-term development of Russia. Their goal is to quickly make a fortune and withdraw all profits to foreign banks. Thus, the outflow of capital in 2008 amounted to $133.9 billion, in 2009 - $56.9 billion, in 2010 - $33.6 billion, etc. Anti-Russian external sanctions andinternal "crackdown" only intensified these processes.
The conclusion can be made disappointing: the transition to a market economy for Russia turned out to be absolutely unprofitable. Only high prices for hydrocarbons at the beginning of the 21st century created the illusion of development and prosperity. It all ended when their prices dropped back to their previous levels. Economists say no more of these booms should be expected due to the development of alternative energy sources.
Further in the article, let's recall a little history and consider similar processes in different historical periods.
Russia in the 17th century
Russia in the system of international relations of the 17th century pursued an active foreign policy. Its goal is to "gather" the primordially Russian lands that were ceded to Poland. In 1569, the Union of Lublin was signed, according to which Poland and the Principality of Lithuania are united into a new state - the Commonwe alth. The Orthodox Ukrainian and Belarusian population in the new state was subjected to a triple oppression: national, religious and feudal. As a result, this resulted in large-scale Cossack-peasant riots. After the largest of them - under the leadership of B. Khmelnitsky - Russia enters the war with the Commonwe alth.
On January 8, 1654, the Council (Rada) took place in the city of Pereyaslavl, at which a decision was made on the reunification of Ukraine and Russia. After that, throughout the 17th century, our country defended the right to these territories in the course of constant wars with Poland, the Crimea, the Ottoman Empire and even Sweden. Only by the end of the 17th century did these countries recognize Kyiv and the entire left-bank Ukraine as subjects of Russia, signing several peace treaties.
Russia in the system of international relations: 18th century
In the 18th century, Russia became a powerful European state. This is connected with the names of the "Great rulers": Peter I the Great, Elizabeth I the Great and Catherine II the Great. Russia in the 18th century achieved the following results:
- Gained access to the Black and B altic Seas. For this purpose, there were long military conflicts with Sweden and Turkey.
- Own industry began to develop at an accelerated pace, there was a refusal to import raw materials, many industrial goods and weapons.
- Russia has become the largest grain exporter.
- Our country finally annexed all the lands of Russia. This became possible after the partitions (there were several) of the Commonwe alth.
Unrealized goals in 18th century foreign policy
It is worth noting that the plans of our rulers in the 18th century were grandiose:
- Creation of a single Orthodox European state, which would include all the Orthodox peoples of Europe.
- Exit to the Mediterranean Sea. To do this, it was necessary to capture two Turkish straits - the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
- Russia was supposed to become a world cultural center, as well as a leading center of world autocracy. That is why our country received all the "royal persons" of France after they were overthrown during the Frenchbourgeois revolution, and also assumed the "duty to punish the upstart" - Napoleon Bonaparte.
Russia in the 19th century
Russia in the system of international relations of the 19th century was drawn into the processes of global industrial integration. Until the middle of the century, we still retained conservatism. We defeated Napoleon, were considered the "gendarme of Europe" and the guarantor of security in the world. However, the leading European countries were already developing along the industrial capitalist path. The gap between Russia and them every year became more and more noticeable. This finally became clear after the Crimean War of 1853-1856, in which our soldiers were exterminated from a long distance by rifled European guns, long-range guns, and at sea our sailing fleet was destroyed by the latest steamships.
After these events, Russia abandons its active foreign policy and opens its doors to international foreign capital.
