The continuity in Russian state foreign policy revolves around two fundamental elements:
the pursuit or maintenance of great power status and underlying political ideologies.
Throughout both the Tsarist and Soviet periods, a primary objective was the
attainment or preservation of great power status. Political ideas that developed since
the Tsarist period put forward assumptions about national identity, the role of the
Russian state in the world and geopolitics, and shaped Russian foreign policy. Russia
lost its great power status after the collapse of the USSR. However, under Putins
leadership, Russia has pursued a foreign policy aimed at reclaiming this status. In this
period ideas influenced the decisions of Putins and Russias foreign policy. In light of
all these statements, this book examines the political ideas that affect the preferences
of Russian decisionmakers and the practices that emerged in Russian foreign policy
implemented during the Putin period to achieve Russias great power status.
The continuity in Russian state foreign policy revolves around two fundamental elements:
the pursuit or maintenance of great power status and underlying political ideologies.
Preface List of Abbreviations Introduction: Russian Foreign Policy
in the Theatrics of Continuity and Change The Ideas Driving the Russian
Foreign Policy The Practice of Russian Foreign Policy Conclusion and
Analysis Bibliography Index
Metin Aksoy is Professor of International Relations at Selēuk University in Türkiye. He obtained his masters and PhD degrees from the University of Vienna. His research interests encompass Türkiye-EU relations, Russian foreign policy, German foreign policy, geopolitics, and security studies.
