Russia's Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity

This comprehensive text examines three decades of Soviet/Russian international relations, comparing foreign policy formation under Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Medvedev, and Putin. Challenging conventional views, Andrei Tsygankov argues that definitions of national interest depend on visions of national identity, rooted in history and domestic politics.

The author highlights the role of the external environment in affecting the balance of power among competing domestic groups. Drawing on Russian and Western sources, Tsygankov shows how Moscow’s policies have shifted under different leaders’ visions of Russia’s national interests.

The book gives an overview of the ideas and pressures that motivated Russian foreign policy in six periods:

The Gorbachev era of the late 1980s.
The liberal “Westernizers” era under Kozyrev in the early 1990s.
The relatively hardline statist policy under Primakov.
The more pragmatic course of limited cooperation under Putin and then Medvedev.
The assertive policy Putin has implemented since his return to power.
The invasion of Ukraine which began in 2022.